I decide on Friday to take a trip to Oslo on Saturday. TAP Airlines flies to Oslo nonstop and I quickly book tickets. Next I research the best places to stay and am able to book my first choice: Hotel Continental. A 4 hour flight later, on a very early Saturday morning, finds me in Oslo before noon.

I jump on the express train at Oslo airport, which takes me right to my hotel’s door.

I’m a member of the hotel’s loyalty program (Leader’s Club) so I get an early check in to a wonderful room overlooking the National Theatre.

The weather is beautiful and a welcome relief from the heat wave in Portugal.When I land in a new city I always just start walking. I find myself in front of the Noble Peace Prize Center which has an English tour starting in 5 minutes.There are 5 Noble Prizes given out every year (Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Medicine and Peace), but only the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo per the terms of Arthur Noble’s will. There have been 111 recipients of the Noble Peace Prize (19 of them women). It is awarded on December 10 each year at a ceremony at Oslo’s City Hall. A tribute to each recipient’s life and work is then created at the Noble Peace Prize Center. Last year the Peace Prize went to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of woman in Iran.

I continue walking and I enjoy seeing my first Norwegian city. It is an incredible Scandinavian city, bursting at the seams with many green spaces, gorgeous museums and sophisticated restaurants. The waterfront is so beautiful and is overlooked by the Akershus Fortress.

My path takes me through a well kept cemetery and I come upon the grave of Oslo’s most famous artist, Edmund Munch.

I notice that despite the trim figures of all the people I pass, there is a bakery every few feet on my walk, with the most enticing baked goods.

I get a coffee ( well, and one small baked good) and sit for a while in St. Hanshaugen Park, watching people go about their Saturday.

As I loop back toward my hotel I come across a Pro-Palestein demonstration, but it is a very peaceful situation. So peaceful that a famous Oslo chef decides to send his chef’s out to make free food for everyone.

A little more walking before returning to my hotel to get ready to go out to dinner. It turns out the reservation I made is at a place doing 7 courses. Fortunately they are small!

I walk back to my hotel very happy that I have come to Oslo.

Sunday morning I have booked a walking tour, as I always do in a new city. Our guide is Michelle and she works as a hotel receptionist during the week. We meet at the Tiger statue which is the symbol of Oslo (who knew?).

One stop is Oslo’s Old Town which has the monument called “The Glove”.

The monument commemorates the king’s efforts to rebuild the city after a devastating fire in 1624. According to legend, King Christian IV pointed to this spot and declared that the new city would be built here. The monument serves as a reminder of the city’s rebirth and the king’s influence on its development. I also see the Oslo stock exchange “Borsen” and tour the Akershus Fortress, which was built around 1290.

Oslo has been the object of a tug of war between Denmark and Sweden for many years and only been an independent country since 1905. It was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, who made their headquarters at their Akershus Fortress.

After the tour ends, I go to City Hall to see the room where the Noble Prize is handed out each year. It is fun to imagine President Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King crossing that stage.

I also see a number of other rooms in city hall. One big meeting room has this mural filling one wall. Probably not something that would be chosen in most American city halls.

My next stop is the Vigeland Sculpture Park. I take a tram out to an enormous park (Oslo’s version of Central Park) that is filled with over 200 sculptures of Gustav Vigeland. It is the largest sculpture park by just one man. He was prolific! And controversial. All of his sculptures are unclothed and some would say shocking. Some of his most famous are “Man under attack from genii spirits”, “Angry boy”, the “Monolith”, the “Fountain” and “Entwined”. The park is filled with families enjoying the beautiful day while strolling about this unique scenery.

I stop for a beer in a local pub and continue my walk. Around 4pm, I know there is a mass in English at St Hallvards so I go there to attend. Beautifully, there are at least 10 very young alter servers. I spoke to the priest afterwards and he says they sometimes have double that amount of young alter servers.

I head home and get ready for my dinner at the Michelin bib restaurant Smalhans. This dinner is 6 courses and it is wonderful! Smalhans only uses foraged local ingredients and you can taste the freshness in the food. My server was Dominica and we chatted a bit about the Oslo food scene which is quite sophisticated.

