EPT
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From the Flugtag earlier this fall
I've just come back to Oslo from a quick trip through the other Scandinavian capitals, and I've been meaning to write about my travels in general for a while. But before I start, I feel as though my first comments belong to my home-away-from-home city of Oslo. (Byen min! Byen min!) I've really come to love this city. I'm a city person in general; I'm from New York, and I study urban geography, but Oslo has become one of my favorite cities. Perhaps this blog will be interesting for people who've never been and would like to, as well as for people who have been and are curious how others see it. These are my notes. They are pretty long. Sorry.
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Oslo harbor with the Holmenkollen ski jump in the background
When flying across Norway from the west, you pass over the famously dramatic fjords, and then the snow--capped central mountain ranges, and finally you begin your decent over a thick evergreen forest, more gentle mountains, and a number of beautiful blue lakes and isolated golden farms. Oslo is located in this subtly beautiful landscape. Wedged between fjord and fjell on the eastern end of Norway. The geography of the city is easily its most striking element. The city spreads like a carpet down from the surrounding mountains and wraps around the tip of the Oslofjord. There are a number of hills that have been built over, even in the sentrum but none of them are very steep. To the South in the fjord, there are a number of small islands, a few of which are lived on. To the north, behind the mountains and the leafy hillside neighborhoods is Nordmarka, a large and surprisingly wild forest which is actually largely within the boundaries of the city of Oslo. In fact, the actual physical area of Oslo is massive—the area of the city that is not built upon is larger than the entirety of Copenhagen. While it's true that Oslo has a wonderful downtown, the heart of Oslo is in the islands of the harbor and the woods that seem to be invading the city, instead of the other way around.
When people ask me what makes Oslo special, I talk about all of this—just how seamlessly the city and the natural landscape blend in to each other. The shock of taking a T-Bane (Metro) line to the end and finding a hiking trail instead of a neighborhood is a unique Oslo experience. So to is catching the harbor ferry from Vippetangen and getting off randomly at one of the islands in the harbor. Each has a different feeling; accessible and popular Hovedøya is a nice place to relax on the beach, lonely Bleikøya is my personal favorite for its quiet-ness, and Langøyne is the farthest island out (and not actually part of Oslo city) with a beautiful view down the hook of the fjord.
Nordmarka is wonderful too. The Norwegian conception of hiking differs dramatically from the American one in at least one crucial respect; the American credo of "take only pictures, leave only footprints" is replaced here with the "All Men's Right" that gives anyone free access to uncultivated wilderness. In Nordmarka there are countless small little troll trails branching off and reconnecting with the main throughfares. A common and curious experience is to feel completely isolated and alone one moment, only to happen across a small Norwegian kid picking berries with their family the next. Embedded within the woods are several cabins for sleeping over, which means that you could spend days hiking without seeing a single significant building, all the while never leaving the boundaries of a city of a million people.
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Still in the city!
To compliment its stunning surroundings, the city of Oslo is in the process of the largest transformation since 1624 when the city was last destroyed by fire. The focus of this is a complete overhaul of the city's waterfront, and something of a dramatic shifting of the city's new wealth.
The root of this is that Oslo is a remarkably new capital. From 1388 to 1814, Norway was completely ruled by the Danish monarchy. In 1814 it was independent for a few months before going to Sweden as a prize after the Napoleonic wars. Only in 1905 did the country finally gain full independence. All this had a huge effect on Oslo. A provincial backwater capital for over 500 years, Oslo never had to compete with the great cities of Europe like Madrid, St. Petersberg, Vienna, or Paris—all while its counterparts of Stockholm and Copenhagen did. Oslo has therefore never had a particularly elaborate palace, or an ancient and ornate building stock. The royal palace is a nice, but decidedly pedestrian building that looks like a larger version of the typical Oslo/Stockholm apartment, but with columns. There are not a ton of dramatic open squares in the city, nor is there a claustrophobic and confusing old town to become lost in. Oslo is a city that was not built with great things in mind.
