Destination Norway- II

The next day, I started to explore Oslo. The first trip was to the office of the conference organizers office near Majorsteun. I got my conference entry pass and then I left for Holmenkollen ski jump. Holmenkollen is located inside the city limits. Imagine…. A ski resort within a city. It is an artificial ski resort, with a single slope located among the low hills around Oslo, set amongst a lot of greenery. The area was well forested, and was served by a local bus stop. It was just within limits of the city bus service, though Oslo is not a very big city. The road leading to the ski slope was steep, and lonely. I crossed a resort on the way, which was under renovation. That must be a cosy, noisy place during the winters…. The façade of the ski slope displayed a sign board conveying that Holmenkollen was to host the Scandinavian winter games.

The Oslo Metro (T- bane)

The ski slope itself turned out to be quite an anticlimax. Obviously, I never expected any snow, but the summer pics online were pretty attractive, with lots of greenery and flowers in place of snow. The reason was that the ski slope was under renovation for the games. The ground around was all dug up and full of construction material. There was nothing much to see there. However, the area around was interesting. The weather was sunny, and the air was cool and crisp. The surroundings were green. It was a nice place to walk. In fact, walking in Oslo was always a pleasure. So I loitered around the area for some time, snoozed on the green grass and then caught the bus back to Majorsteun.

Holmenkollen ski slope

I met a Pakistani on the way back, who told me that I must visit the Vigilande park near Majorsteun, which was supposed to be the only place worth visiting in all of Oslo. So I decided to go there. The place was quite interesting…. A huge garden, with walkways, kids playing, cycling, skating, lots of attractive sculptures and of course….. greenery. I walked around a bit, and found the place pretty much like Lodhi Gardens back home in Delhi. By this time, it was 6 pm. Time to head to the Oslo City Hall, where the pre conference ice breaker get together was to be held. So I took the Metro to the National Theatre, which was close to the venue. The National Theatre area itself was quite a heritage area. They were ancient buildings, constructed in typical Nordic style (though I don't know what that means ;). It was the cultural hub of Oslo. The Oslo City Hall was just a short walk away. The get together venue was in tents behind the City Hall. The tents, it turned out were the ones used by the Eskimos of Norway… the Saamis. And it further transpired that the entire evening was dedicated to the Saamis. They presented cultural events from the Arctic.. music, dance, dresses, display of Arctic life… that came across as nothing too easy. The food was totally new to me. I was certainly looking forward to it…. Complete with meats and wine.. a light meal. The meat, we were informed was reindeer meat. So there was reindeer meat, reindeer liver, and … hold your breath… reindeer tongue. The reindeer, we were told was an integral part of life in the Arctic….. just like the camel in a desert. Of course, all that is changing now, with Eskimos adopting a more western lifestyle and their villages and towns becoming more modern. I met people from so many nationalities, that I was amazed by the colourful world we lived in. This was my first such experience. People from all over the world under a small tent, from as off beat places as Papua New Guinea. The South Americans bore a striking resemblance to us Indians.

Oslo City Hall

The Arctic Tents

The Arctic People- Saami

Reindeer Meat