Oslo shows off Norway’s past, future
I’m always inspired by Norway’s capital, Oslo — a classic old city that keeps chugging into the future. It’s architecturally fascinating, extremely livable and mellow. While buying things is expensive, many of Oslo’s joys are free.
Situated at the head of a 60-mile-long fjord, Oslo sprawls out from its historic core. Its streets are a mix of glassy high-rises, and — especially in its finer residential neighborhoods — grand facades. The city’s harborfront hums with international shipping and a thriving cruise industry.
Oslo’s grand boulevard, Karl Johans Gate, cuts from the train station through the center of town to the Royal Palace. Oslo made its town center quiet and pedestrianfriendly by sending most traffic through tunnels under the city. The city also levies a traffic-discouraging toll on cars as they enter town, which subsidizes public transport.
South of the train station is the splashy Opera House, its white-marble roof famously sloping into the fjord, creating a public plaza that lets you walk on top of the theater. Near the Opera House sprouts a strip of towering office complexes — nicknamed the “Barcode Project” for the way the buildings’ varying heights, widths, and spacing resemble a barcode — giving Oslo a new modern skyline.
The city’s ambitious urban renewal project kicked off years ago with the harborfront Aker Brygge neighborhood, a thriving restaurant, shopping and nightclub zone with a people-friendly promenade. Each night it’s a Nordic paseo. Just a decade ago, this stretch of harbor was an industrial wasteland.
Nearby is the newer Tjuvholmen development — a mix of upscale condos, shops, offices, galleries, a modern art museum and a little beach facing the fjord. Instead of dining in the yacht-club style restaurants here, I prefer to buy provisions from a grocery store a block away from the harborfront and take advantage of the plentiful benches and picnic tables. It’s a delightful spot to watch seagulls and ferries come and go as the setting sun shines on the old fortress in Oslo’s harbor.
Also along the harbor is Oslo’s striking City Hall. In front, a series of statues dating from the 1930s celebrates the nobility of the working class. Entering the grand main hall, I’m reminded that in this highly taxed corner of Europe, city halls, rather than churches, are the dominant buildings. While Norway’s state religion is Lutheran, people here Dining: Getting around: