The Nordics | Norway: A Night in Oslo (Part Five)

Since we were heading to Tromso early the next morning, we only had half a day in Oslo. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we barely took a breather before heading straight out for a wander.

Oslo was full of Christmas spirit too, with decorations everywhere along the streets.

Every so often, we spotted police patrolling the streets on horseback. I did a quick search, and apparently riding gives them a higher vantage point so they can see farther and scan crowds more quickly. They can also get around pedestrian streets, which makes them quite mobile. The horses do leave manure behind, though, but thankfully it gets cleaned up pretty quickly.

We followed the street to a nearby Christmas market to see what fun things we could find.

Right as we entered the market, we spotted a stall selling almonds and bought a bag. They were pretty decent, so we snacked as we wandered.

In the middle of the market, we found a crowd gathered together singing. We had no idea what they were singing, but we went over to join in the fun anyway, hahaha.

Video of the singing at the market

There were all sorts of food stalls, and we also came across an amusement-park-like area with ice skating, a Ferris wheel, a carousel…

The market wasn’t very big, so we finished looking around pretty quickly. After leaving, we kept wandering through Oslo’s streets and happened to pass a young Norwegian guy delivering food by bicycle. He looked about as laid-back as you could possibly get.

A little farther on, we reached Oslo City Hall. Its biggest claim to fame is this:the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony takes place here, with the ceremony held inside City Hall on 12/10 (month/day) every year.

We walked a little farther to the side, and the streets were practically deserted. It was about five thirty in the afternoon.

There was a sculpture park beside City Hall. I snapped a few photos of the statues and looked them up. Their themes were things closer to everyday life, like life itself, health, and family.

Continuing from City Hall toward the waterfront, we found a statue of a diver. Pretty cool.

By around six in the evening, most streets were already empty, apart from the occasional person walking a dog or delivering food.

After a loop around the area, it was getting late and time for dinner. We looked around, only to find that most restaurants required advance reservations. In the end, we had to settle for food from a convenience store.

I have to say, Norway really is expensive. A regular bottle of mineral water worked out to 20 yuan. Definitely not cheap. We bought a few things to eat and kept walking, eventually finding ourselves at a museum. I looked it up: it was called the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. It was already closed by then, so we just wandered around outside. Even out there, we could see plenty of strange, very abstract sculptures.

In the distance, we also spotted a tree decked out in all sorts of colors. I guess it had been specially decorated for Christmas, since it was coming up soon.

You often see saunas like these along the waterfront. I looked into it a little, and it turns out this is a local tradition: people sit in the sauna until they’re really hot, then jump straight into the sea. Going from hot to cold like that is a big no-no back home in China, hahaha.

We wandered along, stopping here and there, while Oslo’s streets glistened in the drizzle. Every so often, we passed a few pedestrians or food delivery riders, all just going about their own business. The streets were very clean, and people gave each other plenty of space.

Honestly, Norway might be the place with the most personal space of anywhere I’ve been. Whether they’re queuing at a bus stop or walking down the street, Norwegians try to stay at least a meter away from other people. That feeling of everyone being in their own world might sound a little unfriendly, but as an introvert, I actually rather enjoyed it.

Still, this visit really was a bit too short, and we only got a quick look at lots of places. If I come back to Oslo, I’ll definitely give it another couple of days.

After a whole day on the move, it was finally time to rest. Early tomorrow morning, we’d head farther north in the blue hour, flying into the Arctic Circle to Tromso.