Coming out of the train station, first we saw National Theater, a gorgeous building that hosts the largest theater in Norway, surrounded by a lovely park, pretty fountains, and various sculptures.
The Royal Palace was just a few steps away and we were right on time to see the changing of the guard.
On our way to the Oslo Harbor, we stopped by at Baker Hansen for some refreshments. This bakery celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and offers some fabulous breads, sandwiches, and various baked goods.
We tried a sandwich with shrimps, as well as other sandwiches.
For a sweet bite, we tasted a Kransekake, or "Ring Cake", a traditional Norwegian cake, made with almonds, confectioner's sugar, and egg whites, in a shape of rings. The whole cake is a stack of rings, layered on top of each other, forming a cone shape, typically decorated with candy and Norwegian flags.
We also had yummy chocolate chip and caramel chip cookies.
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The Oslo Harbor is a popular area situated on the Oslo Fjord. Here are several prominent attractions, including the Nobel Peace Center and the City Hall (Radhus).
The Akershus castle is also located in the Harbor area. This medieval fortress was built around 1290 AD to protect the city. Later, it was used as a prison for some time and then as a military area which is still in use today, though the castle is open to the public.
From the harbor area, visitors can take a ferry to visit the fabulous museums in the Bygdøy peninsula (more about these museums in the upcoming post!) as well as various sightseeing cruises in the fjord. We took a 2-hour cruise where we enjoyed the beauty of the Oslofjord.
Also, in the harbor area, opposite the Akerhus castle is the Aker Brygge pedestrian walkway, a lovely area to walk and get a bite to eat. We had two very nice lunches here. Our first lunch was at a seafood restaurant Lofoten. We started with a smoked salmon bruschetta served with cream cheese, greens, and roasted cherry tomatoes.
The fish soup at Lofoten was very flavorful with delicious chunks of salmon, whitefish, and various shellfish.
Our main course was pan-seared hake with fresh tomatoes, cabbage, potato puree, and a spicy sauce that we really liked.
Our second lunch in the Oslo harbor area was at Cafe Albertine where we tasted herring fillets served with skyr (cream), beets, onions, and boiled new potatoes.
For dessert, we couldn't resist sampling a warm, freshly baked Norwegian apple cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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We enjoyed the beauty, tranquility, and genuine warmth of Oslo and its people, and we are saddened by recent events by one extremist. We are sure Oslo will recover and bravely continue to embrace the spirit and values we witnessed on our visit. We offer both our condolences and our fondest wishes for a speedy recovery to normalcy in a difficult time.
