I finally made it to Norway and ended my trip in Oslo where I spent most of my money at a pub with Norwegian traveller Gunnar Garfors who has visited all 198 countries in the world. Here are some useful sights and activities for your planning list.
Oslo City Hall – absolutely loved it. From the outside its dominate and grand and from the inside, it is artistically magnificent.
They hold the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony here.
Askershus Fortress is a castle on the harbour which dates back to the 1290’s. Below, inside Askershus Fortress, Oslo
Askershus Fortress, Oslo
Oslo Cathedral – churches don’t dominate Norway the way they do in Denmark, Sweden, Finland or Estonia but Oslo Cathedral is prominent and at the time of my visit, was being renovated.
Norwegian Parliament – Norway is one of the most expensive countries in Europe, also one of the richest and also a country which needs skilled workers in certain industries and it pays well.
Norwegian Parliament buildings, Oslo.
Oslo Opera and Ballet Theatre: the grandeur of Opera and Ballet in Scandinavia has progressed through the decades and inspires the epic new building down by the harbour, opened as recently as 2008.
The fantastic Norwegian Ballet and Opera building.
The Royal Palace: sitting triumphantly at the top of what could be Oslo’s “golden mile” is the Royal Palace.
Ulleval Stadium: Norwegian football has only taken off in the last 25 years, they made their first World Cup in 1994 and in the 1998 World Cup they even beat Brazil and won their group. The Ulleval Stadium is where the national team play and it’s a bit of the city on the metro line 6 (red line) to Ulleval Stadium.
Frogner Park is actually the number one tourist sight in Oslo – essentially a massive park full of statues. In fact it’s the largest park of statues in the world made by one artist- Gustav Vigeland.
The angry boy with his willy out.
One of the most famous statues is the “angry boy” or “willy boy” statue which takes a while to find and is smaller in real life than you’d expect having seen the photos. It’s on one of the main bridges in the park.
Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway.
Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway.
Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway.
Nobel Peace Prize Centre: of personal interest was the Nobel Peace Prize Centre, having helped with a Northern Irish election campaign back in my days at Belvoir Tech in Belfast in 1998, it was nice to see the reminders of David Trimble and John Hume. Two Northern Irishmen who made strides for peace in my country back in 1998.
Nobel Peace Prize Centre in Oslo
Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize Winners – David Trimble and John Hume, 1998
And lastly, a must visit is The Munchmuseet, which is the famous museum of Edvard Munch who is well known for the painting “The Scream”.
The post Backpacking in Norway: Top 10 Sights in Oslo appeared first on Don’t Stop Living.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
