TheFlyingDoctor

I took my first ever flight at the age of 21, and Oslo was the destination – well, approximately, due to Ryanair’s love of secondary airports. In the dozen years since I’ve made several more trips to Norway, most recently at the start of this year.

I visited the previous Holmenkollen ski jump tower on both that first holiday, and again just before it was demolished in 2008. However, a trip to the top of the new one has proven elusive. I tried back in February, but it turned out I had timed my weekend in Oslo to coincide with the Holmenkolllen ski festival, so the museum was closed (and my planned peaceful hike through snowy woodland overrun with drunken Scandinavians). Not that it would have mattered, as fog would have put paid to the view anyway:



The weather would conspire against me once again this time. When I first arrived it was T-shirt conditions in the centre of town; quite the contrast to my experience in February!




However, storms had been forecast (despite optimism from the BA pilots), and sure enough Oslo took a drenching that evening – I was very thankful for my arctic wardrobe when searching for dinner. These seemed to have cleared by morning, but Holmenkollen sits 470 metres above sea level and 10km from the city centre, so tends to have its own climate (that February fog only came into play half way up the metro line). So it was perhaps foolish of me to have left the relatively sunny harbour and make the ride up – sure enough, I found the tower was closed due to high winds, and got caught in another downpour for my troubles. Next time, perhaps...

Besides, it’s good to form new traditions. There’s been plenty of development in Oslo since my first visit, and the opera house has become a new favourite of mine. It’s a glorious piece of architecture, somewhere between ice berg and space ship. Alongside the free-floating sculpture she lies out in the harbour, it also rewards repeat viewings as the seasons change:





Although I wouldn’t consider myself anything other than a tourist here, Oslo is one of those cities that I’ve visited enough to be able to handle stress-free. I know my way around a few favoured spots, and that’s very helpful for fleeting visits like this one. I don’t think I could make accommodation, food, sightseeing and transport arrangements for a 30 hour turnaround with such ease in an unfamiliar city. For instance, the Oestbanehallen at the central station is a welcome addition to my local knowledge from the previous trip; and was the obvious choice for a late lunch stop today before heading over to the airport.

(There are a handful more photos from this visit, plus a larger collection from the winter one here)