Friday, May 14, 2010
Norway Day 3 - Oslo!
This is an after-the-fact transcription of the journal I kept on a two week trip to Norway.
May 14, 2010, 6:50 am
The restaurant in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
Breakfast! OMG, it's amazing! Blue cheese, brown cheese, all kinds of cheeses, breads, eggs, meats, fish of all kinds. And the coffee is probably the best I've every had.
OK, the herring and sardines are pretty good, but they might be better with a beer for a snack.
Anyway, yesterday, we descended through the cloud bank on to the runway of the most picturesque airport. Gardermoen is much bigger than I expected, and it has the most beautiful terminal I've seen in my limited travels.
One way it reminds me of Calgary is how two thirds of the planes at the gates are SAS 737s, much like the WetJet fleet dominates Calgary.
Oh gosh, there's the cutest little four year old at the nest table, telling me about her breakfast, and I have no idea what she's saying. Adorable.
What was cool about Gardermoen was after a long walk down a hallway, I took an escalator down a floor, through customs, and another escalator that took me right to the train. Mere steps from plane to train to take me right to downtown Oslo. Why can't Calgary get it's act together and get the C-Train to the airport?
At the station, in the heart of Oslo, I walked out, across the street, and into my hotel.
The hotel was a bit of a shock as the view from the steps of the train station is obscured by scaffolding and construction. But I think that might be work on a separate building. The front door to the hotel is a few steps beyond.
I was told that all is prepaid, and breakfast included, as well as all kinds of other amenities.
The hotel is dominated by an eight story atrium, where I'm sitting right now. The restaurant lies at the bottom and I am under a sky light eight stories up. Four glass sided elevators slide up and down one wall.
My room is off the balcony/hallway around the atrium on the eighth floor, in a small collection of rooms off a circular hallway. I think there's a stairway in the centre.
I have a limited view because of a rooftop deck and the closeness of the buildings opposite.
My room is a little small and oddly angled, but delightfully cozy. It's actually in a short spur hallway off the circle, which leads to the Christiana Suite, so the sign on the door says. Classy neighbours!
After settling in a little, I went out in search of dinner.
What a beautiful town! The architecture is gorgeous. Streets go every which way at times, but mostly on a grid. There is a modern looking streetcar system.
I ended up trying a place called The Scotsman.
I'm kind of annoyed at myself for this. It's a steakhouse basically, below an English style pub. And I had an Angus burger and a Kilkenny, something that I could have any time at home. I shied away from the reindeer steak which is what I should have tried.
But it was good. I went back to the hotel for a moment after, then went out wandering. Eventually I settled in a place called 3Brødre, with nothing on tap except Kilkenny, Guinness and Ringnes, a local Pilsner. It's quite good.
A woman appeared beside me and asked if she could talk to me while waiting for a friend. She said her name was Anita and she was from Trondheim, of Lapland ancestry. She was great fun to talk to, although I got lost in her accent sometimes. She said Laps are much more outgoing than the southern Norwegian, so I should expect such forwardness if I go north.
We talked through a pint before all the flying and lack of sleep caught up to me, so I said good night and headed back to the hotel.
There's a high school team of some sort, all black hoodies with the name Kangaroo on the back. All piling up breakfast and noisily congregating at a long table.
I just got a poke in the arm from that little girl. She's done with breakfast and is getting restless. I tried to say hi, but she's suddenly shy.
OK, gotta start the day!
May 14, 2010, 5:35 pm
A lounge in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
I am beat. I feel like I've been everywhere today.
I went up to the palace this morning and took some pictures. I even got one of me and a palace guard. And then I wandered behind the palace and out on to the streets again.
Another guard was at the side guarding a gate to the royal gardens, which are closed until late May.
After coming around the gardens and palace, I strolled through the park that stretches between the palace and the parliament building. Oslo University is split by the park, big yellow buildings on the north and a building or two on the south.
Just past that is the national theatre, so I too a few pictures of that and of the threatre themed names of close by restaurants.
Back on Karl Johan, the main drag, I found a brasserie and sat outside with a coffee. There was a touristy magazine and such shop near the university in the park, where I'd bought a handful of post cards. I sat outside of the brasserie and wrote up some of them.
This town has the best coffee! Everywhere I've had one, it's been excellent.
After that, I wandered toward the harbour. I found myself on a street that ended near what looked to be a huge stone wall. There was a small paddock with a couple of horses.
Up the street a ways was a large group of people, obviously on some kind of tour. As they moved off, I went through the arch in the stone wall that they had come out of.