My dessert was brought to me by the chef Mads Ekrheim. Apparently Dominica told him I was a bit of a foodie and he came out to chat with me. I really appreciate that.

Monday morning I decide to take the train south to a small city at the start of some of Oslo’s islands. The central train station is fairly busy, but very organized and easy to follow.

I went to Fredrikstad and got off off the train. I was a bit unsure how to proceed, so I walked to the river where I talk to the ferryman. He suggest I take the ferry across the river to the Old Town, Gamlebyen, and I take him up on it . The ferry is free. After visiting the the historic Gamlebyen, I take another ferry up the river. I had imagined I would then take a boat to one of the islands. I had my eye on getting to their Ytre Hvaler Nasjonal Park. Sadly, the boats for some reason are not running. So I console myself that I had two free ferry rides on the water on such a beautiful day and saw the best preserved fortress town in Northern Europe. I take the train back to Oslo.

When I return, I make my way to the Royal Palace in time to see the marching of the guards.The Palace is the official residence of the Norwegian monarchy.

Now it is time for dinner at Brassierie Frances. My friend from home, Jon, is Norwegian and he had recommended the place. I had such a good time. The food is wonderful, but the patrons even better. On my left is Roar, a banker and Egin, a lobbyist and on my right is Harald, a governmental attaché, and his wife, Margret, who are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. I learned so much about life in Oslo from chatting with these nice people. It is a festive evening.

A beautiful night walk home.

Tuesday my flight doesn’t leave until 6pm so I get a late check out and walk to the coffee house of Tim Wendelboe. It is a long walk, but I want to visit this coffee shop because he has won top barista in the world many years in a row. His coffee is considered exceptional, due to its source and its roasting. Getting there I pass through a neighborhood I really like called Grünerløkka. I pass a place called Mathallen with so any interesting shops.

I am taken with this one called Pies and Cupcakes ..and doughnuts. My essential food groups!

I take a bridge over the river Akerselva to get to Tim Wendelboe’s place. It is quite picturesque on the water.

Tim Wendelboe is very good looking and people visit it as if it is the holy grail of coffee. It is quite photogenic.

I ordered the cappuccino al fredo which I read is served in a martini glass. Yup. It is. And it is delicious.

I walk next to the main library, called the Drammen Bibliotek. I have heard that the libraries are the center of life in Oslo, but I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was 5 floors of books, but so much more. An area where babies are being played with among the books, a wine bar, a cafe, people working on computers and talking and eating and really enjoying being in the library. Wow!

The Oslo Opera House is next door. It is a beautiful building and unique as you are able to walk up to the roof on the outside and view Oslo from the top. I did that.

My last adventure is the National Museum. They have a special exhibit of Rothko and he is one of my favorite artists. They are exhibiting 250 of his works on paper which is mind-blowing.

Also there are two rooms of Munch works including two of his most famous paintings, The Scream and the Madonna.

This museum has only been opened a few years and I think it is world-class. I wish I could come here everyday and see a different exhibit.

Perhaps the most interesting and disturbing pieces of art is in the lobby. The art work started out because of a pile of rotting reindeer heads were dumped outside a court. The Norwegian government had ordered a mass cull of herds owned by Norway’s indigenous Sámi people, and Máret Ánne Sara wanted judges hearing a case against the demand, brought by her herder brother, to experience the grisly consequences. The tapestry of 400 reindeer skulls done by Sara has the flesh and tissue boiled and scrubbed off and the bone polished to a shine. It hangs like a huge flag. When you get closer you can see the bullet holes in each of the reindeer heads. It is quite an important art piece in the Sámi community and the museum wants to make a statement of its importance.

I look at my watch and it is time to take the express train back to the airport. This trip whet my appetite to come back to Norway and see other parts of the country.

One last beer and I am headed back to beautiful Lisbon.

I hope you enjoyed visiting Oslo with me!