Oslo, the capital of Norway, is set well to the west and a bit to the north of Stockholm, capital of neigbouring Sweden. The journey by train to Oslo one filled with wonder and awe. The train journey takes you right across the heart of Sweden, from it’s archipelagic eastern borders to it’s greener, western country side dotted with birch trees. The slowly rising and falling hills of the Swedish landscape faded into the distance as the train covered the long miles to our destination. We stopped at various stations along the way with vaguely Russian sounding names: Karlstad, Kristinehamn, Ulricehamn; the rest slip from my memory.
I gazed at all the greenery around me and wondered; in the short month that lay between the snow and spring, the trees had managed to grow back all their leaves, flowers were blooming and the grass covered vast fields in the middle of which small clumps of trees stood like islands in the open sea. The scenery I was slowly taking in reminded me of Middle-earth, the fictional land from the books of my favourite author J.R.R Tolkien, with its untainted landscapes and perfect beauty described by skilful words and wonderful poems. The land walked by my favourite fictional characters, a land of strange landscapes and stranger people. During that journey, I could understand Tolkien as never before, and for that, I have only the Swedish people to thank, for preserving their lands and everything in it.
Oslo is not far from the Norway-Sweden border and is set on the banks of the Inner Oslofjord, a scenic inlet dotted with islands. We arrived in the Oslo Sentral Stasjon, a vast area set smack in the heart of the city. There from of the many counters manned by the kindly Norwegians, we purchased one day transport passes; all manner of public transport in Oslo was now accessible to us. We set off to our hotel immediately, for we were carrying quite a bit of luggage and we were anxious to cool off. 
Our hotel was called the Best Western Apartment hotel set in the Gamle Oslo, or the old Oslo locality. We were taken aback for a moment by the lavishness of the room we were given. For although the price for a one night stay was more than 10 times that of a similar Indian hotel, it was pretty cheap for European standards. Some rest, testing the wi-fi and a glass of coffee later, we set out for the tourist info centre, near the Oslo city hall.
Tourist info, you think might be cliched and no longer that necessary with the advent of the internet and online booking services, but no matter how much home work you do before coming to a city, the tourist info centre is THE place to go for the latest deals and advice on how to best use your passes. With help from a young Norwegian, we made a plan of everything that we should do over the two days.
Standing right by the info centre was the Oslo city hall. A majestic |_| shaped building, it was a splendid piece of architecture. Now, everyone knows that the Nobel prize ceremony is held in Stockholm every year, but what many don’t know is that the Nobel peace prize, won by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and more recently, Barack Obama, is awarded every year in a ceremony organized in the Oslo city hall, the jury being entirely Norwegian. Not a very surprising decision on the part of Alfred Nobel, considering the peaceful nature of the peoples of Norway. A very short distance behind the city hall lies the Inner Oslofjord, and on its banks are many piers and pontoons moored securely and all manner of water transport lined them. 
We slowly walked by the ships, some were commercial ships and tourist ferries and some were sleek and dangerous looking Norwegian naval vessels. We had to walk a couple of kilometers to get on a ferry across the Oslofjord to the various islands. As we finally got on the ferry, the mid-summer sun that had been hiding behind scattered clouds all this while finally broke through and blazed with all its glory. Being completely exposed on the open top deck of the ferry, we tried in vain to ward off the sun with small tourist brochures. 
The beauty of the place however, made me momentarily forget the heat. Oslo was surrounded by green and gently rising hills. In the stark afternoon light, the clear waters of the Oslofjord sparkled like diamonds and the islands of the inlet rose out of the water like huge ships. Everywhere around there was a calmness, ships floated lazily in and out the harbour, tourists were busy clicking pictures and birds flew above slowly gliding on the gentle winds. Since Oslo, or any Scandinavian city for that matter, gets only a few months of summer, the locals use it to their best. Oslo has countless green spaces, large and small. The islands overflow with sun bathing tourists and in no time our return ferry was filled to bursting. Though on the bright side, now we at least had shade!
Once the ferry docked, we walked to the Opera house, a short distance away. Dazzling white, it was like a beacon even in the stark sunshine. It resembled a huge ice berg slanting out of the waters of the inlet. It was an amazing piece of architecture with an impressive view of the surrounding buildings. Just behind was a cluster of ultra modern buildings, the famous Barcode project. Those buildings really surprised me. Visiting many different European cities, I was under the impression that the central area of any European city would be a symbol of preservation and a haven of ancient buildings. Now here I was, staring at many high rises in the heart of the city. The reason for that I found out later, was that the whole area surrounding the Opera house had been under water, well into the 19th century. So all the buildings in the area are relatively modern. While this area had been excavated, archaeologists had found nine sunken ships in the waters!
-to be continued
This is the first part of a multi-part series on modern day Scandinavia. Please let me know if you enjoyed it and more importantly so if you didn't, as I am always looking for ways to improve. Thank you for taking time off to read the article, come back for more!
(Click on the images to get a bigger view.)
(Click on the images to get a bigger view.)
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