2 June 2018, Saturday
This morning, I woke up relatively late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at my hostel at 9am. For once, I was not having croissants bought from the supermarket the night before because breakfast was included in my room booking. Food in Norway is very expensive so I was happy that there was a good buffet spread here. I savoured my bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms and smoothies and also had some fresh fruits. A nutritious power breakfast to start the day right!
At 9:50am, I arrived at Jernbanetorget, the starting point for the Oslo Free Walking Tour (click here). The meeting point is at the tiger statue located in front of Oslo Sentralstasjon. The company organises free walking tours conducted in English at 10am and 1pm and also a Spanish one at 10am daily. Like the other walking tours I’ve previously joined in Europe, this tour is “free” but you are strongly encouraged to tip the guide at the end of the tour.
The turnout was huge and they had to split us into two English groups. I joined the group led by Laura, who was originally from Romania but she had been living in Oslo for the past three years. My previous guide in Copenhagen, Luis, was also not a local. Seems like it’s quite common for foreigners to take up jobs as free walking tour guides in their adopted countries.
The fact that they can make a living out of it means that they must be doing quite well. I have nothing against them, but I feel that having a locally-born guide would be a more authentic experience. However, a foreign-born guide could turn out to be more knowledgeable because he/she would have to make much more effort to learn about the new country, and in the process, discover things that even the locals don’t know. In the end, it all boils down to whether the guide is competent and whether he/she is able to establish a good rapport with the guests.
Laura started the tour by telling us about the tiger statue, which was put up when Oslo celebrated its millennial (1000-year) anniversary in 2000. The 4.5m-long bronze statue was made by Norwegian sculptor Elena Engelsen and donated by property management company Eiendomsspar AS.
The reason why a tiger was chosen is because Oslo is also known as Tigerstaden (“The Tiger City”). The name was first referenced by Norwegian poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s 1870 poem “Sidste Sang”, which described a fight between a horse and a tiger. The tiger represented the dangerous city and the horse represented the safe countryside. These days, Oslo is not known for being dangerous, but rather, exciting and happening.
Also located in front of the central station is another sculpture titled Knus nazismen (“Smash Nazism”). The controversial sculpture depicts a huge, gleaming silver hammer smashing a silver swastika atop a large boulder. It was unveiled on 1 May 2015 by five surviving members of Osvaldgruppen (the Osvald Group).
The Osvald Group were a resistance group led by Asbjørn Sunde, a resistance leader with Soviet ties and communist sympathies. During the Second World War, he carried out acts of sabotage against the Nazi German invasion of Norway. His cover name was Osvald Pettersen so the group he led was called the Osvald Group. The sculpture is controversial because Sunde was convicted in 1954 for spying for the Soviet Union, and his communist leanings meant that the Osvald Group’s resistance efforts were never properly recognised.
At the base of the sculpture is a quote by Asbjørn Sunde that translates as: “It was worth fighting for the freedom – for all nations, for all classes, for all people”. Two bronze plaques adorn the other side of the boulder. The one on the left lists the names of the 61 NSB State Railway employees who lost their lives during WWII, and the one on the right lists the names of the 35 men of the Osvald Group who died.
After that, we walked to the harbour where we had a view of Operahuset Oslo (Oslo Opera House). The building is supposed to resemble an iceberg floating in the sea, with its sloping rooftop extending gently to the water’s edge. It cost 4 billion krones to build and it is one of the most sonically advanced concert halls in the world. Laura also told us that Ekeberg, the hill behind the Opera House, was supposedly where Edvard Munch got the inspiration to create his famous 1893 “The Scream” painting from.
Next, we passed by Oslo Børs, the Oslo stock exchange. The humble building houses the world’s smallest stock exchange. As we walked along Rådhusgata, we saw the red-bricked Garmanngården, one of the city’s oldest standing buildings. It was built in 1622, making it almost 400 years old. Apparently, red was the cheapest colour to paint a building, followed by orange, and white was the most expensive colour.
Along the way, we also passed by my Saga Hostel Oslo Central hotel/hostel building and also some houses that once belonged to Jews. Outside these houses, small gold plates have been placed on the pavements to remember the occupants who were driven out when Nazi Hitler invaded and occupied Norway during World War II. Some of the Jews managed to escape to Sweden but many were deported and killed.
Soon, we reached Christiania Torv, a historic square where some of Oslo’s oldest and most significant buildings are found, including the first Town Hall built in 1641. The yellow building in front of the square was also where the executioner used to live. Back in the day, public executions were carried out at the open square for all to see. The building is believed to be one of the most haunted in Oslo.
In the middle of Christiania Torv is a fountain with a sculpture of a hand pointing to the ground. The hand belongs to none other than King Christian IV, the Danish-Norwegian King who took the throne at the age of 19 and ruled from 1588 to 1648. The old city was ravaged by a big fire in 1624 that lasted for three days, and the king decided that the new town should be rebuilt in this area, and named it Christiania after himself. He supposedly pointed to this spot and said: “The new town will lie here!” Hence, this marks the spot where modern Oslo began. In 1925, the city was renamed Oslo once again.
Next, we went to the park outside Akershus Festning (Akershus Fortress), where we had a nice view of the harbour below. The medieval castle and fortress were completed in the early 14th century and it was used to protect Oslo from sieges throughout the Middle Ages. We didn’t enter the fortress but proceeded to Rådhus, or the Oslo City Hall.