Akershus Fortress was begun in the 13th century, to protect the country and Oslo. It sits on a rock outcrop beside the harbour.
I walked around some, up a path that went over another stone wall,. And through a stone arch.
A path doubled back to the top of the wall over the arch, where there were cannons, and one of the royal guards. The path was blocked off, so I didn't go up there.
But there was a path around the side through another arch, to a grassy area overlooking the city.
Back the other way was a raised area. On top were more cannons and a wonderful view of the harbour, and a sheer drop down the stone wall to the street below. It must have been thirty metres. The view I assumed to be wonderful, as it was mostly blocked by one bloody huge cruise ship.
Back down from this, another archway lead into the inner court yard. There was a doorway to a gift shop and the start of a tour through the castle.
There was also a blocked off tunnel, I guess you could call it. Very dark and spooky. There's a ghost story with it too. Some 18th century caretaker woke to a huge crash on night to be told that this passage had collapsed. He went down into it, against the protestations from servants, and was savaged by a large vicious dog dragging a broken heavy chain. He never recovered from his injuries and died some days later.
Anyway, I took the tour. It starts in what was the original kitchen, and then a short stairway goes up to the sheriff's office.
From there is a long narrow passage and stairway that leads to the dungeon. This passage parallels the spooky one from the courtyard, now that I think of it. The walls here are up to three metres thick.
Then it crosses to the royal crypt where only one king and queen lie. Also the prince and his wife are beside them. Across from this room are two other graves, but they contain only the skulls of three rulers.
Up some more stairs and I was in a church. It's actually still a working church, used by the military, which explains the army chaplain who was talking with a young couple. They do weddings, funerals and baptisms for military personnel.
After that, I went into dark rooms, and I don't remember exactly the order of things. I think the next place was what is left of the massive main tower, that was called the Dare Devil. The main reception room as it's modernly used for but was originally a store room. No, that came later.
May 14, 2010, 6:50 am
The restaurant in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
Breakfast! OMG, it's amazing! Blue cheese, brown cheese, all kinds of cheeses, breads, eggs, meats, fish of all kinds. And the coffee is probably the best I've every had.
OK, the herring and sardines are pretty good, but they might be better with a beer for a snack.
Anyway, yesterday, we descended through the cloud bank on to the runway of the most picturesque airport. Gardermoen is much bigger than I expected, and it has the most beautiful terminal I've seen in my limited travels.
One way it reminds me of Calgary is how two thirds of the planes at the gates are SAS 737s, much like the WetJet fleet dominates Calgary.
Oh gosh, there's the cutest little four year old at the nest table, telling me about her breakfast, and I have no idea what she's saying. Adorable.
What was cool about Gardermoen was after a long walk down a hallway, I took an escalator down a floor, through customs, and another escalator that took me right to the train. Mere steps from plane to train to take me right to downtown Oslo. Why can't Calgary get it's act together and get the C-Train to the airport?
At the station, in the heart of Oslo, I walked out, across the street, and into my hotel.
The hotel was a bit of a shock as the view from the steps of the train station is obscured by scaffolding and construction. But I think that might be work on a separate building. The front door to the hotel is a few steps beyond.
I was told that all is prepaid, and breakfast included, as well as all kinds of other amenities.
The hotel is dominated by an eight story atrium, where I'm sitting right now. The restaurant lies at the bottom and I am under a sky light eight stories up. Four glass sided elevators slide up and down one wall.
My room is off the balcony/hallway around the atrium on the eighth floor, in a small collection of rooms off a circular hallway. I think there's a stairway in the centre.
I have a limited view because of a rooftop deck and the closeness of the buildings opposite.
My room is a little small and oddly angled, but delightfully cozy. It's actually in a short spur hallway off the circle, which leads to the Christiana Suite, so the sign on the door says. Classy neighbours!
After settling in a little, I went out in search of dinner.
What a beautiful town! The architecture is gorgeous. Streets go every which way at times, but mostly on a grid. There is a modern looking streetcar system.
I ended up trying a place called The Scotsman.
I'm kind of annoyed at myself for this. It's a steakhouse basically, below an English style pub. And I had an Angus burger and a Kilkenny, something that I could have any time at home. I shied away from the reindeer steak which is what I should have tried.
But it was good. I went back to the hotel for a moment after, then went out wandering. Eventually I settled in a place called 3Brødre, with nothing on tap except Kilkenny, Guinness and Ringnes, a local Pilsner. It's quite good.
