Our mini-citytrip in Oslo was filled with countless adventures. And by adventures, I mean resting a whole lot, and eating some actual food not cooked in a small pot on a small gas burner. But above all, we walked. Mainly to rest my knees, but also for a change of pace. Since there was no rush, we had the luxury of leisurely exploring Norway’s capital. And by all accounts, it is one of the nicer ones I have visited.
Now, I need to preface this by admitting I am not a city person whatsoever. I prefer peace and quiet. Which is precisely why I enjoyed Oslo so much. The greenery and spaciousness made it very enjoyable to walk everywhere. It’s also eerily quiet for a city, because nearly every car we saw was an EV. In fact, they accounted for 93% of all car sales in Norway last year. No other country comes even close – in both sales and market share. As a result spotting a fossil fuel car in Oslo proved to be a challenge. It does help that Norway is one of the richest countries in Europe – and one of the world’s largest exporters of oil. But at least most of the electricity in the country is produced by hydroelectricity.
After spending a couple of days exploring Oslo by foot, we took a couple hours to explore what would be the highlight of our trip: the sculpture park. Vigeland park, as it’s called, is Gustav Vigeland’s life work, comprising over 200 sculptures in granite, bronze and wrought iron. Being used to the Belgian idea of art in public spaces – which is almost always some basic twisted iron shape, preferably totally rusted – it was quite the pleasant experience. We finished up the trip with a visit to the Norwegian Maritime Museum – a decently interesting museum, albeit one that was a tad all over the place – and some fine discount dining.
Our ferry to Fredrikshavn, Denmark, started of alright. We spent the entire first hour sightseeing as we left the Oslo Fjord. As the trip would take nearly 10 hours, we all went below deck afterwards to find a good resting spot – at our own pace. But as we left the fjord, it all went downhill. And then quickly uphill again as the boat started pitching, then rolling and then heaving. All together they combined for what felt like the absolute worst carousel ride of my life. Even Flor – who normally doesn’t struggle with sea sickness – had a rough time. Now, I myself get seasick on a pontoon… So I was positively having an all around not great time. At some point I was convinced we had set foot on the wrong ferry. This was Charon’s ferry. You know, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. Taking us to hell (Denmark).* But at 1 am the next morning, we arrived. All alive.
*Author’s note: as Myrddin is half-Swedish in spirit, I am legally allowed to make fun of Denmark with his and Sweden’s blessings.
The bike trip of a lifetime 