Observations of Oslo

September 4-5, 2025

Oslo, Norway

We arrived in Oslo on September 4, and will be docked here for two days. If you are wondering why there wasn't a blog yesterday, that is the reason. We are combining the two days in Oslo into one blog.

This is the Holmenkolllen Ski Junp. (More information below.)

Fun Facts: Norway

• Norway is home to Europe's largest herd of wild reindeer. 

• Skiing originated in Norway, with evidence of its use dating back over 4,000 years. 

• Norway has won more medals at the Winter Olympics than any other country.

• The cheese slicer was invented in Norway. 

• The moose is Norway's national animal. 

• The author Roald Dahl, who had Norwegian parents, drew inspiration from his childhood experiences in Norway for some of his stories. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was inspired by a factory in Oslo.

• Nils Olav, a Norwegian king penguin, was knighted in 2008. Nils Olav is a resident penguin of Edinburgh Zoo. He holds an honorary title as the mascot and symbol of the Norwegian King’s Guard. The current Nils Olav is the third king penguin to hold this honor. The tradition started in 1972.

• Norway is home to Hell. Yes, really! A little over one thousand Norwegians can say they live in Hell. The small village even has its own train station.

• Actor Renee Zellweger is of Norwegian descent.

• Currently there are more Norwegian descendants living in the USA than there are Norwegians in Norway.

• Norwegians love frozen pizza!!!

Fun Facts: Oslo

• The Norwegian Nobel Committee, based in Oslo, confers the Nobel Prize for peace each year.. 

• Oslo created the world’s first “bee highway” in 2015 by providing flowers and artificial beehives citywide to allow bees safe passage. The project was designed to promote biodiversity.

• Oslo is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe.

• American movie Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (episode V) was partly filmed at Finse, near the Oslo-Bergen railway, in March 1979.

• Oslo has 30 restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide!

After the mostly flat countryside in our last two stops, it was nice to see rolling hills covered with trees and vegetation as we sailed into Oslo. The setting with the bay, fjords, and hills is very picturesque. This city has a rich Viking past, and a vibrant city life.

Rain is predicted for the time we are here, but we haven't gotten any so far. Since we have an afternoon excursion today, we spent some time this morning walking around the area near the port.

The Oslo Opera House is located on the Harbor, very close to the ship docks. It is a visually striking building built in 2007. The angular architecture makes it appear to be seemingly arising from the waters of the adjacent fjord. The exterior surfaces are made from Italian marble and white granite. The roof of the building angles down to ground level allowing visitors to walk up to the top to see the spectacular views.

The Oslo Opera House. The view from the water (above); below left is the view of the upper level of the building, and below right is the view from the roof looking out over the city.

Next to the Opera House is the Munch Museum. The museum moved to this location in 2021. It is dedicated to the life and works of Edvard Munch, a Norwegian artist. He is most known for his work "The Scream"

The Munch Museum. Notice the statue on the far right. That is a 29-foot tall statue (shown below) of Munch's mother, done by a different artist to honor Munch. Also below one version of The Scream.

While walking back to the ship we saw several examples of the infrastructure around the city that promotes a non-carbon based sustainable culture.

Electric Trolley. (if you look closely you can see the electric lines above the trolley.)

Below is an electric bus charging station, and electric chargers for parked cars and work trucks. The city also has electric powered ferries, but we didn't see them.

Does this look like fun to you? People rent these saunas in order to have a nice warm sauna and then jump into the really cold water.

Guess which one of us noticed this????

In the afternoon we took a tour around the city. Following are some highlights.

Noble Peace Prize Institute, and the Grand Hotel where recipients and guests stay while they are in town for the ceremony.

Akershus Fortress. This castle/fortress was built in the 1290s.

The King's Palace

The Holmenkolllen Sports Facility

This is the where the picture that opened the blog was taken. The Ski Jump structure was first built in 1882, and has been upgraded and rebuilt 19 times over the years to make it safer and add modern technologies. A skilled skier can reach speeds up to 81 miles per hour on the downhill. The 1952 Winter Olympics were held here. They are five smaller jumps nearby, along with a cross country skiing course. The main stadium can hold 30,000 spectators. It is a truly impressive place.

While driving through the University area we saw a yellow house set apart from the rest of the campus. We couldn't get a good picture, but that was the house where, in the past, the students majoring in Chemistry and Physics stayed. The University didn't want the rest of the University to be in danger in case those students blew something up!!!

Vigeland Park is named after a famous sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). There are 212 bronze and granite sculptures that he designed and/or created over the years displayed around the park. And his manor house is now a museum. Vigeland was also the designer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal. There are not any close-ups of the statues, otherwise this might have been an X-rated post!

And now. our newest blog tradition... The Dog of the Day! There are two shown here because we were in Oslo for two days.

We left Oslo at noon and are traveling to Stavanger. It's overcast, but we are hoping there is no rain tomorrow during our walking tour. Have we thanked you for joining along with us??? We appreciate you reading the blog and also enjoy reading your comments!