Yesterday it was warm and sunny. Today when we opened the curtains it was snowing, so we hurriedly changed into boots and coats, and off we went to discover a white Oslo. Mandy certainly didn't mind the snow. She said it made her 'feel like a schoolgirl', but it meant that we didn't linger long anywhere.
Up Karl Johan's Gate (road) past the Domkirken (cathedral), Norwegian parliament, National Theatre, University, and National Gallery to the Royal Palace being watched over by two very cold guards.
Coffee and cake to warm up, then down to the port. Found the world's quietest McDonalds with a full glass panoramic view of the port from its second storey balcony. Could watch the port and tourist ferries come and go. They were still operating, but rather empty. Walked past the City Hall on the waterfront, which was the first place on this trip that Mandy had already visited with her family in the 70s.
A spot of shopping to augment Mandy's wardrobe, then a walk around the old fortress and castle, down to the cruise ship dock to work out where we were leaving from, and on to the Opera House. Very modern and impressive, and when it comes to Opera Houses I'm hard to impress. Big, white and modern like Sydney, with a roof designed for people to climb to get great panoramas of the city. By now the snowing had stopped, but it was still very cold. We climbed the roof, then walked past a few more of the hundreds of museums in the city (like the small bottle museum) before heading back.
Have to admit that I've found an exception to the Big Mac Index rule. A Big Mac Meal in Oslo costs just over AU$15! It's a shade under AU$7 at home, and AU$6 - AU$8 almost anywhere else we've been in the world. Maybe that's why it was so quiet.
The web's original travel blog