But now, as the capital of a proud country, and also an extremely wealthy one, Oslo is competing on a global scale. The grand idea is called 'Fjord City Oslo'. Oslo's waterfront, which several years ago was mostly choked by cruise ships and cargo freighters, is being completely changed. The first step is that the waterfront is being opened up, with the removal of the E18 autoroad from the shore to a new tunnel under the fjord. This is one of the those common sense rules of urban design (don't build a highway on your biggest amenity, a la the sage prophesy of Lewis Mumford) that somehow wasn't common sense not too long ago. Many cities have already done this (hello Boston), and more should (sup, Seattle). With the same idea in mind, the cargo port has been moved to a more out of the way location on the eastern side of the fjord. For the first time in a long while, the Oslo waterfront belongs entirely to its citizens.
The highlight of the plan is at Bjørvika; the old shipping center. There, a cultural hub is planned, with the relocated Munch/Stenersen Museum (Abalos & Herreros), the Deichman library (Lund Hagem Arkitekter AS), and the already famous Oslo Opera House, designed by my architectural crush; Snøhetta, which in just a few short years after completion has become one of Europe's most iconic buildings and a twenty first century answer to Sydney.
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The opera at night
That's the idea, of course, and I have a feeling that it'll work. In twenty years, it's entirely possible that Oslo will be one of Europe's premier cities and a worthy tourist rival to the fjords of Norway's west. In making up for 500 years of architectural neglect, Oslo is constructing its iconic buildings now. But the development involves more than just shiny cultural buildings, but also shiny residential buildings as well. One such project; Aker Brygge, has already been completed, and it's something I have tremendously mixed feelings about. With architecture that seems like it's showing off, and a faux-city feeling that conceals the fact that it's actually a huge mall (or, if you prefer, a faux-mall feeling that conceals the fact that it's actually a city) the whole wharf borders on an artificiality that I find worrying. My gut feeling is that Aker Brygge might have to age a bit, and the concept should be toned down slightly at Bjørvika. However, none of this has made Aker Brygge any less popular. Extremely active at night, and providing homes to some of the city better, and most overpriced restaurants, Aker Brygge is doing exactly what it was planned to do; bringing young, hip, and well-off people to the city's waterfront.
Wedged between these two ultra-modern wharfs is the central Akershus Festning which is another park in the running for Oslo's most pleasant. Sitting on the high (and un-fenced) ramparts to read a book or admire the unglamorous, but strangely iconic wartime city hall is one of the best ways to spend an Oslo afternoon. The fortress's immediate area is home to a surprisingly diverse amount of activities. Its first home to to some interesting cultural buildings, especially the resistance museum and the understated modern art museum. But Snøhetta also has their offices here (swoon) and the tip of the wharf is the main public ferry dock, where you can get to most of the islands I mentioned before.
The eventual idea of Fjord City Oslo is to complete a clean and wide walking path running from the Bygdøy peninsula (the location of the royal farm, and the excellent Folk, Polarship Fram, and Viking Ship museums) to the cultural hub of Bjørvika. This kind of unified waterfront is becoming an essential element for the first world cities climbing the livability index. And it should. A water-front is a commodity for the city's population, and to the extent that necessary industries can be removed from the urban center, they should be. Oslo's redevelopment of the waterfront is a landmark moment for the capital.
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Oslo city hall from the ramparts of the fortress
Oslo has a good number of other museums and attractions, but they generally have more famous counterparts elsewhere. One that doesn't is the Vigeland sculpture park, located in the larger Frogner Park close to the wealthy and busy Majorstuen neighborhood. Gustav Vigeland was an incredible Norwegian sculptor, who cut a deal with the city government of Oslo, whereby they built him a studio, and he gave them all his work after his death. The Vigeland park is a sublime place, haunted by the range of human emotions portrayed by Vigeland's nude figures. Aggressive and acrobatic movement, quiet strength, emotional fragility are all latent in the sculptures. There's also a pouting baby that's nice and all, but gets way more attention than it deserves. Most imposing of all is the monolith of contorted, writhing naked bodies that stands at the park's highest point.
