Bogstad Estate

This is beautiful Bogstad Gård (Estate) in the outskirts of Oslo. It's situated in the Sørkedalen (valley) which is a very nice area. The building is from 1760 and is surrounded by a wonderful park and Bogstadvannet (the Bogstad lake). If you take a look at this post, you'll see photos of the beautiful surroundings.

The Prime Minister Peder Anker, used to live here (very long time ago). Later the buildings and the farm was given to Oslo municipality and is today a museum open to visitors.

Aker Brygge IV

This is an other view at Aker brygge from the harbor as I took while waiting for leaving to Oscarsborg.

This is my last picture here for now. My sister will post tomorrow again! Thanks!

Akershus fortress II

This is taken from the habor in Oslo, while I was waiting for leaving to Oscarsborg. It's a different look than have been taken earlier.

Y-block

Here is an other building in Regjeringskvartalet which are next to H-block. Here the Ministry of Education and Research have office. This side of building are pretty and made of Carl Nesjar (it's only in norwegian) and were build in 1970 of Erling Viksjø which also builded H-block.

Why it's called Y-block, it's because of it's shaped like an Y.

H-block

I've taken 2 pictures of the tallest building in the government district in downtown of Oslo. It's where the Prime Minister of Norway have office and the Ministry of Justice and Police also have room. It's a pretty building, the first picture is where the "main entrance" for visitors are. The second picture is the part I look at everyday when I'm at work. Sadly I don't have picture of the flank of the building, it have some pretty drawings.

It's called Høyblokka (tall block) and for short H-blokka (h-block). It were build in 1958 of Erling Viksjø. Before it were some old buildings. Sadly I don't know where to find picture of those buildings.

Fountain

Here's a picture I took few years ago in Frongerparken. It's one of the big fountains that are in the middle, after the brigde.

Lothiane also took pictures here and here before.

Oscarborg Fortress

I went to Oscarsborg Fortress that lay in the thinest part of Oslofjord, close to Drøbak in the end of May. And this is part of the cannons that shot down the ship, Blücher April 9th 1940. That made it possible for the government and the royal family of Norway to escape from the Germans.

It's a pretty island that lie about 45 mins with ferry from Oslo. I went there with my work for a conference. I feel that Oscarsborg Fortress is an important part of the history of Oslo and want to show you that. The guide told about the day that they attacked Blücher, it was a morning with fog and they couldn't see much what was going on. But they managed to sink the ship and that's pretty awsome because the most of the military which were there, had just arrived few days before.

Fortress and restaurant

This is the last I'll submit from the photos I took at Aker Brygge. This is a closer look at the Akershus Fortress, but it also shows a small, white building higher up on the hill of Ekeberg. That is the Ekeberg Restaurant - a well-known place for many Oslo residents. The building is from 1927 and is one of the finest examples of functionalism in Norway. The view from the restaurant is fabulous.

Another interesting fact is that the background in the Munch painting "The Scream", is the Oslo fjord seen from the hill of Ekeberg.

Photo: by Lothiane

I'm leaving on a holiday tomorrow, finally going to the land I've dreamed of visiting for a long time: Scotland. My sister Imzadi will take time to add photos to this page while I'm gone.

Take care! :-)

The harbour

This is another view from Aker Brygge; the Oslo City Hall seen from the harbour.

The boats you see are mostly ferries, but I don't know where they'll take you.

Photo: by Lothiane

Aker Brygge III

This is the view from Aker Brygge. What you see is Oslo City Hall which were showed earlier.

Woman in red hat

This is also from Aker Brygge.

This statue of a nude woman in a red hat, was very popular among the passers by. From the restaurant were I sat, I suddenly noticed this gent sitting down to pose next to the statue. His wife laughed so hard she hardly could take any photos. His friends were all laughing too. Quite amusing!

Photo: by Lothiane

Aker Brygge II

This is another photo from Aker Brygge. This is from the "atrium", if you could call it that. Kids love to play in this area near the fountain.

