"Saagar's Oslo" a Oslo Travel Page by Saagar

You can easily circumvent Oslo if you want to go elsewhere in Norway. However, given that Oslo is the capital, certain key institutions, services and sights are located here, and for transportation you might transit at least... Norway being a small country in terms of population, most national happenings of sorts are also concentrated to Oslo. So the big concerts, key festivals, sports events, political events, exhibitions etc. are likely to find their venue in Oslo.

Oslo has a youngish hip urban scene, old brown pubs, some good shopping, traditional and "new" crossover food, and a lively immigrant scene. But it is really hard to find a single uniting element to explain Oslo. The name derives from a creek (Lo)that actually divides the city in two - east and west; a division that carries a distinction to this day of separating the city. For me personally it remains a mixed place without too much of a unified city spirit and drive, unlike that of Bergen, Trondheim or Tromsø. The city is divided east-west by class, mood and character, the west being the villa-white district. The city comes together on Karl Johan street and Aker Brygge harbour front, but apart from this Oslo is a city of cultural pockets.

The industrial age is petering out and vanishing from Oslo's river valleys and Grorud valley (east), being rapidly replaced by highly productive post-industrial "competence" and "knowledge"-based businesses. This in turn appears to create a focus on leisure activities. On a bright summer day you will find the Oslo fjord is full of white sails, and the forest trails are frequented by hikers. During winter there seems not to be a more popular place to be than the hundereds of kilometers of groomed ski trails starting at Oslo's urban edge.

If there is a factor that is unique for Oslo, it is exactly this easy access to forests and the Fjord. By public transport, including the subway/metro system you can be out hiking, picking berries, skiing, fishing, skinny-dipping in a lake in less than 20 minutes from the downtown area - and nearly in all directions. Without this peculiar access to the outdoors, Oslo would have missed one of its main identifying characters.

Visitors are increasingly coming to Oslo for week-end breaks, enabled by ferries and cheaper airlines as well as an emerging identity of Oslo being Scandinavia's party town. With about half of Copenhagen's inhabitants, Oslo has double the actual amount of bars, pubs and eateries than does the City of the Queen, Copenhagen. A city-break to Oslo should be planned well ahead in order not to waste time on ticketing for concerts, rummaging around the city to find hotel/restaurants/museums etc. Do create an itinerary for yourself by means of internet sources such as VT and visitoslo.com. Oslo is becoming popular as a skiing city as well, with very short distances from the hotels downtown and to well-maintained cross-country ski tracks and alpine ski runs.

More commonly perhaps, is the individual or family visitor who is transiting Oslo to go elsewhere in the country and just wants to pick up the main sights. To avoid frustrations, leave the car parked somehwere and use public transport. Oslo is a Swiss-cheese underground, and on the surface there are seemingly only one-way streets. You will find most of the interesting places in and outside Oslo by easy and fairly cheap means of public transportation.

As part of a tour group tourist, you will probably be whisked around and out of Oslo, catching a glimpse of the key sights without knowing what you have missed; however, the main goodies of Norway are not in Oslo, but elsewhere. This is also my opinion - Oslo? She's ok, but never mind.

For some strange reason, the tiger is the symbol of Oslo; Oslo is called "Tigerbyen" - The City of the Tiger, but definitely not competing with Singapore.... Perhaps it is because of the urban agressiveness that rural people felt they met here? Like an encounter with an urban tiger? Certainly not a compliment. Not too far off target, perhaps, but then nearly everybody in Oslo identify themselves as coming from/having roots in another place and often rural. Like much in Oslo, the tiger here is an anachronism. There is a very popular big tiger statue placed outside Oslo's central railway station. It is a very common meeting place: "see you at the tiger!"

You do find poverty in Norway concentrated to Oslo, but no slum-like areas. Drug users, beggars and homeless seem to converge on this city, and that is in fact quite true. There is no law against drug fixing, prostitution, begging or similar public offence style attitude, thus it has become a free for all sort of place; especially well-organised eastern European beggars are prolific in Oslo. Think of it; you can fix a heroin shot on a side walk in Oslo, but you cannot drink a bottle of beer!!!! Does Oslo need a bit of update or what?

On the other hand, crime rates are very low, mostly petty theft and picpocketing at central places, station crowds etc. that could bother tourists, and let me add, alcohol-induced rowdyness at pubs/bars/night clubs' closing hours.

However, the Tiger City has a definitely mellow side; you find chic and lax clothing styles side by side, a proliferation of eateries and bars, an international outlook and sofistication that goes well with sitting on the edge of the harbour pier, fishing today's dinner. Oslo has a lot of space and variation.