Things to do in Norway
 

My sister and brother inlaw are going to Oslo for a work/vacation trip. Anything interesting there not in the tourists websites they should check out?

Oslo
 

I live in the western part of Norway , and have to say that Oslo isnt really a nice city .

Its kind of bland/ dirty and has some major areas where junkies and prostitutes congregate .This doesnt really improve it any .

As for giving advice - it all depends on how old your sister and brother in law are and what they like to do .

I guess there are some places where the locals go that could be nice to go to ,taking in the sight of the locals etc .

Please be fore warned of prices though . A beer is around 10 US dollars at a pub .A tolerable meal at a sit down restaurant around 35 dollars .

Have them ask for specific activities - will try to get them an answer .

I'm planning on going to hike and climb around Jotunheimen in the summer, and I'm starting to think that maybe I should bring my own beer with me :D

(No, I'm not planning on drinking while driving or climbing or even hiking, but I need something to do on the days between :P)

They're in thier early 30's., jsut married in October so I guess the working girls is out...And Pete has random pee tests at work. I guess they won't be having any fun:o

They've been warned about the prices- Christi's company is based there (PGS..don't know what they do) so the company is footing 1/2 the bill, Pete's a tag a long.

I know they're going on a tour to a fjord by train, and talking about a viking museum.

I wa thinking maybe you knew the off the beaten track stuff- the local restraunt that's great, but not in any tourist info. For example, everybody has heard of the battle of the Alamo, but Santa Anna was defeated here in my little town of Baytown- we have a multi storey monument, witht the USS Texas drydocked across the street, and there's a great seafood restraunt just on the other side of the ship channel.

Here's an idea of where my mind goes -- when I first read the title of this thread, my mind immediately filled in, "Things to do in Norway When You're Dead," like the title of that weird movie.:(

recommendation
 

I definently recommend bringing booze instead of beer -it weighs too much on a hike . :D

The country is wealthy ,its sort of isolated as fars the continent go and we are outside the Union .And we have a protectionist industry even when compared to other countries .The goverment tries to curb drinking by slapping taxes on alcohol .But who are they kidding ? We only eat less..

joke.


Norway has nature -thats where you should go if up here .The towns and cities are ok I guess,but if you want culture and architecture - other places are probably more vibrant .

Have a good hike .I can recommend the Setesdalsheiane ,Hardanger Vidda and Lyngsalpene as fars as hiking goes.Finmarksvidda is also awesome ,but dense with mosqitos in summer.(They are BIG) .

Roger that
 

I will get on it .The museum they are talking about is OK if you like that sort of thing -its got an authentic viking ship etc .

I will get back to you with a few recommendations .

I beg to differ.....

10 USD for a beer my ass.... It all depends of where u go...I usually pay about 29NOK for 0,5l of beer at the pub i frequent...and yes its filled with alcoholics from 8 in the morning to 3:30 after midnight. But then again I wouldn't get a clown to fix my toilet. (And they probably have the best beer in oslo cuz they sell so much...never stale beer hehe...Apart from that u can buy bottled beer and go into one of the many parks...here u can use a one-time grill and eat food/drink beer etc...

As for the nature there is a lot of it around ; personally I keep myself to centre of town. But if you're into hicking Oslo has millions of possibilities.

Expenses:
Yes it's expensive - and thank god for that. We who live here earn a good deal to so it balances nicely out - but then again you can live rather nicely if you know where to look.

Junkies:
3500-7000 heroin addicts makes oslo Heroin-capitol of Europe. But then again you should rather stay away from gangs of Somalis since they even mug their own kind...a Somali friend of my actually got mugged by a bunch of Somalies a couple of weeks back. It all comes down to how you behave...usually at night...there are places you shouldn't be basically. Personally I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Regarding food at restaurants:
You can get a decent meal for 100NOK (no drink) - coincidently not far from the pub that sells the cheap beer (100m)

If you wan't the best value for money venture to east parts of oslo - If you're loaded travel to the west side.

I can deliver links,photos,maps or phonenumbers for those interested.

-General Pain

We have Norway in my list of possible destinations (when money and our 13 months daughter allow it).

Regarding the money and prices, now I understand better the reason behind the horde of Norsemen and Saxons that invade our Mediterranean coasts in the summer...;) It's easy to distinguish them among the others... Red-toasted skin, dark glasses, not less than half a liter of beer in each drink consumption and life cycle automatically adjusted to ignore the morning hours. :D

your city is crap
 

beg all you like - it still sucks you eastern swine!

