Got. To Oslo Day 7 - Day off in Oslo

I got woken up at 4am this morning by the guys coming back from their night out on the town. Still managed to get back to sleep for another couple of hours afterwards though. Mauro and I got up early and even went to breakfast just after 7am. The hostel is an extension of the hotel next door and so breakfast was served in their dining room. We both started off with a bowl of cereal before deciding to have a cooked breakfast as well. There was a tray full of pancakes as well as sliced sausage and potatoes. We both loaded up our plates and then returned to our seats. Mauro took a bite of one of the pancakes. His face immediately went sour and said that it tasted awful. I took a bite as well and immediately did the same. What we thought we pancakes turned out to be something a little less savoury. It was like a pancake with fish mixed into it as well except that the fish tasted off. Obviously an acquired taste.

After breakfast we had a wander round the park next to the hotel. There was a river running through it so we had a stroll along the banks, soaking up the morning sun. A man on the other side of the river bank stood there in full view of everyone with his trousers down at his knees. Thankfully he wasn't doing anything else but it gave us a good laugh. On a more serious point, however, after that I started to notice that there were a good few homeless people. Even in rich countries it's still a problem. I did notice that they sell a Norwegian version of the Big Issue.

We decided to head into town for a wander round. We passed by a sports shops that sold bikes so decided to investigate. They had a lot of nice bikes in there. Carbon fibre frames costing a few thousand pounds and some less pricy... well relatively speaking. Prices are nuts here. We found a carbon fibre bottle cage which was about 700 NOK (approx £70). Yikes!!!

I wanted to grab a drink as I think I was still dehydrated from all the cycling we had been doing. We went into a sandwich shop and I looked in the fridges. I couldn't believe my eyes. A bottle of Pepsi which would normally cost a pound or so back home was 280 NOK (approx £3). I bought the bottle grudgingly. Having said that, if you are prepared to shop around (I was dying of thirst and so couldn't wait) then you can find cheaper places especially in supermarkets.

After that we headed back to the hostel where we met Pete. He had just come back from Oslo's main airport where he had just dropped Bob off. He had to fly back to Gothenburg for a meeting. He would fly back the next morning... staying in a luxury hotel no doubt on expenses... lucky man. Poor Shaun was also heading off as well. Unfortunately he couldn't get the Friday off work and so he had to fly back to Glasgow today. Mauro decided to tag along with Pete and Shaun to Oslo Torp airport, a round trip of around 4 hours.

Fred, John, Tom and I sat in the communal area of the hostel's reception area. John and Tom played table football while Fred and I did a little work on the final newsletter. Aftwerwards we all decided to head on into town to do some exploring. Before then I decided to get changed and find my shades as it was a sunny day. When I was locking up my bag I suddenly couldn't find the keys to my bag. I searched everywhere but could I find them? The realisation suddenly hit me that I must have dropped them in my bag just before locking it. Nooooo!!! I had visions of me having to rip open my bag. Luckily I was able to open it up and find the key. Could have ended badly...

Fred took point as he had been here before. The first place we visited was Youngstorget which used to be Oslo's greatest fruit market. It was also a place for political demonstrations and in fact a couple of unions have their headquarters here. There was a small market on today. I bet my wife wishes she was here. Markets and car boot sales are her religion. ;-)

We wandered around the shops before we entered Karl Johan's Gate. This street forms part of a square, much like George Square in the centre of Glasgow except a little more picturesque... okay a lot. The street contains the Olso Parliament building at one end, and the National Theatre building as well as the Royal Palace at the other end. In the middle is a park type area with a fountain and trees.

By now we were feeling hungry and so we decided to go to the Hard Rock Café. It was a stunning day and so we wanted to sit outside on the pavement. We had to wait a little but it was worth it. We bought a burger each (cost about £10.. Nachos were around £12.. Yikes!!!

We decided to head for the harbour area to explore. On the way there we passed Oslo's city hall building. This is a huge dark-red brick building which was designed in the 1920s but not finished until after WWII in 1950. From the outside it's perhaps not the prettiest of buildings but once you are inside it's quite impressive. There is a large hall which has a huge painting at the far end. To be honest I joked that it looked as though it had been coloured in by kids with crayons. Still, it was an impressive sight. Fred then remarked that they had awful curtains. :-)

Around the square the city hall sits in there are a number of tourist shops... and you know we just had to go in and have a look. They were full of the usual touristy stuff... trolls, hats, jumpers, various trinkets with the Norwegian flag, etc. I tried to find my wife something but couldn't see anything worth buying.

We headed for the busy harbour area. There are lots of offices and accommodation around here as well as restaurants, bars, shops, etc. There are ships and luxury yachts moored up along the jetty as well. To be honest, this is the way I would have liked the development around the Finnieston area of Glasgow to have been like. There is a lot of life in the area and the people are friendly.

We sat and ate some ice cream we bought and just soaked in the atmosphere. Tom then got a text from Pete saying they were back from dropping Shaun off at the airport. I had the key so I had to make my way back to the hostel. I have a pretty good sense of direction so I was able to find my way back pretty easily. After meeting up with Pete and Mauro we headed back into town and to where I left Tom, John and Fred. When we got there they were sitting outside one of the bars. I shuddered to think what it was going to cost us but we ordered some beers.

Afterwards, Pete, Mauro and I went exploring further around the harbour area. Again, like Glasgow, it has been subject to a lot of investment. Mauro wanted to go see the new opera house which you could apparently walk up on to the roof of. As we came out of a shop after buying some juice a guy stopped us and asked where we were from. We told him what we had been up to and then he told us about how he had cycled all over Scotland. He then gave us rough directions for the opera house and with that we set off.

On the way there we had to pass through the Akershus Fortress which was built in the late 13th century to protect Oslo from invaders. It was occupied by the Nazis during WWII and after the war a number of traitors were executed here by firing squad. From the ramparts you get an amazing view over the Oslo fjord. On the hill behind Olso you can also see a ski jump that was used in the 1952 Winter Olympics.

It was getting late so we only had time for a quick look around before heading for the opera house. After asking for some directions we eventually found it. The building is shaped liked two wedges; one sitting on top of the other. You can walk up the first wedge and then on to the second one. The building was completed this year ahead of schedule and way under budget. How often does that happen these days? Anyway, it's a fairly steep climb up the roof. Once we reached the top, Mauro did his best Rocky impersonation. I guess that's how we were all feeling then after the journey.

Again, the view from the top of the building was great. You could see the fjord again along with the harbour and the city around that area. We stayed a while admiring the scenery but by now it was after 7:30pm and was beginning to get dark. On the way back to the hostel Tom phoned and said that they would bring in pizzas for everyone again. Not the healthiest of diets considering our healthy regime for the past week but certainly a welcome one.

When we got back to the hostel someone else had taken up residency in Shaun's bed. He turned up a little later on. I forget his name but he was originally from Iran. He was persecuted back home for printing a Christian newspaper and so had to flee. He spent time in Turkey before coming to Oslo where he works as a web developer. Mauro, Pete and I laughed as we all realised we were in the same business. The guys arrived a little bit later on and we tucked into the pizzas. By the end of the night there was a pile of around 16 pizza boxes in the corner of the room.

All in all we had a great day. Was good to be able to relax and do some exploring in such a great city... even if it is so expensive. Never did get to see Edvard Munch's "The Scream" but perhaps another time. Tomorrow we were heading back home again.