We’ve started exploring Oslo city. When we were making selection of hotel we took the one that is located in Oslo center to have best location for sightseeing, where we can start and have everything close no matter which direction we’d choose.
First stop was at Oslo Opera building. It was built in 2008 and is one of most recognizable symbols of capital of Norway. It looks like it is immersed in the sea, it has a sloping roof on which you can walk. Inside building there is a concert hall. This place is very popular to walk on no matter what time of day it is. That’s probably because of beautiful scenery we can watch from there.
We’ve discovered that sea is very deep that allows large ships to sail to the harbor. We saw few large ferries and also cargo ships. The fact that see is deep didn’t stop to make one of most spectacular road investment I’ve ever saw. Nearby Opera building, under the sea level there is located speedway. It is named Operatunnelen. It’s amazing. This tunnel is almost 6km long and by building it they reduced car traffic in city center to almost minimum.
Weather temperature was about 10°C (in May), however we felt as it was warmer. When sun was shining we could walk in T-shirts only.
In the city there was lot of construction works. Lot of buildings were not finished yet. It was new district – Oslo Barcode Project – in development.
Later we went for a short walk to Akershus Fortress. It is old castle (fortress) that was built to protect Oslo city in the past. It has a long history that starts in 1290.
Located at the sea border was a strategic location for protecting city against enemy. Because of high walls it was almost impossible to gain access from sea side. Also when they saw any ship that is coming to the city they could use canons to destroy. There were many sieges, but it was never captured. Even in II WW it was abandoned by capitulation without any fight.
Today whole area of fortress is accessible to explore for free (there are some museums that are paid). It is very popular walk place. At the walls we can still find canons, but they are not in use anymore. Within the fortress there are several military museums and the mausoleum of the Royal Family protected by the Royal Guards.
While walking through the fortress we went to harbor – Akker Brygge. At this point we could see town hall with two characteristic towers. One tower has a clock. At the harbor there was few boats and small ferries.
Sun was slowly setting so we came back to hotel.
We walked through town hall square (Rådhusplassen) and Rådhusgata street to get there.
Streets in city center district are almost empty. There is a lot of electric cars. Government gave to citizens special tax exemptions for electric car owners. That’s the reason there is a lot of them. Also we’ve found out there is a lot of car powered spots that allows us to charge car if we have one. A little bit different world! Better one!