Photo: by Lothiane

Aker Brygge

Aker Brygge ("the Aker quay") is a huge shopping mall and area for restaurants. It's situated in the Oslo harbour area. From 1854-1982 this was an engineering workshop and shipbuilding yard. In 1986 the first part of Aker Brygge was ready, and later it has expanded several times. The area has approx. 40 restaurants, many shops, a cinema, a comedy theater and many apartments. The buildings have a marine look to them. I wouldn't say they're beautiful, but it's still an interesting place.

In the summer weekends especially, people are swarming here, eating out with their friends and collegues. When the weather is nice, like it was this Saturday, it's great to sit outdoors enjoying a meal (and a cigarette). No smoking is allowed inside.

Photos: by Lothiane

Akershus fortress

This evening I've been out, to the cinema and to a restaurant at Aker Brygge. Very nice! I brought my camera and took a few pictures from the harbour. This photo shows Akershus fortress and castle, from year 1290. It's over 700 years old and really a fantastic place to visit. There are a couple of museums there, and you can also join in on a "ghost tour" some evenings. I've done that once and it was really interesting. The fortress was used as a prison, and the most famous prisoner is Ole Høiland, a thief who robbed The Bank of Norway in 1835. He managed to escape several times, but were captured again and ended his life at Akershus Fortress.

The fortress has successfully survived many sieges, mostly by Swedish forces, and has never been successfully captured by a foreign enemy. The Norwegians are pretty proud of that, of course. During WW II however, the fortress surrendered without combat to Nazi-Germany after the Norwegian government evacuated Oslo. The Germans used the castle as a prison and executed several people. After the war ended, 8 traitors were executed, for their war crimes, at the fortress.

If you ever visit Oslo, make sure to stop by Akershus fortress. It has a really interesting history and is a lovely area.

Photo: by Lothiane

Balloon ride over Oslo

Yesterday, I noticed a blue balloon on its way above Oslo. It was quite far away (1-2 kilometers), but I could hear the fire burning when they filled the balloon to make it rise. It must have been a fantastic ride for those on board.

Sorry about the crappy quality, I really need a new camera.

Photos: by Lothiane

Whispers from the past

This is an old photo from one of the cemeteries in Oslo. This spot with similar head stones are the graves of some of the many soldiers dying here during World War II. These soldiers were mostly British. The German soldiers have their own cemetery at Alfaset.

Photo: by Lothiane

Sunrise

Remember the Færder regatta I showed you photos from earlier? This photo is actually taken from one of the boats participating. A friend of Stormel took it and was so kind to let us use it on the blog. Thank you! I think it's a lovely photo!

Green park

The royal palace is surrounded by a very nice park with huge trees, a few ponds and lots of flowers. This is from the pond behind the palace. Beautiful, isn't it!?

Photo: by Stormel

Ringgata

Stormel is doing a great job these days, sending me photos from her trips around Oslo. I'm happy for that, since I haven't had the time myself. But I'll soon have more time on my hand.

This is a photo from Ringgata (= the Ring street). It's situated in a part of Oslo called "Old Oslo". The street got it's name a long time ago, back in the 1880's when they were planning to build roads going in a ring around Oslo center. Today, the only thing remaining is a short piece of this street with some blocks of flats from the 1940's and beginning of 1950's.

Ringgata is also one of the streets represented in the Norwegian version of Monopoly.

Photo: by Stormel

Jewel of the seas

This is the cruise ship Jewel of the seas passing the Dyna lighthouse. I wish I was onboard! :-)

Photo: by Stormel

The regatta near Dyna lighthouse

Another photo from the Færder regatta. They're sailing past the Dyna lighthouse, a famous sight in the skerries of Oslo. The lighthouse is from 1874, and used to be very important for those who sailed here. Today it's mostly a tourist attraction, you can rent is as a place to have parties and they have a restaurant there as well.

Photo: by Stormel

Regatta

This is a view of Oslo from a small island called Little Herbern. They have a restaurant there. Stormel, my guest blogger, spent some time there yesterday and took lots of nice photos from the Færder Regatta that began yesterday. The first boats have arrived at the finish area, but many are still competing right now.

