mission: MUSE - "where i live"
by guest muse jennifée
I’m born and bred in Oslo, capital city of Norway, and no matter where or how far I travel, Oslo is where my heart is. As cities go, Oslo is on the small side, being home to only about half a million people. It is surrounded by nature on all sides, with the Oslo fjord to the south and great stretches of forest to the north.
In other words, Oslo has the best of both worlds. On the one hand, the way is short to the beaches and idyllic islands of the fjord as well as the ski tracks and hiking trails of the forests.
On the other hand, Oslo is a big city, with all that entails. There are lots of places to shop and eat out, a teeming cultural life and interesting historical and architectural sights. Some of my favourites are the Viking ships, as well as the stave church in the Museum of Cultural History.
There is also the new Opera House, a price-winning architectural construct made to look like an iceberg at the edge of the fjord. The Opera House is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.
Additionally, the roof of the house is used as a concert venue in its own right, hosting rock and pop concerts. Last autumn, I attended a concert there with the band Gåte, who played a wonderful mix of rock
and Norwegian folk music – here is one example of their music.
Another place well worth a visit is the Vigeland Park, the largest sculpture park by one artist in the world. The park, as well as being a popular spot for sunbathing and picnicking in the summer, hosts more than 200 of Gustav Vigeland’s fascinating sculptures, mostly portraying the human body. I can walk through the park for hours at the time with my camera, observing all the details of the sculptures and letting their expressions speak to me.
Jennifée of As Far As I Can Tell and flickr
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sounds a fantastic place to live, what a great post.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to see this post! Not only to get to know you better Jennifée, but we plan to come to Norway in June and now I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteGreat portrait of Oslo. I visited Oslo only once for a couple of days but liked it a lot. Coming from another "small big city" (Zürich), the size of the city felt reassuring. I hope to visit it again, especially the Vigeland Park, it was a cold dark winter day when I was there and didn't see much of it. Thank you for your lovely post!
ReplyDeleteoh i want to visit norway! it looks so cool!
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