Arriving in Oslo

When I arrived in Oslo besides the feeling of being happy I noticed how f. exhausted I am. I felt tired lately, but did not realize that the situation is really so bad. I kind of made conclusions for myself already in Helsinki that I have to be more cautious about how to use my energies, and learn to say no.

Friends are getting sick around me, it is scary that at this quite young age the signs of stress already start to show.

Anyways. I am in Oslo now yuhuuuu :)!!!.

First impressions: It is surprisingly warm here. The prices are indeed higher than in Helsinki. Just to mention an example: a travel card  for the local train from the Oslo Gardemoeren Airport costs 90 NOK (approximately 11 EUR), in Helsinki it is 6,30 EUR. Money burns fast in Oslo, in the first 30 minutes I spent 625 NOK on the 72h Oslo Pass and the airport shuttle.

BUT! My main principle is: no b.tching around about money when traveling. I rather do not travel for a while and save up money for the next trip, but I like to enjoy life when I am on the road.
Since I knew about the price difference I made some smart decisions in order to save money what I can use later for drinking a nice coffee in Oslo, visiting the places I want and/or doing some local traveling in Norway. I brought food with me to cook for lunch and dinner, shopped some alcoholic beverages from the duty free shop in Helsinki, and bought the Oslo Pass which is a 72h travel card and entrance ticket to most of the museums.

What I am looking forward the most to see:
Viking Ship Museum (of course!!), Nobel Peace Prize Museum Oslo, Munch exhibition, Ibsen Museum and the Vigeland Park

The people: I have to continue my local exploration tomorrow, because my findings are somewhat contradictory. In Helsinki I saw many different looking people traveling on the same plane with me (different than Finns, more close to my imagined stereotypes about Norwegian people). As I got closer and closer to the center there was less and less Scandinavian looking people to see, and the street view got more and more multicultural. Might be the hot weather, but at first Oslo felt more Central-European to me than Scandinavian, and it reminded me a bit of Barcelona and Rome actually- this might be more an individual and emotional expression though. Tomorrow I will see more from the city and the people in it. The hostel is close to the railway station, and as we know travel hubs are always a melting point.

I am listening to Fever Ray: Fever Ray (album, 2009) now which gives the base mood for the upcoming three days perfectly. I happily discovered that I am fitting to my summer jeans again (yeah!!). Still more running, and gym needed for total shape up, but it is a good thing to notice still. Now a 12 hours sleep will come and tomorrow the real discovery starts.