Oslo, Norway

As promised in my last post, I will take you through each of my travels in 2018, writing about my experiences. My travel to the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in March marked my first international travel in 2018, even though it was just a short 3 day trip. It was meant to be a celebration for my 30th birthday, so as you can imagine, I had mixed feelings! ;)

A bit of reading will tell you about the history of Oslo, one of the biggest and most important cities of Norway. Situated close to the harbor, it is an important trade city and houses many local and international industries. From a traveler's point of view, I found Oslo to be very global, with a good mix of what seemed like natives and expats. English signboards everywhere made it very easy for us to commute and we took the Flytoget from the airport to the city center, a comfortable 20 minute ride. We stayed at the PS: hotell in the city center, which was very well located and offered us a comfortable stay over our short trip. It was a no fuss, no frills accommodation, but came with a wholesome continental breakfast with some local delicacies and a great view of the city.

My husband and I like to see cities on foot, walking through the streets and noticing the details. In the middle of March, this did mean that we saw snow everywhere, even though locals told us that the snow had overstayed. Surprisingly though the strong sunshine made us feel a lot warmer than we did in London.

We picked up the map we got at the hotel and found our way around. The highlight for me was the walk up to and inside the Akershus Festning (Fortress). This 13th century castle has a royal aura to it as it used to be the Royal residence until the late 16th century. The complex also houses government buildings as it continues to be the center of state power in Norway. 

From here, we walked to the harbour area, where the Oslo Opera House sits and watched as young men and women dipped in the waters. This is a popular tradition in Norway, in which people follow up a hot sauna with a cool dip in the ice-cold waters of the fjords. We did not have the courage to try it ourselves, but from far, it did look like something we could have planned for!

Overall, Oslo was a good mix of culture and contemporary for me. Norway is an expensive place, but after London, the pinch wasn't very pronounced. However, if you have traveled to other places in Europe, you will definitely see a big difference. People were friendly and helpful and very 'urban'. I do think that the other cities of Norway would give one a more local experience of the country so that one remains for our trip to see the Northern Lights. :)

Next up is Turkey, which is my absolute favorite place in the world- watch out for it! :)