Day #157 - Oslo, Norway

Karl Johans Street

The Royal Palace

The Room of Honor - Nobel Peace Center

Karl Johans Street - looking down from the Royal Palace

I'm not lying about the cost of things

Wednesday, August 18th

These are turning out to be some of my favorite days. First time in a big city (first time in a country for that matter) - I get to just go and figure it out.

Oslo, Norway. Capital of Norway. 1000 years old - the oldest of the Nordic capitals. One of the most expensive cities in the world. One of the most wealthy countries in the world. How am I going to swing this on a budget? For one - I don't need to eat and drink very often. Two - I'm staying in a hotel that is a 30-minute train ride from downtown. These 2 things, along with my ability to walk nearly everywhere in the city - I'm able to manage it.

I took the metro late morning into Oslo. First thing I wanted to do when I got off the train was to try an experiment. I headed to the Mcdonalds next to the train station - let's see what a simple meal cost. I took pictures but they busted me and told me to stop it. A McTasty hamburger meal (with fries and coke) cost 91.96 Norwegian Kronos. That is exactly $14.98. Solid - this fits right in line with Copenhagen - right where the rankings place the city. Even though it's not the 'tell-all' -- using McDonalds as a guide - you can definitely make a comparison.

Alright - I'm not talking money any more. You have to mention it however. It would be like not mentioning the Red Light District in Amsterdam. If you come to the Nordic countries - might as well be prepared for higher prices.

I first spent about an hour in the Tourist Information Center. These places are great. I always get the city map, the city guide, and the 'What's On' guide. With these 3 pieces of information - I can be dangerous. I see that there is a jazz festival going on in the city this week. Cool. I like jazz. There's nothing wrong with bellying up to beverage of your choice and relaxing to a little jazz every now and again. I did this periodically throughout the day at some of the outside venues in the city.

I just started walking. Oslo was similar to Copenhagen in my eyes (but different than Stockholm). The city is not that big (500,000 people). As like many other cities of this size, there is 1 main street (Karl Johans) that runs straight through the heart of the action. I walked past Domkirken (main church in town), Stortinget (Parliament), Oslo University, and up to the Royal Palace. The primary religion is Christianity (protestant). Norway is run as a monarchy - with its present soverign King Harald V.

Doing this walk didn't take me long at all. I walk pretty fast. This is one of the benefits of travelling alone. I'm not a fan of shopping really - so I stop periodically - but definitely don't go into every single shop on the street. From the Royal Palace, I walked down to the Noble Peace Center.

Wow - this place was really cool. I was very interested in learning more about the Nobel Peace Prize - so I paid the 80 Krone to get in. First off, the Nobel Peace Prize is 1 of 6 categories that falls under the Nobel Prize given each year. The Nobel Prize is given for: medicine, literature, physics, chemistry, economics, and peace. The Nobel Prize facility is located in Stockholm (the fancy restaurant I mentioned that holds the dinner each year), and the Nobel Peace Prize is held in Oslo.

There have been 120 Nobel Peace Prize winners since the inception of the award (1901). That's not many. Most years, the award is given to 1 individual. Other times, it may not be given at all, or may be given up to 3 people or organizations. You may recall that Obama won the award last year (2009). Other recipients of the award include: Mother Theresa (1979), Martin Luther King (1964), Nelson Mandela (1993), Henry Kissinger (1973), the 14th Dalai Lama (1989), Teddy Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919).

The best part of the entire Nobel Peace Prize center was the room with the plaques for each person. Awesome! See the pic - it was this dark room, with small projector screens describing each winner. Have you ever been to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Canton, Ohio) or the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstwon, NY)? I love these places. When you walk into the room of honor - it's special. There's around 300 +/- people in each of the pro sports hall of fames, and only 120 in the Nobel Peace Center. Just think about it. Look how many people have lived on this earth - and only these few have received such recognition. I'll even throw the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in the mix. If I'm passionate about something - I really enjoy seeing the people who are the best at it. Sports, country music, and the Peace Award given to those trying to make the world a better place -- all good.

I next walked down by the waterfront along some of the cafes and restaurants. I grabbed some pasta as I'm under 60 hours before my marathon on Saturday - I've been eating and drinking accordingly. I walked back to the central station via a different route - taking in more of the scenery.

As nice as the city of Oslo is to visit, I don't think there is any question in my mind that the take-home area in Norway will be the fjords on the western coastline. Tomorrow I take a plane to Reyjavik, Iceland. I'll be there for 4 nights - running the marathon on Saturday morning. I'll return to Oslo, spend a day or so to take-in a few misses from today, and then head to the city of Bergen, Norway - where I hope to take a little cruise around the fjords.

Here's to a great day in a peaceful, polished, and polite city.