Part 2: A day sightseeing in Oslo
As I arrived at 11am at Oslo's Central Station, with my luggage safely stored in a locker, I had a full day of sightseeing ahead until my overnight train to Stavanger which would depart at 10.30pm. I planned a bit in advance during the train ride to Oslo, and opted for a leisurely walk along the harbour, visiting two museums, and returning to the city centre for some food.
Oslo's Central Station from the outside - the starting point of my walk.
First noteworthy point was Oslo's modern opera house, which had a magnificent setting along the water. Lots of construction work going on in this area with many high-rise apartment and office blocks - a sharp contrast with the rest of the city. The opera had stairs on either side which allowed you to walk up to the open-air roof. As it was super slippery, I opted out. Better not to break my arm before I arrive in Siberia!
If I believe correctly, this ferry makes the daily run to/from Copenhagen
A floating sauna, which you can rent for an hour for those brave enough!
Ze Germans have invaded again!
Imposing Akershus Fortress, originally built to fence of ze Germans
Arriving in the city centre - where there are small commuter ferries departing to outer islands in the Oslo Fjord
Oslo's city hall
I was disappointed to find out that there were no commuter ferries going to the Bygdoy suburb across the water, where many of Oslo's finest museums are located. Thanks to some friendly locals, I found out that I could take a bus which brought me there in just 15 minutes. As I was limited in time, I chose two museums only, both of which I have fond memories of visiting as a teenager: the Viking museum and the Fram museum, which is hands down one of my favourite museums ever.
The viking museum was located in a building in the shape of a cross, which perhaps resembled even mostly a weird-looking church. Yet inside, there are 4 historic viking ships and various other historical viking items. While one ship has not withstood time very well, three others are almost in perfect state. They were either used as famous viking longboats or as funeral ships. The museum is not big, but the items are well-explained and without doubt sees now a huge increase in visitor numbers due to the TV series 'Vikings' on History. It surely resembled bits of Floki the shipbuilder to me, and I enjoyed the visit!
From the Viking museum, it's a short walk through a plush suburb down towards the water, where more museums are located. These include the Norwegian maritime museum, the Kon-Tiki museum (about adventurer Thor Heyerdahl who sailed across the pacific in a hand-built raft to show that ancient people could have made long sea voyages) and the Fram museum. I visited all as a teenager, but can remember the Fram museum the best, so chose to revisit only that one as I was limited on time
.
The beautiful Bygdoy suburb of Oslo
While the Fram Museum details many of the great polar explorers, it is foremost the museum of three great Norwegian polar explorers: Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. Amundsen is perhaps Norway's most famous son, being the first to cross the Northwest Passage and the first to famously reach the South Pole, just days before Robert Falcon Scott on his ill-fated expedition. Both ships which Amundsen used, the Gjoa and the Fram, can be seen in the museum. And yes, you can get inside the rooms and the hallways of each ship (which is why I loved it so much back in the days when I was a teen!). Needless to say, there are countless other historical artifacts, exhibitions about the native people of the arctic, and tons of others super interesting tales. The museum is really a must for everyone interested in history, shipping or the extraordinary tales of the great explorers of the past. The museum was still as magnificent as it was two decades ago, and I was happy to have visited it again.
After the visit of both museums I had a short walk along the waterfront, until it was time to catch my bus back to the city centre of Oslo. I got out of the bus near the Royal Palace, which has a lovely park around it which you can walk into. After making some snaps of the palace and the guards, I headed down the hill back into the commercial city centre where all the shops are located.
Soon the big Norwegian dilemma began hitting my mind: where to go for food? This country is expensive. And I don't mean just expensive, it's
ridiculous expensive. Especially if you also fancy a tipple - it will break your bank and before you know you are off remortgaging your house and selling a kidney. Normally when travelling alone I don't care too much about fancy eating or fine dining (such moments are for special company) - but I surely did not want to end up at an ubiquitous fast food chain as I do love nice food. I sat down on a bench and tried to find some restaurants through Google Maps/Tripadvisor and all the usual websites, but I couldn't locate anything near that had good ratings.
Deserted ice skating rink in the centre
In the end, by accident I walked by a French bistro called 'Brasserie France' which had an inviting menu, 'reasonable' enough prices (for Norway) and a good rating at Google. I opted for the classical dish of moules-frites, mussels with French fries, which came in a nice broth of aioli. At about 35 EUR for the dish and a smallish beer it was definitely not cheap, but the taste was good, and in the end well-worth the price.
After the late lunch, I headed towards the train station for another beer in what seemed to be a nice pub based on online pictures and ratings. "Oslo Mekaniske Verksted" as it was called didn't disappoint and oozed tons of charm. It had a nice mixture of people (hipsters, businessmen, blonde Norwegian girls etc.) and had a big list of craft beers. I do love tasting craft beers, but without tasters and with beers running at 15 EUR a bottle/draft it again is not cheap. Still I might had one beer at Mekaniske Verksted, or perhaps two or three. I loved the pub and Norwegian craft beer can be seriously good (unlike the normal brands which are utterly forgettable).
Oslo Mekaniske Verksted pub
Batch 2 of the Double IPA of the Oslo Brewing Company - yummy!
After deciding that more beers would mean selling my other kidney too, I wisely decided to head to the train station early. While it seemed to be a modern and nondescript train station on my arrival, I was surprised to walk upon a "hidden" gem when killing time. The wonderful Østbanehallen is some kind of former railway shed (it technically means Eastern Tracks Hall), and is the former part of the station renovated into a wonderful food area with shops and dining options. I grabbed a pizza, and stocked up on some craft beers for in the overnight train to Stavanger at normal retail prices. For those waiting for a train at Oslo's central station, this is the place to kill some time!
Before I knew it, it was time to walk to the platform to board my overnight train to Stavanger. Even though my day in Oslo was very short, I thoroughly enjoyed it. You definitely can see the main sights the city has to offer in one day, but especially if you like museums, there is so much more to see and do in this city, and one day won't do it justice.
Next up: part 3, Oslo to Stavanger by overnight train in a private sleeper compartment