Have you been to Oslo and what was your impression of it? There was an interesting article in Dagbladet (one of the largest newspapers in Norway) this weekend. A couple of journalist had gone “under cover” and they pretended to be tourists in Oslo for a weekend. The image they painted of the city was pretty grim and I’m just wondering if many of the tourists are left with the same impression after they have visited. I remember the first time I took my wife Nikki to Oslo. We were picked up by a friend outside Oslo central station and more or less the first thing that met us was a drug addict taking his daily shot of something right in the park near by. He was standing with his pants around his ankles and I assume that he was looking for a vein to place the needle of the syringe. The article in Dagbladet painted a similar picture. When you arrive by boat from Denmark it seems like there are two routes to reach the city centre…through a construction area…or through an area with lots of prostitutes. I guess the problem is that prostitution is not illegal in Norway and hence Oslo has lots of street prostitutes compared to cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen. According to the article there are about 400 street prostitutes from Nigeria on Karl Johan alone. Another problem is the organized begging that occurs in Oslo. From January 1st this year it is no longer illegal to beg on the streets in Norway and after this there seems to have been a huge influx of beggars.
It is a shame because Oslo has some wonderful sights like Vigeland park, the Holmenkollen ski arena, several museums etc etc. What is the impression that you are stuck with after visiting Oslo? Is the article right or is it an exaggeration? Here is a link to the article by the way: http://www.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2006/06/03/467969.html . It is only in Norwegian I’m afraid. I hope that I have not put anyone of when it comes to visiting Oslo by the way.
I have not been yet to Oslo or Norway ,tho we definately will explore Scandanavia more on our slow RTW trip as I am part Swedish & loved my last visit to Sweden and Finland when I went to Russia that left me wanting more.
But it happens that I just spoke to a women who went last year with her family as her ancestors were from there.The only thing she could keep talking about is how terribly expensive it is.We live in a very high cost of living area of California and we had this conversation at an event at a very expensive private school where her 3 kids go,so they are not poor,but she was absolutely aghast at the prices.That all she talked about and went on and on with examples like the price of simple things like groceries or an ice cream.
So for her that was the biggest turn off.She did not mention any other sites good or bad.Made me definately want to look into prices before going.
On this Website, there was a discussion entitled "The Truth About Norway?" I wrote there, of my visit in June, '04: I passed several days in Oslo including its national independence holiday. I was shocked at the mixture of feelings I had! The parade of children from schools around the country, people in national dress, had me positively weeping with happiness, but the school groups were all singing american pop songs, which (given the national day of pride) seemed odd and quirky. The city is absolutely the most user friendly for tourists, low prices to get into tourist sites, if there's a fee at all, but yes, you can use your entire tour budget at breakfast. It's not a bland city, it's just a really strange culture. I loved it and probably won't return because of the expense."
It's whopping expensive to visit, so costly that it was positively scary to get hungry. We tried to keep costs down by cooking at the hostel ($70 a night!). People were friendly when approached, there was plenty to do for our 4 full days - we could have found more to do if it were warmer and we had more time - It was odd, fascinating, different from anyplace else I've ever been. Vigelund Park blew my mind.
The taxi driver who gave us a ride back to the train station was one of the most entertaining people I ever met in my life. He gave us a five-minute speech about his favorite chocolate cake. He was simply hilarious.
Aside from that, all the visits were rather dull. I'll take Copenhagen over Oslo any day. Sorry.
I haven't been to Oslo, but I spent almost 3 days in Porsgrunn (business) last week.
I guess capitals/big cities are something special everywhere and not especially typical for the country as a whole. I liked the countryside and what I saw in the provencial Porsgrunn. And people were very friendly, kind and hospitable.
Unfortunately I did not have the time to shop or even window-shop, but the prices I did experience were like science fiction. Taxi fare about 2.5 EUR per km in the evening, a bit less during daytime. Half a litre of beer at a local pub about 7.7 EUR. Ordinary pizzas from 12 to 17 EUR (even take away). A big sign by the highway advertised a cup of coffee and a cake for 6.4 EUR. And so on.
As I said: I liked what I saw and had a nice time, but the price level would make me think twice before going to Norway as a tourist.
