Oslo, Norway

I wasn't entirely sure I would make it to Norway, as it is not part of the EU and therefore required my first proper border crossing since arriving in France. Needless to say, the border guard spotted the foreign plate straight away and signalled for me to pull over. After a grilling and a search of the van, he was happy and I was on my way to the Norweigan capital. Note to self: Border guards do not appreciate sarcasm when they are questioning you!

Anyway, I decided to try again to find a hostel in the city rather than a campsite - which are actually often more expensive here than hostels. I booked 4 nights at Oslo's largest hostel, Haraldsheim, where I got a bed in a 4-person dorm. It is about 15 minutes to cycle downhill to the city centre (and about 30 minutes to bike back again).

A lot of the popular major buildings can be found on the main street Karl Johans Gate which runs east to west through the medievil city centre from the main train station to the Royal Palace in the Slottsparken. It houses the Domkirke, Parliament Building, University and National Theatre on the way with the City Hall and Marina located just to the south and the Historical Museum and National Gallery just to the north. It also has a variety of grand hotels, shops and bars in between.

Above: Domkirke Church interior - is there not anything else more worthy of the church money than these gold leaf carvings and chandeliers though?

Above: The Parliament Building

Above: The main university buildings - it beats the concrete jungle of Brunel any day.

Above: The City Hall building with it's two large brick bell towers

Above: The vast Royal Palace in the park gardens.

The harbour features mostly small yachts and boats (as well as a few cruiseliners) rather than shipping containers and is spread out along the fjord to the south of the city. The Aker Brygge region on the water's edge used to be the shipyard but has now been reborn into an area of fancy (and expensive) new shopping complexes, flats, and offices.

Also built out on the water, near the central station, is the new Opera House. It is a modern angular building made from white stone and glass, with a wood panel interior. It is a strange looking building splitting the old town from a newly emerging banking sector (with cranes putting up glass tower blocks to the east). The design of the Opera House means that you can walk up the side of the building onto the roof and have a great view of the city and the fjord to the south.

To the north west of the city centre is the Vigeland Sculpture Park, a large green area of rivers, statues and artwork with a large fountain in the middle and a sculpture of a tower of people on the top of the hill.

Oslo is probably a nicer place in the daytime than the night as even the old town centre becomes full of homeless people, working girls and smack addicts - I saw a couple of guys shooting up in right outside the parliment building - even before 10pm. The nightlife is not the most exciting in the world, even on a Saturday, and a small beer normally costs about £8-10.

In the morning I went to the Viking Ship Museum outside the city centre which is definitely worth a visit. It features 3 viking ships which were excavated locally from the blue clay which preserved them so well. Each one was buried in the end as a ceremonial tomb for an important person. The various artifacts found with them are also on display.

The last place I visited was the Akershus Castle and it's surrounding fortress. It ceratinly doesn't look like a traditional castle but it is still worth a look round if only for the view across the harbour and the military guards constantly on patrol.

Oslo is certainly a great, if expensive, place to visit. Now I head west for the first time on the trip, if only briefly, towards Bergen.