September 2007
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48 Hours: Oslo
By Jeannette Kimmel Photo by Travel Pix Collection/Jonarnoldimages.com
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Over 200 life-size sculptures populate the Vigeland Sculpture Park. |
Norway's capital lures visitors with its new cultural treasures.
 rom the glossy new Nobel Peace Center to a developing riverfront, Oslo makes the most of its newfound wealth. But Norwegians also love the outdoors and are proud of the fact that only one third of the city is urbanized, the rest comprising forests, lakes, rivers, and the Oslo Fjord. In the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Raphael Kadushin explores this northern powerhouse—one of the world's most expensive cities. Whether you're on a shoestring budget or staying at the historic Grand Hotel, check out Traveler's top podcasts, magazines, books, and more to get the most out of Scandinavia's oldest capital city.
Blogs
Podcasts
Newspapers
Magazines
Maps
Books
Movies
Blogs
On Top of the World
Originally from Iowa, blogger Emily relocated to Gjovik, Norway, with her husband in 2006. She shares her insights on Norwegian culture and food, and learns what it means to be (almost) "on top of the world."
Knut Albert's Beer Blog
Based in Oslo, Knut Albert keeps you on tap with the latest news and reviews of European beer.
Oslostil
This team of fashion enthusiasts turns to the streets of Oslo for the hottest fashion trends in the city. Postings are in both English and Norwegian.
Photos from Northern Norway
Photographer Thomas Laupstad explains how he took each of his beautiful landscape and nature pictures of Norway in this photo blog.
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Podcasts
Oslo International School
The Oslo International School's "Traditional Norwegian Food" podcast has heaps of information about the history and culture of Norwegian cuisine.
iPod Traveller
Nick and Opal travel all around Europe to find the best and the worst of European travel. Check out their first two podcasts, "Nordic Oddities" and "Baltic States," where they tell you how to survive on a budget in some of the world's most expensive cities. Check back for their upcoming city guide to Oslo.
Newspapers
Aftenposten
Norway's leading newspaper includes its picture series, live Web cams, an Only in Norway section, and current news on the royal family.
The Norway Post
News and current events from an English-language news site. Includes an events calendar and information on local festivals, food, attractions, and weather.
World News Network
This World News Network affiliate provides breaking news, as well as events listings, travel information, and facts about Oslo.
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Magazines
Streetwise The ultimate budget guide to visiting Oslo. Includes information on accommodations from camping to cottages, day trips outside the city, what to do in the city, events listings, a food guide, and much more. Check out Oslo in a nutshell to learn why Grunerlokka is the "Greenwich Village of Oslo," what to see outside of Karl Johans gate, and where to find Oslo's medieval ruins.
Norway.com Magazine
This new magazine in both English and Norwegian offers accommodations, shopping, and museum guides by city, advice on tracing Norwegian-American genealogy, information on popular Norwegian music, and other practical tips for visiting Norway.
Nordic Reach
This "quarterly of Scandinavian culture" features sections on travel, lifestyle, fashion, food, and tradition. Find it on Scandinavian Airlines flights to Norway or check it out online.
Maps
VisitOslo
Interactive map shows shopping, attractions, accommodations, and restaurants in Oslo.
Arounder Oslo
Click on the map for a virtual city tour with 360˚ views of Oslo's most popular attractions.
RailEurope
An interactive map detailing rail routes of Norway and the rest of Europe.
Audio Tor
Audio Tor recently launched its iPod audio tours of Oslo. Before you go, listen to audio samples and download their detailed maps of downtown Oslo. Once in Oslo, stop at an information center to rent an iPod with over 60 audio tracks with information and walking tours of the city.
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Books
Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset (1920)
This Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian trilogy chronicles the life of Kristin Lavransdatter in 14th-century Norway. Undset weaves social and political history into Kristin's story about love, family, and growing up amidst the fjords and forests of Norway.
Summer Light, A Walk Across Norway, by Andrew Stevenson (2002)
Lonely Planet author of Kiwi Tracks takes off on his next adventure on the opposite side of the world—this time, walking and cycling from Oslo to Bergen. Stevenson climbs the country's highest mountain, sleeps on hilltop farms, discovers majestic fjords, and falls in love with a country and its people.
Beyond the Cold, by Michael Kleiner (2006)
Kleiner spent only a year in Norway as a 10-year-old, but its culture and people drew him back again and again. In this memoir, Kleiner, a Norwegian expert and sportswriter, recalls memories of a reindeer sleigh ride and a snow-covered schoolyard in 1970, the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994, and more.
Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen (1867)
Norway's most famous author based this play on an 18th-century fabled huntsman from Gudbrandsdalen who flees his Norwegian village after a woman rejects his love. Edvard Grieg composed his famous "Peer Gynt Suites" to accompany Ibsen's drama about choices and identity.
The Fellowship of Ghosts: Travels in the Land of Midnight Sun, by Paul Watkins (2004)
After a traumatic accident on his first trip to Norway on a deep-sea fishing boat, Watkins returns to trek the paths of Norse legends. From the folkloric trolls of Trollheimen to the pristine valleys and waterfalls of Geirangerfjord, Watkins explores both the history and the modern aspects of the far corners of Norway.
Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder (1994)
Fourteen-year-old Sophie, who lives in a small Norwegian village, comes home one day to find a letter in her mailbox asking, "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" A playful story about philosophy, this internationally recognized novel is a bestseller in the author's native Norway.
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Movies
Elling (2001)
Two men who meet in a state home are released and given an apartment in Oslo. They are desperately dependent on one another, but manage to make peculiar friendships and get through everyday tasks in this Oscar-nominated comedy.
Cool and Crazy (2001)
This documentary about the Berlevag Men's Choir tracks several generations of singers working in a small fishing village in Norway. The men tell their life stories (their first loves, a past drug addiction, gutting fish), sing proudly outside during a Nordic blizzard, and tour in Russia.
Other Side of Sunday (1998)
Directed by Berit Nesheim, this Oscar-nominated film follows Maria, a Norwegian girl in the 1950s chafing under the strictures of her father, the town's priest. But then she strikes up a friendship with the church secretary, with whom her father is having an affair.
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