I have a girlfriend who just returned from a cruise, and of all the places she visited (St. Petersburg; Poland; Oslo; Copenhagen; etc.), she said that Oslo was the best.
It was a beautiful day, and the harbour entrance was thrilling.
Being on a cruise, she probably did not have to buy much, but she did say that it was terribly expensive.
She also like St. Petersburg, but felt that it was 10 years away from being ready for tourists. By her description, it sounded like my experience with eastern European countries 30 years ago.
Oslo is so expensive it's scary. I think that for citizens, a lot of stuff must be underwritten by the government - education, services, etc., because otherwise, how could people afford to live (anyway, there's all that North Sea Oil money), but we outsdiers have to be ready to cough it up if we want to eat there. My husband was in St. Petersburg less than 5 years ago, and he said the city was in terrible condition. The year after he was there, there was supposedly a push to fix up for the city's 300th centennial (or some other anniversary), but I know people who've been back and they say very little has changed.
I grew up in Oslo and lived there until college, so I am really sad that the problems of prostitution and beggars have gotten so out of hand. To me, that is much worse than the price level - cause there is not much we can do about it! The dollar is exceptionally low right now so that makes a big difference for American tourists.
The city council has tried to do something about the drug addicts but it has been largely unsuccessful. For a time they were "moved" to a different part of town to make the area where tourists arrive more appealing, but as you can imagine the people in the other part of town weren't thrilled. It seems that while Oslo does not have a drug problem that is that much bigger than other European capitals, it just happens to be that the part of town the drug addicts congregate in, is right where tourists arrive. It is a sensitive problem and I have no solution but I wish I did! Oslo has a lot to offer and it saddens me that people leave with a bad impression.
As in most cities, visitors would do well in visiting the residential neighbourhoods, the parks, and definitely "Oslomarka" - the hills and forests that border the city and is a mecca for hikers in the summer and skiers in the winter. Apparently there is no other European capital where it is so easy to access "nature." Just get on a tram and take it up towards Holmenkollen, where you can hike, drink hot chocolate at little cabins, swim in the lakes, and feel very far away from the city. And all free! Same with the Vigeland Park, Akerselva...
Oslo is also bordered by the water, so you can take the ferries out to the islands, swim, barbecue...
Oslo is a great city, but I wish we could do something about the things that make the city less inviting. As for the price level, I would suggest not eating out, but rather by groceries and fix your own food. And restaurant food in Oslo is not particularly good, so you won't miss out. Oh, the best thing would be to stay with Norwegian friends or relatives, so that you wouldn't have to pay for the very expensive lodging either!
I was in Oslo in January, and nobody was dropping trou, believe me. I saw some extraordinarily interesting things and walked everywhere with some local friends. Public transport seemed good. The only time we didn't use it was when we did a walking tour with 3 children along. The ethnic neighborhoods were busy and had interesting things to sell. The multi-curltural aspect was surprising, especially the numbers of Africans who chose to adapt to the climate! It was amazing how close to the public the royal family lives. Security issues don't seem to be very present. The shock was the prices. Coffee and a pastry at a hotel cafe was staggeringly expensive. When I was asked to cook a meal at friends' home we traveled far to get ingredients and they were horribly expensive. I'd brought duty free liquor because I'd heard it was costly there and was told it was the first they'd had in years! They drink "clean Norwegian beer" Friday evening only. That phrase was laughingly repeated several times. It seems strange that so many addicts can afford to shoot up and the average Norwegian can afford to drink beer once a week. Still, that Viking ship was something you wouldn't see everyday, and the wooden churches built like the ships were stunning.
My impression was that Oslo was a prosperous city where people drink more than once a week - the restaurants were full constantly. Of course I was there for their independence celebration period, so people may have been whooping it up a little more than usual.
Hi Gard You know what I think already from my reply elsewhere - but I don't mind repeating that I think Oslo is a wonderful city to visit. OK so it's expensive - but the plethora of thing to see, outdoor and museums, is terrific and you can eat all you want at not too outlandisg cost by going vegetarian while you are there - Verthus near national theatre. There are beggars and prostitutes in any large city. David
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