Norwegian supermarkets sell aluminum trays outfitted with a grill and charcoal for one-time grilling. The best use I've found so far of the one-use grills is to take them to Frogner Park and enjoy a package of ostegrill (cheese filled hot-dogs) with a few friends. The park is popular, but easy to enjoy alone or in small groups, and easily one of the city's most enjoyable places in all seasons.
An intriguing proposal is moving forward to build a new sculpture park on the hill overlooking the east side of the harbor. The patron, a wealthy real-estate developer is something of an eccentric (who only collects female sculptures and ran into trouble against politicians worrying about gender equality) but his proposal would create an really fascinating counterpart to Vigeland on the city's east side.
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The gorgeous gates in front of the monolith
It's also just really nice to walk through the center of the city, especially on Karl Johan's Gate, which is the main ceremonial and touristy street in the city. It runs from the royal palace past the old Universitet I Oslo campus (now the law school), the National Theater, the subtle-yet-really-quite-pretty, yellow brick Storting (parliament), and the Oslo Domkirke (cathedral) before dead-ending near the central station. North of Karl Johan is Youngstorget, a square which was ground zero for the Norwegian social democratic labor movement, and also right next to the government block that was bombed on July 22nd.
I wasn't in the city on that day, but the events of the summer have left an indelible mark on the city. In the days after the attacks, the gates of the Oslo domkirke were surrounded by a sea of roses that consumed most of the square in front of the cathedral. The cathedral then became the focal point of the post-attacks mourning, where the Prime Minister gave a wonderful speech, and there were some incredibly moving performances. (More Karpe Diem). The cathedral, which wasn't really so significant in the years before the attacks was given new meaning this summer, and even today, several months after the attacks, I find roses floating in the fountains in front of the cathedral or Norwegian flags planted on the lawn.
The government buildings that were bombed are being renovated, and because of existing asbestos issues, they might remain closed for some time. Yet the location of the attack may eventually become an important place in the city, however it is commemorated. Cities are places where both good and bad things happen, and this summer's tragedy in Oslo was a reminder of this. It was Oslo's 7/7 or JFK, or Olof Palme moment, and it is events like that, tragic and unbearably sad that strengthen the fabric of a city. In a strange and awful way, it makes a place important. Terrorism and hatred seek out bright, rising, and important places and try to tear them down. Is see the attacks of July 22 as evidence that Oslo is one of these places.
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The government block shrouded in a white curtain
There's more to write about Oslo, but I'll mostly end here. The city faces challenges, among them the distressing divide in income and life expectancy between the wealthy west and the working-class and immigrant east, but these issues can be overcome. The media in particular has done a poor job of portraying the city, frequently cherry picking crime and stories of white-flight that are either inaccurate, unhelpful, or both. I've had many Norwegians insist to me that Oslo is a crime-ridden metropolis filled with heroin abusers and run by violent gangs. This is, I think, more of a reflection on how safe and pleasant the rest of Norway is, because Oslo is nothing of the sort. Instead, Oslo is one of the world's cleanest and most down-to-earth enjoyable cities in my experience. The integrated T-Bane, Trikk, Bus, Båt, and regional train system might be one of the most excellently run public transport systems in the world. (Except for the reliable fact of the buses coming five minutes late). It is certainly among the nicest looking and user friendliest.
The largest issue with Oslo, and Norway in particular is the cost of living, which is high even for Norwegians and their social democratic salaries of 266% higher than the US minimum wage. A drop in the cost of living would certainly make visiting more affordable in the city, as of course would a stronger economy in the rest of the world. Oslo is frequently listed as one of the world's most expensive cities, and this is publicity that would be nice to avoid. Somehow balancing the quality of life in the country and the cost of living will be a tough act for future governments, and not one they will necessarily embrace, as their concerns are obviously more different than those of an American student without a full-time job and Norwegian salary.
But overall? I love it. Oslo is a city with a bright future, thanks to oil and prudent foreign investing, as well as creativity and ambition that are so lacking elsewhere in the world. I can't wait to return to Oslo years from now to walk along the unified harborfront, hike Nordmarka, and eat some hotdogs around statues of naked men. Hvor er’u bor hen a?——La meg ta deg med til——ta deg med til Oslo!
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Byen min!
