Going south... again!

Another two weeks have passed and I’m sitting in a wooden cottage in Gan just outside of Oslo. The sun’s setting and I’m feeling a little sleepy. It’s been a relaxed yet busy day!

Since I last wrote I’ve been on one of the most uncomfortable train journeys I’ve had in a while (it was an overnight train with too much leg room for a shorty like me and weird plastic edges to the seats) although I did get to keep their ‘sleep’ pack which was kind of cool (fleece blanket, more eyemasks and earplugs).

Met a couple of couchsurfing hosts, who were ok and spent some time in Oslo with my friend Hui. I’ve also been on the new farm in Gan for about a week now and it seems to be going well.

Since I’ve already covered Oslo a bit in here, it would be a bit boring to go through it all again for you. I will give you a quick run down of the bits that were new this time though.

First up is the City Hall..

It’s pretty hard to miss as it dominates the harbour where you get the boat to Bygdøy. Started in the 1930’s and not completed until after the end of WWII. It’s were the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held every year. Even though its in red brick I like its almost brutalist lines. It’s also filled with quite a lot of murals depicting various Norwegian legends and historic moments. A lot of the decoration, including the murals seem to focus on hard work and the importance of the ‘common man’ both within the city and the country side. Or at least that’s the impression I get. There’s even one by Munch. I think it might be this one...

I also found a couple of cool paintings in there of the Norwegian King and Queen...

I particularly love the King’s portrait. It looks like he’s striding purposefully out of a cobwebbed room.

Hui and I also managed to catch the changing of the guard at the Palace...

a little less drawn out than ours but still an overly long process for something that could take a minute to do!

We spent an afternoon on one of the islands in Oslo’s harbour, having a BBQ with the couchsurfing host we were staying with and a couple of Belgian surfers that were staying with us too. It was really lovely weather and I was gutted I’d forgotten to bring my swimming costume. Still it was great to just chill out, chat a bit and explore the shoreline.

There was also some fortifications on the island...

which we found, along with a really cool, old abbey that was on the island...

Those of you that have been dragged around the ruins of many a church/abbey/castle with me before, will know just how much childish glee I get from this kind of thing!

We also took a tram out to see a well known sight in Oslo, the Ski Jump Tower at Holmenkollen...

it’s 60m from the ground and an Austrian holds the current record of 139.5 meters from March 2010. It’s a pretty awesome piece of engineering.

There was also time to fit in a lesser known attraction (although it’s still quite famous) which is Vigeland’s Mausoleum. This time its Emanuel Vigeland (the older brother of the guy that did all the statues in the Vigeland Sculpture Park that I mentioned in the ‘Norway :)’ post).

It’s one of the places that I’d probably highly recommend you go, if you get a chance.  It’s just a barrel vaulted hall, which is covered with fresco’s depicting human life from birth to death. There’s minimal lighting in there and some of the fresco’s are quite explicit but its not really erotic. More... hmm.. well actually its difficult to explain.  Once you’re there and looking at the fresco’s. Watching what initially appears to be a few weak spot lights, slowly brighten as you get used to them and reveal more of the fresco’s. Listening to the acoustics that magnify the slight scuff of protective shoe covering against the floor, to almost gunshot loudness. Well... it’s impressive and slightly humbling, in a way.

Anyway, don’t just take my word for it, you should go and take a look!

Also because of the lighting and rules, you’re not allowed to take any photos, so I’ve borrowed this photo from the website...

in fact, thinking about it, you should probably check out the site it explains it better than I can...
click here!

I think it’s joined my top 3 list of things to do in Oslo!

We also spent a lovely couple of hours walking around some of the forest in the north of Oslo, there are tonnes of ‘trails’ to follow and we stumbled across this really cool piece of wood.

I think it looks a bit like a dragon..

Other than that, we went out a couple of evenings and spent our last night at a place called Blå. Typical that we find one of the best nights/places in Oslo on the night we leave. Blå is set in an old warehouse near the ‘hip’ area in Oslo. It reminded Hui and I of a mix between Shoreditch and Brick Lane. They have tonnes of things on, gigs, poetry etc  but Sundays is reserved for a Jazz night. Loads of different artists spend the day jamming with the band and then do their thing that night, it feels like one big jam session but very slick and really fun! If you’re looking for somewhere to hang out then I’d recommend Blå, even during the day.  Oh and they have the coolest outdoor chandelier I’ve even seen!

Farm stuff next. ooooo!