Adventures in Europe: Oslo, Norway

One of my favourite things about our trip in northern Europe was using cruiseferries to get from place to place.  Not only are these a much more human way to travel than planes or even trains, they let you travel while you sleep, meaning less waking hours spent traveling and more waking hours for touring. 

The first cruiseferry we took was DFDS's Pearl Seaways from Copenhagen to Oslo. 

We found the prices for our interior cabins very reasonable, especially compared to the costs in the Nordic countries.  The cabins are small--on this ship we slept in bunks, but entirely adequate, and quite comfortable.  On this particular trip, we also purchased the buffet dinner, which was very expensive, albeit an interesting experience and a good way to sample some Scandinavian cuisine, like pickled herring and caviar, for example.

I personally love being on ships, particularly on outer decks, and particularly when I can see land.  During our evening on board we could see Denmark from the port side of the ship, and Sweden at starboard.

   

When we awoke the next morning we were in Oslo fjord, and the gorgeous Norwegian coast could be seen from both sides of the ship.

By 10:00 we were in port in Oslo, with its brilliant opera house just across the harbour.

We lingered on board as long as possible enjoying the harbour view, and then walked only a few blocks to our hostel (the Sentrum [skip it, other than location, it's lousy]). 

We were able to leave our bags there, and then began a walking tour of the downtown sites, such as Storting (parliament);

parks;

fountains;

the university;

the National Theater; 

the Royal Palace;

a replica Viking ship;

and, best of all, Olso's magnificent and renowned City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize presentation is held annually.  

City Hall is unlike any civic building I have ever seen, with amazing artwork inside and out, including an incredible clock, which not only displays the time, but also the signs of the zodiac.

We were only in Oslo for one night, barely more than 24 hours, but I certainly was very pleased with all we saw, and didn't feel like we had missed much, although I absolutely enjoyed everything I got to see.  In the future it would really be more of Norway outside of Oslo I would be most interested in seeing.

The next morning we went to see the opera house up close (you can climb to the roof);

a family of trolls;

the Oslo cathedral (which was far more interesting than I expected, but I have no photos); and an open air beach volleyball tournament which was happening outside of the train station.

At the train station that afternoon we caught the train to Sweden.