A last minute jaunt to Oslo, Norway

Mid-July we had a long weekend and a break between house guests, so we decided to take a last minute trip to Oslo, Norway.  It literally was last minute as we booked it on Wednesday evening and left on Thursday evening. 

Leaving late in the evening we had great sunset views from the plane.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo Plaza.

It is a beautiful hotel in city center and is Norway's tallest building at 384 ft tall and has 676 rooms.

 Now that's a workout with a view.

We spent the next few days exploring the city.

 Oslo Opera House

The Oslo Opera House, completed in 2007 is covered with Italian marble, white granite and glass.  It is an impressive building and seems to just appear out of the water.  The roof of the building angles down to ground level creating a walkway to the top, which features a large plaza with panoramic views of Oslo. 

She Lies is a sculpture by Monica Bonvicini made of stainless steel and glass panels next to the Oslo Opera House.  It floats on the water in the fjord on a concrete platform, 39 ft above the water surface.  The sculpture turns on its axis in line with the tide and wind, offering changing experiences through reflections from the water and its transparent surfaces.

There are many interesting sculptures throughout Oslo city center.

We took a sightseeing boat trip around the fjord.

Of course no trip to Oslo is complete without a trip to the Viking Ship Museum.

 

The Viking Ship Museum

The Viking Ship Museum displays the world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships built in the 9th century, as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord.
It houses archaeological finds from the Viking ships Tune, Gokstad , Oseberg, and the Borre mound cemetery.

We enjoyed Oslo for a last minute city break, and our first visit to the Nordic region.  It was great exploring a new city, seeing historical sites and enjoying some great food.

Look for our next blog about our Scotland travels with our Florida friends, Dino and Robin.


Sending Much love to our family and friends,
John and  CJ