The Oslo Rådhus building was completed in 1950 and it has a retro-looking façade made up of 8 million red bricks, all of which were baked in Oslo. There are two towers and the east tower has a set of 49 carillon bells. At the top of every hour between 7am and 12 midnight, instead of the regular bell chime, the bells sound out the tunes of classical pieces or popular songs that are being played on the radio. You can check the website to see the playlist (click here). Laura told us that when Michael Jackson died on 25 June 2009, the clock tower bells played MJ tunes all day long.
Before we entered the City Hall building, Laura pointed out a famous statue sculpted into the corner of the building. It depicts a female prostitute in the middle and her well-dressed client on the right. At the same time, the lady is secretly holding hands with a working-class man who is hiding around the corner. The common man is said to be her pimp, but to me, it looks like he is her real lover and he is sad to let her go off with her client. Laura said that the artwork symbolises the equal standing of women and people regardless of their social status. That is the beauty of art – everyone is free to interpret it differently.
As Laura led us to the main entrance, I saw that there was an astronomical clock high up on the wall, but it was not as fancy or elaborate as the one in Prague. The astronomical clock displayed the time, month, position of the sun and moon, and the zodiac signs.
The interior of the City Hall was really pretty. All the walls of the cavernous main hall were adorned with elaborate murals depicting scenes from Norway’s history, culture and everyday life. The floor was made of beautiful marble and it was very classy. This is where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held on 10 December every year.
The Banquet Hall carried portraits of Norwegian kings and queens, as well as a painting of beach life along the fjord by Willi Midelfart. On the second floor were more rooms with even more impressive and colourful murals. I also visited the venue where the City Council meets, a semi-circular room clad in oak and carpet, a stark contrast to the other rooms in the building.
All in all, it was a fascinating trip to the City Hall building and I loved the murals and artwork within. Best of all, admission is free, so it is definitely worth a visit.
After that, we continued our tour and Laura led us to Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament Building. Right next to it was the Grand Hotel Oslo, a historic luxury hotel where world leaders and Nobel Peace Prize laureates are hosted. Laura told us that ever since former US president Barrack Obama stayed here in December 2009, the hotel has since become bulletproof.
We ended the tour at about 12:15pm, 45 minutes longer than the duration stated on the Free Tour Oslo website. As usual, we took a group photo and I tipped Laura 100 Kr (S$17) for her effort. It was an enjoyable tour and I appreciated her letting us have more time to explore the City Hall building and not rushing through the tour.
After we dispersed, I decided to go back to the Oslo Opera House to have a closer look at it. Along the way, I popped in to Oslo Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral) for a short visit. This is the third cathedral in Oslo, with the previous two incarnations unfortunately destroyed by fires. The present building was completed in 1697 and restored in 1950. On the outside, it was a simple and plain-looking church building but its interiors were really special. The ceiling murals gave it a funky, artistic twist while the jade green-and-gold pipe organ was very unique.
The most striking thing about the Opera House is its sloping rooftop that extends to the water’s edge. The architects’ intention was to make the roof a platform accessible to all and to create a new public space in the centre of Oslo. They wanted walking on the roof to be as natural as climbing the many mountains in Norway. It was actually quite a steep climb to reach the top but the view from up there was very good. However, it was a scorching 29 degrees Celsius when I visited at 1pm so I didn’t linger for long.
The interior of the opera house was quite nice but I expected a little more. I think it was because there wasn’t a large open foyer so the interior felt quite cramped and lacked the vastness to give a sense of grandeur. I still think that the Harpa at Reykjavik in Iceland is the most beautiful concert hall in the world, followed closely by our Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore.
Following that, I dropped in to Oslo City shopping mall to escape from the heat. Conveniently located next to Oslo Sentralstasjon, it is one of Oslo’s largest malls with over 90 shops and restaurants over five floors. I decided to have a proper lunch at Jensen’s Bøfhus, where I ordered a salmon steak for 99 Kr (S$16.92). Always good when I get to eat some fish.
After chilling out for a while, I made my way towards Vigeland Park where there is a flea market at Vestkanttorvet that takes place every Saturday from 9am to 5pm. When I arrived at 4:25pm, I was disappointed to find that most of the stalls were already in the midst of packing up so I didn’t get to see much. The flea market wasn’t very big anyway, but I would have liked to come earlier to sift out some good deals and experience the atmosphere.
After the wasted trip, I headed back towards the city centre to visit Akershus Festning. It is open from 6am to 9pm daily and admission to the medieval castle and fortress is free. Upon entering the grounds, I saw two guards marching up the slope so I followed them. They led me to a wedding reception taking place within the castle building and the setting with the evening sun provided a lovely backdrop. I took a few moments to enjoy the view of the harbour from the fortress.
For dinner, I was craving for some sushi and I managed to find a place called Sushi Wok City. I bought a 15-piece assorted sushi set for 139 Kr (S$23.76) and I was very happy with it. It cost 10 Kr more to eat in so I simply bought it and ate it on the go.
As I wandered around the city centre, I came across a free music festival called Musikkfest Oslo taking place so I joined in and listened to the Norwegian bands. It was great to see the audience supporting their own local acts and enjoying the free gigs.
I also passed by another street where a Brazilian samba party was taking place at one of the restaurants. Musicians were jamming and people were just dancing away on the street. It was clear that everyone was having a good time. Great vibes all around!
It was still quite bright when I made my way back to the hostel at 10:45pm. And that brings an end to my Oslo stay (for now). Heading out of the city tomorrow where my real Norwegian adventure is about to begin…excited about the thought of trekking to Preikestolen and Trolltunga in the next few days!