The Færder Regatta is the biggest in Scandinavia and probably also the largest "over night regatta" in the world. More than 1000 boats join in this race. It's the 60th time they arrange this, so it's a pretty long tradition.

In the background you can see the huge cruise ship "Jewel of the seas"

As you can see the weather is wonderful. It's 29-30 C these days. Summer has arrived!

Photo: by Stormel

Spektrum details III

This is an even closer look at some of the details from Oslo Spektrum. I love these tiles and I really like how they've decorated this building which otherwise would have been quite boring.

Photo: by Stormel

Spektrum details II

Another detail from the Oslo Spektrum Arena.

Photo: by Stormel

Spektrum details I

This is from one of the walls of the Oslo Spektrum Arena, which I showed you yesterday.

Photo: by Stormel

Oslo Spektrum

This is the Oslo Spektrum arena, that I've mentioned in another post earlier. Remember the roundabout? You can see it in this photo as well. :-) Also, right next to Spektrum is the hotel Oslo Plaza which I've also written about earlier.

In the Oslo Spektrum Arena they have concerts, shows and trade fairs. This is also the arena for such events as the Nobel Concert, Nordic Music Awards, the Spellemannsprisen (the Norwegian "Grammy"), and a variety of top international artists.

The details of the building is quite cool. I'll return with more photos from Spektrum in the days to come.

Photo: by Stormel

A man in bunad

This is one of the photos I took on May 17th. This handsome guy is wearing a national costume, called bunad. I think more men should wear these! ;-) What do you think?

Bagpipes in Oslo

From yesterday's Music Festival in Oslo; the Oslo Caledonian Pipe Band playing on the first summerday this year. A lot of bands were performing on 30 stages in Oslo - for 12 hours. All free to those who wanted to take part.

These photos show Egertorget, a square on the main street of Oslo: Karl Johan's street.

To hear an example, just click here to see a video on YouTube. My 11 year old son took the photos and the video.

A new building

Recently, I've showed you some buildings and houses in Oslo. This building is brand new. Noone lives here yet, but soon there will be lots of people moving in. This is taken from above, you only see the top floors. I think there are 6 or 7 floors in this block of flats. I think they will really enjoy the huge terrace that they will have in common. Each apartment also have one balcony as you can see in the front of the picture.

The view they'll all share is really wonderful. I've shared it with you before in a few different posts, among them this and this. My dad lives in the building next to this new one, that's how I got this photo.

Today in Oslo there is a huge Music Party. For 12 hours lots of bands will play on stages all over Oslo (mostly downtown). They don't charge anything to play and you don't have to pay to listen. I'm going to take part in this myself. Hopefully, someone else will take photos so I can share with you tomorrow. It's not possible for me to bring a camera today, unfortunately.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Theme Day: View from bedroom window

This is a photo taken this morning from the bedroom window. As you can see we have a rainy day.

Seattle (WA), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Toruń, Poland - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Vantaa, Finland - Madison (WI), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Omaha (NE), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stockholm, Sweden - Grenoble, France - Lubbock (TX), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Hyde, UK - Joplin (MO), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Kansas City (MO), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Manila, Philippines - Sydney, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - London, UK - Chandler (AZ), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Singapore, Singapore - Hamburg, Germany - Sydney, Australia - Tenerife, Spain - Moscow, Russia - Lyon, France - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Evry, France - Hayle, UK - Mumbai, India - Kitakami, Japan - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - La Antigua, Guatemala - Paderborn, Germany - San Diego (CA), USA - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Madrid, Spain - Lyon, France - Selma (AL), USA - Shanghai, China - Baziège, France - Cologne (NRW), Germany - North Bay (ON), Canada - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Stayton (OR), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Hong Kong, China - Trier, Germany - Joensuu, Finland - Paris, France - Greenville (SC), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Cork, Ireland - Bastia, France - Vancouver, Canada - Brookville (OH), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Mainz, Germany - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Torino, Italy - Montréal (QC), Canada