Oslo Arrival

Oslo. What can I say about Oslo? Not much so far. I just arrived today and I’ve never been here, or anywhere in Norway, before.

I know that, historically, I often pack a lot into a day on these trips. I took it slower today.

There are a couple of reasons for that. For one, I’m not as young as I used to be. That’s true for everyone. That’s how linear time works. But I’m at the age where the passing days, months, and years are making more of a difference physiologically than they used to.

For another, I think a cosmic force is telling me to go slow in Oslo. I mean, look at the name. If you take “Oslo,” split the “o” off from the “slo,” add a “g” in front of the now single “o,” and add a “w” at the end of the “slo” you get “go slow.”

And what does the “G W” that were added in stand for? “Goddam Whiner.” That’s what. “Goddam Whiner” has been a nickname assigned to me ever since I learned to talk. Clearly, the universe is sending me a sign to go slow in Oslo.

There’s that and, after a four-and-a-half-hour layover in Copenhagen airport before catching my one-hour flight to Oslo, then waiting for my luggage and finding the express train into the centre of the city, I didn’t get to my hotel until almost 6:00 p.m. (18:00 for anyone of the 24-hour clock persuasion). That didn’t leave time to cram much into my day today.

A Brief Walk in Oslo

But I did manage to get in a walk. If Norway is known for one thing, it is fjords. If it’s known for another thing, it’s Vikings. But I think the Vikings keep pretty much to themselves these days. So, a fjord it was.

As luck has it, Oslo is on a fjord. I walked down there.

By happenstance, to get to the fjord I walked along a pedestrianized shopping street. I love pedestrianized streets. This one was very lively when I was there, so it seems I’m not the only one who likes pedestrianized streets. Why can’t we have nice things like that in Toronto?

The section of the fjordfront* I visited was, for the most part, a district called Aker Brygge. It’s beside a bay off the fjord. Although, I’m not sure where the Aker Brygge district begins and ends, so some of what I thought was part of it, might not have been. And some that I thought wasn’t part of it might have been.

* If the land beside a lake is a lakefront and the land beside a sea is a seafront and the land beside a river is a riverfront then the land beside a fjord is a fjordfront, dammit. I don’t care if my dictionary tells me it’s not a word.

The first section of the fjordfront (“fjordfront” is a hill I’ll die on) I visited has piers for ferries and tour boats. There’s also a marina for private boats. And, beyond that, a walkway leads to a section with unobstructed views of the main fjord and across to its other side.

A pedestrian promenade runs along the fjord in the Aker Brygge district. Restaurants line the landward side of that promenade. I had dinner at one of them, a restaurant called “The Salmon.” I figured, in addition to fjords and Vikings, if there’s another thing Norway is known for its salmon. So, the restaurant seemed apropos for my first day in the country.

There are also some straight, concrete-walled inlets off the fjord in the Aker Bridge district. It might be more appropriate to call them canals, but I don’t think they go very far. They are lined with buildings and some boats dock in them.

Speaking of buildings, during the length of my walk, both by the fjord and on the way to and from it, I saw mostly midrises.

There are a few highrises, but not many. I think the tallest building I saw might be my hotel, which tops out at 37 stories. Although, there is at least one of similar height. It might just have been the position from which I saw the two buildings that made my hotel look taller. But you probably don’t care. So, never mind.

Will I return to my historically normal pace of sightseeing for the rest of my time in Norway? I don’t know yet. Please follow along and find out.