I spent my first full day in Oslo exploring the city on foot, ferry and train. My first impression of Norway is this is a rich country. This country spends it’s oil wealth and high taxes on infrastructure and it’s people. All the streets appear new and clean with an efficient train and ferry system that makes it easy to navigate around town if you can figure out the system. In order to use the trains and ferry system in Norway, you must download the Ruter # Application onto your phone. Ruter means route. Without the Ruter # app you cannot use the mass transit system efficiently, you are stuck buying single tickets everywhere and good luck finding a place to buy transit tickets. So I downloaded the app.
My first stop was the site of the Noble Peace Prize; City Hall in downtown Oslo. Built between 1937 and 1950 with a five year interruption called WWII. It has an Art Deco appearance, inside and outside.
Oslo is surrounded by hundreds of islands and a very long coast line. There is an efficient ferry system to transport Norwegians and tourists to their destinations.
The Oslo Museum of Art is new, it opened its doors in June. It has a wide variety of art, from Renaissance classics to modern art. My favorite section was the Impressionist artists This Monet was purchased by the gallery in 1890 for the first Museum of Art. It was the first Monet sold to a national museum.
While wandering around Oslo and walking through a beautiful park overlooking the water, I cam across this status of Franklin Roosevelt. I was reminded that President Roosevelt was a good friend of Norway during WWII and the Queen of Norway lived in the White House for a good part of the war.