Off to Norway!

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Geo: 59.9299, 10.8688

Travel to Norway was mostly by divided highway including toll roads and tunnels (3.7 K and 3.8 K). The topography is very similar to BC. Our hotel is in one of the suburbs but quite close to the transit system which is frequent and economical because they have a seniors rate.

It is another hot day about 30+. Most of the temperatures in Scandinavia have been breaking records for several days now. However, as we were sitting in the restaurant in Oslo this evening the sky opened with heavy rain and some hail. Thankfully it didn't last long and we didn't need to get the umbrella out. We are not too sure what the weather holds for tomorrow.

The first signs of settlement here date back to 900 and by 1300 Oslo was an important trading centre. In 1624 it was renamed Christiania. In the early 1800's it was still small but grew rapidly. From 1850 to 1900 the population grew from 30,000 to 220,000. Norway gained its independence from Sweden in 1905 and reverted to the name Oslo in 1925. The current population is 630,000.

We took the transit into downtown and wandered the streets. There are many attractive older buildings in good condition. Also, in the central area there is a tree lined street followed by a Central Park area with fountains and pools which considering the temperature had become children's play areas.

We walked up to the Royal Palace. Entry is not permitted. There are ceremonial guards at the entry and we viewed a drill demonstration of what is probably the Royal Guard.

Along the way we saw the Parliament Buildings and then headed down towards the water to enquire about the ferry to Bydgoy which is across fro the city centre. There are several museums located there. We visited the Nobel Peace Centre as well. It is located in the harbour area. The democracy map in the Peace Centre was interesting because very few countries (Canada included) have what is considered to be a full functioning democratic system. We share that tradition with the Scandinavian countries and Australia. The US does not fare as well. One of the exhibits also focused on the social media and it's influence.

There seems to be a larger ethnic population in Oslo. Also, there seems to be a strong democratic influence reinforced even by the signs on the washrooms.

Meal prices are very expensive but we did manage to find a very nice small restaurant which was more reasonable - 2 meals + 2 beers = $ 65.

The hotel is a very modern Radisson Bleu. This is a conference hotel chain throughout Scandinavia.

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Comments

[Carla]

The food presentation was wonderful. What a beautiful city.