A woman appeared beside me and asked if she could talk to me while waiting for a friend. She said her name was Anita and she was from Trondheim, of Lapland ancestry. She was great fun to talk to, although I got lost in her accent sometimes. She said Laps are much more outgoing than the southern Norwegian, so I should expect such forwardness if I go north.
We talked through a pint before all the flying and lack of sleep caught up to me, so I said good night and headed back to the hotel.
There's a high school team of some sort, all black hoodies with the name Kangaroo on the back. All piling up breakfast and noisily congregating at a long table.
I just got a poke in the arm from that little girl. She's done with breakfast and is getting restless. I tried to say hi, but she's suddenly shy.
OK, gotta start the day!
May 14, 2010, 5:35 pm
A lounge in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
I am beat. I feel like I've been everywhere today.
I went up to the palace this morning and took some pictures. I even got one of me and a palace guard. And then I wandered behind the palace and out on to the streets again.
Another guard was at the side guarding a gate to the royal gardens, which are closed until late May.
After coming around the gardens and palace, I strolled through the park that stretches between the palace and the parliament building. Oslo University is split by the park, big yellow buildings on the north and a building or two on the south.
Just past that is the national theatre, so I too a few pictures of that and of the threatre themed names of close by restaurants.
Back on Karl Johan, the main drag, I found a brasserie and sat outside with a coffee. There was a touristy magazine and such shop near the university in the park, where I'd bought a handful of post cards. I sat outside of the brasserie and wrote up some of them.
This town has the best coffee! Everywhere I've had one, it's been excellent.
After that, I wandered toward the harbour. I found myself on a street that ended near what looked to be a huge stone wall. There was a small paddock with a couple of horses.
Up the street a ways was a large group of people, obviously on some kind of tour. As they moved off, I went through the arch in the stone wall that they had come out of.
Akershus Fortress was begun in the 13th century, to protect the country and Oslo. It sits on a rock outcrop beside the harbour.
I walked around some, up a path that went over another stone wall,. And through a stone arch.
A path doubled back to the top of the wall over the arch, where there were cannons, and one of the royal guards. The path was blocked off, so I didn't go up there.
But there was a path around the side through another arch, to a grassy area overlooking the city.
Back the other way was a raised area. On top were more cannons and a wonderful view of the harbour, and a sheer drop down the stone wall to the street below. It must have been thirty metres. The view I assumed to be wonderful, as it was mostly blocked by one bloody huge cruise ship.
Back down from this, another archway lead into the inner court yard. There was a doorway to a gift shop and the start of a tour through the castle.
There was also a blocked off tunnel, I guess you could call it. Very dark and spooky. There's a ghost story with it too. Some 18th century caretaker woke to a huge crash on night to be told that this passage had collapsed. He went down into it, against the protestations from servants, and was savaged by a large vicious dog dragging a broken heavy chain. He never recovered from his injuries and died some days later.
Anyway, I took the tour. It starts in what was the original kitchen, and then a short stairway goes up to the sheriff's office.
From there is a long narrow passage and stairway that leads to the dungeon. This passage parallels the spooky one from the courtyard, now that I think of it. The walls here are up to three metres thick.
Then it crosses to the royal crypt where only one king and queen lie. Also the prince and his wife are beside them. Across from this room are two other graves, but they contain only the skulls of three rulers.
Up some more stairs and I was in a church. It's actually still a working church, used by the military, which explains the army chaplain who was talking with a young couple. They do weddings, funerals and baptisms for military personnel.
After that, I went into dark rooms, and I don't remember exactly the order of things. I think the next place was what is left of the massive main tower, that was called the Dare Devil. The main reception room as it's modernly used for but was originally a store room. No, that came later.
In the upper rooms there were great banquet halls. All are still in use and are serviced by a modern and well equipped kitchen, but it hasn't been used since the king's wedding in 2001.
The last big room, which expands dining capacity to well over three hundred people, was originally the maiden's quarters. It's one big room where they did everything. There are four alcoves in the wall, over a metre deep, so these are seriously thick walls. There would have been cannons in them originally, so the ladies would have had to work around them.
Upstairs is another huge room with a high oak beam roof. It was struck by lightning once and burned, then reconstructed. A huge rose window on the south end contains some stained glass. The centre of it and some smaller parts were blown out by a huge explosion in the harbour in World War II. Some very small parts of the window show depictions of some strange and terrifying creatures.
