2011.08.23 - Summer days

Walking safaris and days in the sun

We are being blessed with some great summer days here in Oslo. It's not all beach and sun, but compared to the weather we experienced in Malmö and Denmark ... this is tropical! Including the tropical downpours, although they tend to last a full day instead of the two hours they last in the South Pacific (excluding New Caledonia where it always rain)!

We have been exploring the city and the nearby mountains by foot so far. The mountains are very accessible with several stops on the city train line right outside the wilderness. So a week ago we took the train up to Holmekollen - the ski jump arena overlooking the city. we were greeted by the huge hotel and a concert by an Italian symphony orchestra. A bit of an unconventional place for a concert there among the concrete, but Holmekollen is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Oslo and I guess that was the decider. From the jump arena we passed the traditional church (there was no way Paula was going up to the top of the jumping ramp!). We could not enter the church as the doors were closing for a wedding just as we arrived, so we continued up the mountain. An outdoory lunch, a walk among the bikers and a long talk later, we emerged at the bottom of the mountain by the lake of Sognvann. No more energy left, so jumped on the train back home.

The next day we kept in town and good thank goodness for that. It started raining and we therefore sought shelter at the National Gallery together with half of the city. It was really busy but we did manage to get a clear view of Munch's "Skrig". I am very surprised at how many tourists I see here in Oslo. One would think that the prices would take off the peak, but the cruise ships keep coming and the pedestrian street is teeming. So is Aker Brygge - our backyard restaurant/bar strip.

Tuesday we went to a free concert with the Oslo Philharmonics at Rådhuspladsen - the Citty Hall square. They played Mozart's 9th symphony and to my inexperienced ears, they did a fantastic job. It was great!

Saturday we did another walking tour of the city in the sun. This time to Majorstuen and Wigelandsparken where we came across some pretty good tennis games. It is another surprise that this city has so many tennis courts. I don't imagine that the season is very long and I don't see the courts very busy, so ....

In the evening we were invited to a party by our friends from Korea - Svein Olav and Sarah. They returned from Korea a few months ago and were now ready for a housewarming party. They have bought a really nice house in the southern suburb and invited a lot of ex Korea expats, i.e. a lot of people we know also. It was a really nice break for us - we have so far not been able to hook up with that many of our friends as they are working, fixing their house etc. So lots alone twosome (no complaints there!).

Sunday we took a chance and headed for the mountain again. The forecast was rain, so we packed rain gear. Made it up to the good view at Vetakollen and just finished lunch when it started to pour. But a little rain was not going to stop us, so we walked all the way back home again - 3 hours in the rain! As we say in Scandinavia: There is no bad weather - only bad clothes!