💎 Hidden gems remaining: 4
Also known as the capital of Norway, Oslo is a mysterious city you can only reach through a portal. During holidays, all locals leave for their cabins in the mountains. During the day, the town is mostly empty; at late evening, however, it becomes so crowded you can barely follow your path. Swedish skills will pave you a long way due to great similarity between the languges.
We took a sleeper train to Stockholm. Two things to keep in mind: using the Airport Train Station requires you to pay an additional fee once you reach it. Sleeping beds are fixed perpendicularly to the direction of driving. This means all your blood is either moved into your head or flushed away on each curve. But you get some water in tetrapak.
There, we rented a car. Note: ask them for the nearest gas station selling the gasoline you need (in advanced, developed countries such as Sweeden, the term gas station may also refer to electricity charging stations only).
Why is having a car a good idea? You can stop at any beautiful point. Remember, these Nordic countries are full of marvellous lakes! In early spring, they may be half-frozen.
The blue-blackish colour of Nordic lakes 🤩
Örebro is said to be among the most beautiful cities of Sweden. Although I prefer the nature, this town has a medieval castle and some architecture.
Nowadays, there's a museum inside. Walking through the city, you will find a park and a monument of Sisyphus .
Is this water stream divergent or convergent?
On your way, you will pass numerous lakes, forests and hiking paths. Something exceptional for Scandinavia is that there are free parking spots available at almost all such destinations. So just park your car, immerse yourself in the green, sprightly forest (remember, there was still snow in Umeå) and appreciate the limitless lakes.
Sabrina 🇮🇹, Sina 🇩🇪, Sophia 🇩🇪, Peter 🇩🇪 and I 🇸🇮 said cheese!
If you like climbing, this one will be for you. Just kidding – there's a ramp leading to the top. But it feels good to stand on the roof of a cultural building. You can see the city beneath.
Unless you are there during their holiday break, you can also watch an opera there.
Oslo during night
They are the same picture
The well-known depiction of a person expressing horror exists in multiple instances. One of them is exhibited in the National Museum, others reside in the building across the gulf. The latter are sensitive to light, therefore, they are only displayed in shifts (one third of a day each).
There's a fun story behing this photo. When I approached the painting, the safeguard jumped and wanted to catch me. However, when he saw my intention, he just started laughing and moved out of the photo frame. I sure wasn't the only one making the same expression!?
While there, enjoy other pieces of art as well. Our suggestion is to start at the top-most floor: it exhibits temporary exhibitions (ours was very eye-pleasing!). We just skimmed through the bottom floor, it had some old furniture and stuff.
There's also some "contemporary art" from 1933. Why did I put it in inverted commas? Because you are not allowed to .
Damstredet has colourful historic houses and graffiti. Bring your film camera and enjoy.
You can extend your route to the Mathallen Oslo (open kitchen concept. They also sell a variety of cheeses).
It's always good to get lost in local streets
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Get ready to question the physics of this world. Have fun with mirrors, hidden rooms, upside-down concepts, rotating rooms (note: induces motion sickness!), various paradoxes, photo-points etc. But please, don't eat me!
Just 10 min away by car (or more than an hour by bus), escape the city through the portal, and reach the seaside. It provides a relaxing atmosphere.
You might be surprised how different the outskirts of the city look like compared to the centre. No hustle and bustle. You are back to the peaceful Nordic life.
You can reflect on your life here, just like the trees do
When booking your trip during holidays, keep in mind there might be holidays. Luckily, a pizza place was open. We tried some avocado pizza in different variants: deep and not deep.
To buy food, local shops (Jokers they are called, I think) are there on every corner. But they are small, so don't bring your huge backpacking backpack with you.
Deep 🥑 pizza.