This time luck took us to Norway, it’s one of the most developed countries, however Norwegian Air has very cheap flights and turned out to be a good stopover on our way to the UK.
Oslo is a city with beautiful ancient buildings, interesting public art and impressive modern architecture as well.
It is also very expensive compared to almost any city in the world. However we spent almost nothing on accommodation, the first day we camped in a very green campground high in the city with a panoramic view. When descending you’re alternating between a relaxing forest with sculptures and and amazing views of the city.
The next day we were hosted by a hindu oil engineer, who we met through Couchsurfing, a network of hospitality for travelers which has proven to us that the world is full of generous and friendly people. He has a nice apartment in a quite interesting neighborhood where you find hindus, muslims, etc. Here he receives travelers passing through this amazing city. He also took us to a delicious hindu restaurant.
The harbor is a great place for taking a nap and surviving your jet lag or having a picnic.
Norwegians are very proud of Edward Munch, one of my favorite expressionist painters, so they have dedicated a museum in his honor, The Munch Museum. Unfortunately they don’t let his work The Scream to be photographed. There are also works by other very good painters.
The opera house built by Norwegian firm Snøhetta appears as emerging from the water, and becomes the catalyst for the emergence of a great visual pleasure.
Fuel cell electric cars! I rejoiced to see an actual zero emission vehicle. Oslo opened its third hydrogen refueling station on 2011, fantastic!
Overall is a beautiful clean city. And even though it is an extremely materially seductive place, you don’t really need to go to expensive restaurants and entertainments to have a great time, there are so many great spots along the sea to relax, parks, cafes and museums to visit. Also, if you are brave there are other quite interesting neighborhoods far from the touristic one as well as vast areas of untouched nature that surround Oslo which are just 20 minutes from the city centre.
We then continued our trip to Scotland to attend the wedding of our friends and to be certified as CEB (Cultivating Emotional Balance) teachers.
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” –Leonardo Da Vinci