Ghosts abound in this place. The keeper who was mauled by the monstrous dog, a pair of duelists who replay their duel in the high windows of the dining hall. One story that really stuck with me is of a girl who is sometimes found to be wandering in a corner of the maiden's quarters. When confronted, she will turn to face her confronter, who discovers she has no face, only a blank gauzy surface where here face should be. After that she evaporates into thin air.
After the tour, I went back to the hotel and crashed for about half an hour.
From the hotel, I walked back toward the harbour again, and discovered a huge white marble and glass building. The Oslo Opera house is a sloping white marble surface that rises out of the water to quite a height, then in the middle, a glass walled part rises from that, and the marvel surface sloes upward from the back to the front of this again.
People can walk all over this surface. Up at the glass wall, you can look down on the huge lobby below. There are steps and ridges and troughs here and there. Sometimes the marble is cut smooth in these, but mostly it's pretty rough. It would still be slippery in the rain.
From there, I walked along the harbour until I found myself by that monster cruise ship beside akershus. Past that, a tall ship that was being loaded with provisions, bucket brigade style, a World War II era fully restored wooden mine sweeper, and then several masted and powered boats. One of them was actually a bar, so I stopped for a pint.
It hit hard since I hadn't had lunch. From there, I found a bank machine, and then wandered to the far side of the harbour to Aker Brygge, a huge harbourside complex of shops and restaurants.
I chose one with a sunny patio and had a bite, then wandered back toward Karl Johan, and back to the hotel, where I now sit.
I'm tired and hungry. I'll probably go for dinner in a little while, but for now, I need to cool my feet.
Something I didn't discover until today, is that Monday is a national holiday. All the hotels along Karl Johan are putting up Norwegian flags and banners, and a huge parade is planned.
In my hotel's atrium, there is now a massive flag hanging from the skylight, nine stories above the restaurant. At a guess, it's about ten metres by twenty five metres.
It looks to be clouding over, and the wind is coming up.
There is so much older architecture int this town. It's very beautiful, and there are domes and clocks everywhere.
The last big room, which expands dining capacity to well over three hundred people, was originally the maiden's quarters. It's one big room where they did everything. There are four alcoves in the wall, over a metre deep, so these are seriously thick walls. There would have been cannons in them originally, so the ladies would have had to work around them.
Upstairs is another huge room with a high oak beam roof. It was struck by lightning once and burned, then reconstructed. A huge rose window on the south end contains some stained glass. The centre of it and some smaller parts were blown out by a huge explosion in the harbour in World War II. Some very small parts of the window show depictions of some strange and terrifying creatures.
Ghosts abound in this place. The keeper who was mauled by the monstrous dog, a pair of duelists who replay their duel in the high windows of the dining hall. One story that really stuck with me is of a girl who is sometimes found to be wandering in a corner of the maiden's quarters. When confronted, she will turn to face her confronter, who discovers she has no face, only a blank gauzy surface where here face should be. After that she evaporates into thin air.
After the tour, I went back to the hotel and crashed for about half an hour.
From the hotel, I walked back toward the harbour again, and discovered a huge white marble and glass building. The Oslo Opera house is a sloping white marble surface that rises out of the water to quite a height, then in the middle, a glass walled part rises from that, and the marvel surface sloes upward from the back to the front of this again.
People can walk all over this surface. Up at the glass wall, you can look down on the huge lobby below. There are steps and ridges and troughs here and there. Sometimes the marble is cut smooth in these, but mostly it's pretty rough. It would still be slippery in the rain.
From there, I walked along the harbour until I found myself by that monster cruise ship beside akershus. Past that, a tall ship that was being loaded with provisions, bucket brigade style, a World War II era fully restored wooden mine sweeper, and then several masted and powered boats. One of them was actually a bar, so I stopped for a pint.
It hit hard since I hadn't had lunch. From there, I found a bank machine, and then wandered to the far side of the harbour to Aker Brygge, a huge harbourside complex of shops and restaurants.
I chose one with a sunny patio and had a bite, then wandered back toward Karl Johan, and back to the hotel, where I now sit.
I'm tired and hungry. I'll probably go for dinner in a little while, but for now, I need to cool my feet.
Something I didn't discover until today, is that Monday is a national holiday. All the hotels along Karl Johan are putting up Norwegian flags and banners, and a huge parade is planned.
In my hotel's atrium, there is now a massive flag hanging from the skylight, nine stories above the restaurant. At a guess, it's about ten metres by twenty five metres.
It looks to be clouding over, and the wind is coming up.
There is so much older architecture int this town. It's very beautiful, and there are domes and clocks everywhere.
# posted by Kelly @ 9:00 a.m. 
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