Hmm, so Oslo - High prices, swarms of smack junkies, Somali mugger infested no-go zones, cold climate... I think I'll pass :evilgrinb

You should write travel guides :) I'm sure there's a lot more to Oslo than this, but nice summary.

Well I forgot to mention my anual Tuesday Massive PArties at my place.......(invites only)

We had a wicked one last night ...rather international crowd actually

1 x Somali
1 x Gambian
1 x Englishman
1 x American
4 x norweigians

Its basically a lot of good music and drinks ...and i kick people out around 24:00 - cuz I have to go to work the next day

Awww, okay... maybe I'd visit Oslo for that.

ahem..
 

Are you extending an invitation to the couple coming to Oslo as this thread started with ?

How about coughing up a few places outside the junkie crawling -prostitute swarming -over priced -somali mugger infested zones for these people to actually check out ?

I mean -is your apartment the sight to see in Oslo ?

if in oslo...
 

you should atleast go and see a couple of museeum, it sounds boring, bit they have some excellent pieces, like "mother and child divided", munch museum is always "fun", and it costs practically nothing.
but walking in a city, well it is walking in a city...

take a boat ride, doesnt cost that much and you can get to see nice summer sea fun (topless sunbathing... ohh it was a couple... obs)...

or take a trainride to fredrikstad, or kristiansand (it last a couple of hours, but on upside; if u order them 2 days in advance it cost only 30 bucks, wherever long you want to travel)

it is not legal to drink outside in the park, but the cops tends to see the other way in oslo, as long as you pick up your trash when leaving (but do not try that in the bible belt near Kristiansand, you get fined before the sound `whzzz` has left the can of beer).

what we have in norway is as told, nice country sides and people (age 40-80) speaking bad english...

summertime is a pickpocket time, when all the professionals pickpockets from other countries comes to refine their trade...

but do not worry, they will probably have a nice time...

but you should know that the trolls and goblins wakes up at 0330 every night, so then you should probably be inside.... :P

Perhaps the good time that was had by all?:rolleyes:

of course
 

there you have it -General Pains apartment - thats the best we can come up with ...

I think that was already on thier plans.

ill bet they will have a great time...
 

it is only we from norway, with our singel payer healthcare, gunless cops and a population of the main capital of about half a million people that sees everything wrong... but the price of beer sucks, but that even sucks in europe now so...

i would recommend grilling in the park, with a couple of cold ones, it is so oslo in the summer, there is is one park near the grønland police station(witch inceedently is very close to the oslo county jail), never seem to be to much trouble there, well in that department there seems never to be much trouble anywhere, except for when the trolls comes out, yes we have trolls, it is no joke... someone even have another name for them... beggers...

well how should i know, I AM NOT A MINDREADER... i do know the vulcan neck pinch though... :D

Alright - some recommendations from my Eastlander contacts
 

restaurants :

Ekeberg restauranten
Restaurant Eik
Restaurant Fjord

a bit pricey - but really nice places .

Saigon Little
Punjab tandoori

cheap but good food.

bars :
Celsius at Akershus fortress
Skybar -Oslo Plaza - great overview of the city
SAS Hotel bar at Holbergs Plass ( Holberg Plaza)
Aker brygge ( Copy of Pier17 in NYC)


for real bars that smell and have cheap beer and the occasional fight among patrons for entertainment ,please refer to General Pain .he funds several of them .

other than that :
go to Bygdøy to see the Folke museum and the Vikingskipet.Nice area for a stroll and to have lunch .

There are boats leaving for the Oslofjord Islands -Hovedøya or Gressholmen .Bring a picknic basket .Its nice if the weather permits .Also a sightseeing boat trip around the oslofjord is worthwhile for newcomers

The new Opera -with the restaurant

Slottet for the changing of the guards (remember to bow down ( women) and eyes downcast (men ) for the royal power -or face the consequences!!!)

Then maybe United Bakery at Karl Johan street for breakfast.

The Palmgarden at Hotel Grand and the bar Etoille on the top floor of the hotel.

Take the metro ( hehe its just not the right word for it but anyways) to FROGNERSETEREN -very nice .

the burrough of Grunerløkka in the weekends is alright .

The Munch museum at Tøyen .

Stay away from :
Holmenkollen .Its under construction .

check out :

Visitoslo.no


this guy works in a medi adistribution company and is used to showing foreigners around .I would say he has come up with some pleasant examples.

If you would like more interesting but less pleasant I must refer you to General Pain . :D

as theDevil said: They will have a nice time and stay away from trolls.

Ooh, ooh... what are the consequences?

punishment
 

jail time .

eastern europeans come each year .its like a resort with bars on the windows.