A taste of Oslo

We bought day passes for the metro/bus system and headed down to town. The rail reaches all the way up the mountain to bring skiers, hikers and residents up, which was very handy for us as the stop was only 450m away. There were some pretty nice views going down and it was interesting seeing the housing styles enroute. There were some fabulous wooden houses, and it seems most of the houses we saw outside the central city were wooden. And why not? There is hardly a shortage in the country.

Many of the roofs have grass on them. I believe it soaks up rain lessening the run-off to drainwater.

First day we planned to gt our bearings. We took a metro into town which was a small mistake as we couldn't see anything! Anyway, from the central station most touristy things were only a short walk away, so we chose something a long way away to visit. First the opera house,on the waterfront...

So many modes of transport! Segue, ski things, electric scooters, bikes, and of course walking. 

The Opera House roof can be climbed for some great views

Heaps of people take in the views.

I think the sculpture is supposed to evoke sails. It does for me anyway. 

The sun catches it in all  sorts of angles and the view changes as you walk around so it's a bit of a shape-shifter

Some of the newer buildings. The shorter white one is the Deloittes building

The big building has offices and I think the harbour master's office

Look closely at the tower on the horizon and you may see Reggie. Yep, we're parked way up there! On the left edge of the ridge is a ski run.

Wigs from various operas were displayed in the windows

We made our way through all the redevelopment to a sculpture park around the harbour. The area was a key point historically, with pre-historic finds, medieval farms, Swedish encampments and a German war cemetary (where sailors from the Bluecher made up most of the dead). Some of the sculptures were pretty cool, others rather inaccessible.

Another mode of transport.

This was neat (Levitating Woman). Metal sheet so it must have been complicated to make.

Another bunker. Well, a lookout post or MG position.

This was nearly flat but a full face head could be seen as if 3D. Clever.

Larger than life Walking Woman

When he's not pickling sharks and cows this is what Damien Hirst gets up to: Anatomy of an Angel 

Dilemma. Nice spot for it.

Oslo has committed to minimising cars and trucks in the city so everything is going underground. The main road in from the south goes under the harbour all the way across the city. There are scooters and bikes to get around the city and trains, etc, are bike friendly. The number of Tesla's we saw suggests they might also subsidise electric cars.

This is one end of the tunnel.

We took the tram back into the centre of the city and wandered some more. Since it was included in our day pass we jumped on a ferry to one of the harbour islands and just stayed on for the return trip. Should have got off as it turns out Hovedoy used to be the shipbuilding centre for the Norwegian navy.

Parliament buildings

From the Parliament to the Palace

There were several bike schemes,some electric, though not these, and several e-scooter schemes as well.

The Radhus. Almost a Soviet style.

The old Akershus fortress. I never got in to see it, the Resistance Museum or the Armed Forces Museum - maybe we'll come back for a winter visit and see them then.

This is an experimental autonomous vehicle. Two were beetling up and down the wharf so we went for a ride. It's not completely autonomous as there was a bloke in it doing something. We never got an explanation in English unfortunately so don't know how it works.

And back to the top again.