Sidesory: Northern Lightning ~ Oslo Day 1

25-Feb-2025

First things first, I've caught Con Crud, which is bad news for our plans to explore Oslo.

 

I'm not gonna let  that stop me though, so I force  myself to  get  up. Right across from our bedroom window there's what  looks like a ballet school.

At daylight, I notice that this  Airbnb is extremely catty.

Meanwhile, Theria resides in our bedroom, as usual.

Also, I am happy to note that this place featues a dishwasher.

 And  here's my laptop-friendly workspace.

After eating the remaining cream cheese sandwiches for  breakfast, we head out. Necessitated  by  my condition, today's stray should only be about 7km  long.

Today, it's kinda cold and cloudy, but still not as cold as in Odense.

At first, we walk through the Elgparken, which still has a bit of snow lying around.
 

We follow the run of the stream Akerselva  for a while here.

Eventually, we arrive at what seems to be a tram mine line of Oslo, with at least one tram passing by  every minute or so.

For some reason, the pedestrians' lights always show two red lights when they're red.

We walk across the Youngstorget,  which for some strange reason features a random barrier gate.

 

They also have these neat trash cans with separate panten holders here. In fact, those come in a variety of designs.

Next, we walk through a walking mall, passing by El Dorado along the way.

And here's the super-massive chunk that s the Oslo Domkirke.

We walk past he Rainbow Road.

And scurrilously, we come across  a van from the Deutsche Bahn. What's  that doing all the way up here?

We next walk  across the Studenterlunden Park, which features the Nationaltheatret.

And here's the domineering  and massive Oslo Rådhus.

Since it's cold outside and I'm not exactly super energetic today, we decided to  head for the Viking Planet today, which is a digital viking museum.

Inside, there's lots of movies explaining about  the vikings, as well as few digital exhibits that you can rotate freely on the screen.

There's also an immersive 3D experience with VR googles, telling the story of a viking raid gone horribly wrong (I think?). In the end  I walk  away from that with more questions than answers though.

 

There's also this badass projector array projecting a show on a 270° screen.

And also some technical difficulties.

There's also a holographic stage, where virtual actors act out traditional viking songs.

In the museum store, there's a bunch of interesting products  available, such as Moose Poo and Reindeer Noses. 

After that, we head down to the shore of the Oslo Fjord.

We walk past the Akershus festning.

And  then, we head for lunch in the Café Skansen, which is another traditional Norwegian food place that  Robert researched. It's quite cozy, and I for my part am very happy to be sitting right next to the fireplace.

There, I  have the Pickled Herring, while Robert goes for fish cream soup. However, in my present condition, it takes me quite some  effort to eat  it all.

Afterwards, we walk  down the streets until we reach the shoreline once again.

We arrive there just as an Oslo  Fjord Cruise ship arrives. We spontaneously decide to get on board.  However, it  is  still some time until boarding  can begin.

So, we stray  around the shoreline for a bit coming across Salt, which appears to be a nomadic art project of sorts.

And then, there's also these floating saunas.

After  that,  it is time for us to board the Vision of the Fjords,  which  is the  world's  first electric hybrid vessel built in carbon fibre.

And then we're off, cruising  around the Oslo Fjord for an hour and a half.

Along the cruise, we see the fortress-like building of the KongshavnVGS,  which is a high school, I think.

Here's the Akershus festning  from he seaside.

And  likewise, the Oslo Rådhus.

Here's the Astrup Fearnley Museum Of Modern Art.

And the Frammuseet, which exhibits a 19th century polar exploration ship.

There's  also a lot of modern  ferries going back and forth across the fjord.

Here's a tiny lighthouse built atop a rock not even 250m² big. Nowadays,it serves as a restaurant, and you have to take a small boat from the shore to get there.

Here's an even smaller lighthouse. That one  is unmanned, though.

There's a total of 5 major islands that the cruise takes us past. One of them apparently was at one point being scouted for the location of a Disney amusement park with roller coasters and all, but it was instead made into a nature preserve.

There's also two islands featuring historic  gun batteries on their cliffs.

There's also another automated lighthouse, which is used  as a roost by ravens and cormorants.

And over that way lies the container harbor of Oslo,  with its four mighty cranes.

The cruise is now slowly coming  to an end, as is the daylight, and the lights of the city illuminate the bay.

Next, there's the huge Munch museum, which displays art by the famous artist who painted "The Scream", and was born north of Oslo.

 And whatever in Lerra that is.

This ski-slope-like building  is the Operahuset Oslo.

And here's the docks for those floating saunas.

Back at the docks, I notice  what might just be the charging cable for the ship.

And then, we head  over to the Oslo Sentralstasjon, where I  withdraw some money and get myself some souvenirs. There's also an interesting playground outside, as well as a frozen pond.

 

By now,  it has started to  rain, and with it getting quite dark by now, we start heading home.

On the way, we try to shop for bread and cheese once again. This time we find a proper supermarket, the MENY.

 And then, we head back home to our Airbnb.

 We also bought  some tea and orange  juice, both of which I immediately start consuming upon arrival. Meanwhile Robert heads back out again, headed for a food hall in search of some cheese.

Meanwhile,  I  got some tomato  soup at the store, which is always my preferred food when I'm not feeling well.

I also find this itty-bitty little grater in one of the drawers while looking for a pot.

And that's it for today. I hope tomorrow I'll feel better, but that is yet uncertain. At any rate, I  hope I'll  get to explore Oslo some more. So  until then, be of great cheer!