I have been thinking about this post for a while, but not got around to writing it before now.
I live in Oslo, Norway, and I wanted to share this lovely city with you -and why I love it so much. :)
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| Barcode Oslo |
First of all, it is not very big -according to statistics 623 966 lives in Oslo pr. 1. of january 2014. Big enough to be able to hide in tho, and to find new -and old- friends in.
I remember the first time I was in Oslo -I was terrified to get lost and not find my way (I grew up in a very small town on the west-coast), but over the years I have lived in different parts of the city, and explored most of the other parts, so I am not afraid of getting lost anymore ;-) Now I really enjoy walking around in parts of the city that I am not so familiar with, and I always find new favorite places. :)
The different parts of the city all have their charm. Since we live on the western part of the city I tend to go for walks mostly on the west-and northern part of Oslo, but lately I have also taken the tram/subway to other parts to get some variation. The public transport system here is very good, you do not need a car if you live in the city, not for work or for getting around to the different places in the city. Same if you are here for a visit. Just jump on a tram/subway/bus and it will take you there in no time.
The most used path I use for pure exercise is Sognsvann. It is a lake located at the north-west of Oslo, 15-20 min ride with the subway from downtown Oslo. I have posted some pictures from this place on twitter but here you go again:
This is taken from the "start" of the lake, sometime this spring. Sognsvann is used a lot all year long for walks, and during summer it is a popular place for the population of Oslo to go BBQ and relax, sunbath and of course take walks around the lake.
Here is a couple of more pictures, one from the end of the lake:
And from the side:
Sognsvann is a perfect place to go for a walk, but during the weekends it can be quite crowded, so those days I try to get out and around before noon, before it fills up with family's occupying the whole road. :) As nice as it is, it kinda hinders you to get any kind of speed up :D
If you take the subway up the mountain, you can exit at Holmenkollen and have a look at our skiing facility's for ski-jumping and cross-country skiing (we really love those winter-sports ;-)) This is a closeup of the ski-jump, during summer they have these activity's where you can slide down from the top till the end via a line. By the looks of it, you get quite some speed. Nothing for me tho /chicken out!
If you turn and look the other way, you will have the view over the city:
I also like to take the subway all the way to Frognerseteren. The forest of Oslo have lot of walking paths and lakes. Here is a small selection of pictures:
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| The road |
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| Tryvann |
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| Where to go? |
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| Ullevålsseter |
If you take the tram to the eastside of the city, you can exit at Ekeberg, where you also have an amazing view over Oslo and the islands connected to it (there are boats going out there several times a day, for normal public fare), here is a view from Ekeberg:
Some of the islands have people living on them during summer, others are only for day visits. It is a very popular place to visit during sunny days. I forgot to take pictures from it last time I was there tho, so boo. :( But here you can find more pictures of the different islands outside Oslo city in this link
You can also walk along Akerselva. It is the river that split the city in two (splits west/east). The last years they have upgraded the walking path there, so it is a very nice walk aswell. I took some pictures the other day when I was walking there. Here you see some of them:
I could totally live by the river! In the middle of the city, 5-10 min walk to the city-center and it was so nice and quiet! Birds singing and green, pretty trees. Lovely! :)
I should have taken some more pictures from the east side of the city, they also have some nice walking paths and waters, but I have not been there yet this year (shame on me!).
Oslo have all the comforts of the city, but closeness to the forest and the sea as well, so it really have it all. :)
For more information about Oslo, and what to do here, I advice you to check out this site: VisitOslo.com
