Oslo, Norway

A Overcapitalized Capital


blue trolley
Trolleybus passes in front of the City Hall in Oslo.
Facades
Elegant facades of the center of the Norwegian capital.
3 guests
Guests of a religious ceremony in traditional costume at the door of the City Hall.
Paternity
One of the many statues in Vigeland Park, a natural and artistic retreat of the Norwegian capital.
feather problem
Oslo royal palace guard in front of his lair.
Medieval Oslo
Akeshus Castle, one of the historic bastions of the Norwegian capital, built in 1299 and later used as a royal residence
space time
Detail of the astronomical clock at the City Hall in Oslo.
Free afternoon
At the end of Sunday, customers talk on a sheltered terrace in the Oslense neighborhood of Pipervika.
child in statue
Girl conquers the top of one of the many sculptures in the park of Vigeland.
Opera House
Oslo Opera House is a luxurious and creative building located on the city's waterfront and designed by the architect Tarald Lundevall.
in typical costumes
Amalie Frank, a Norwegian from a village on the west coast of the country, dressed to watch a Confirmation taking place at the City Hall in Oslo.
solitary march
Oslo royal palace guard carries out their protocol round trip.
A Norwegian Nobel Prize
Statue of the writer Bjornstjerne Martinius Bjornson who received, in 1903, the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Table on the Terrace
Inhabitants live on an esplanade in the capital, despite the unwelcoming weather.
Unforeseen drama
A girl afraid of falling, she hugs one of the many expressive statues in the park of Vigeland.
Chrism
Guests of a religious ceremony in traditional costume at the door of the City Hall.
Jogging in Vigeland
Athlete runs in front of the Vigeland statue complex.
In the name of peace
Facade of the Nobel Peace Center building, located in the historic heart of Oslo.
One of Norway's problems has been deciding how to invest the billions of euros from its record-breaking sovereign wealth fund. But even immoderate resources don't save Oslo from its social inconsistencies.

Traveling from the airport on the ultra-tech FlyToGet train is nothing but praise for us.

Santiago Garrido, a Venezuelan friend who is exploring Europe, summed up well the financial frustration that can be felt immediately in Norway, as in the rest of Scandinavia: “so I fly from southern Europe there for twenty euros and then land and pay double just to get to the city center??

Something is wrong on this continent of yours!”

trolley, city hall, capital, oslo, norway

Trolleybus passes in front of the City Hall in Oslo.

Another aspect that intrigues us more. As we walk through the station on our way to the exit, we have a different feeling than we expected when we arrived in Norway.

The tall, fair-skinned, blond or red-haired passersby seem to us a small minority in the multi-ethnic mosaic we are crossing.

The Unexpected Multi-Ethnicity Upon Arrival in Oslo

Groups of Somalis stand out completely from the Scandinavian imagination for their dark complexion and, above all, for the women's long and exuberant garments. These Africans are not the only inhabitants to differ.

We passed busy clans of Kurdish men, hailing from Bosnia and Kosovo as well as other parts of Eastern Europe. Also by Pakistanis and Vietnamese. Few or none look like tourists.

Its presence is more visible than ever in front of the central station and in the Gronland district. It is due, in part, to the Norwegian tradition of receiving refugees – despite only those already considered so by the United Nations – and also to a recent openness to emigration that the recurrent lack of labor demanded.

Few nations contribute like Norway to foreign aid and refugee programs.

paternity statue in vigeland park capital oslo norway

One of the many statues in Vigeland Park, a natural and artistic retreat of the Norwegian capital.

Oslo immigrants now number over 25% and their rate of reproduction, together with that of the Norwegians themselves, makes the city's population one of the fastest growing in Europe.

The prosperity of this Nordic nation also contributes to the number of newborn children we also meet.

The Savings and Weighing Some Say to Come from Viking Times

The notion persists that Norwegians are obsessed with saving and investing well.

In bygone times in its history, the Viking ascendants norse they have gone through atrocious needs. They often had to resort to systematic raids and looting that terrorized Europe and earned them an unenviable reputation as incorrigible barbarians.

Akeshus castle, former royal residence, capital, oslo, norway

Akeshus Castle, one of the historic bastions of the Norwegian capital, built in 1299 and later used as a royal residence

In addition to medieval plunder, the nation later went through other difficult phases that led to a strong movement of emigration to the Americas and – joke with the subject – generated in Edvard Munch the despair that led him to paint “The Scream".

guard, royal palace, capital, oslo, norway

Oslo royal palace guard in front of his lair.

These days, the European economy is languishing but it was recently reported that the Oslo government was having trouble deciding how to invest the 570 billion euros accumulated in its gigantic sovereign wealth fund, an amount originated mainly with the sale of extracted oil and natural gas in the North, Norwegian and Barents Seas.

As might be expected, the city's inhabitants show no apprehension. Neither with the solution to the investment problem nor with any national or private financial issue.

opera house, architect Tarald Lundevall, capital, oslo, norway

Oslo Opera House is a luxurious and creative building located on the city's waterfront and designed by the architect Tarald Lundevall.

Oslo's Well-Being That Norwegian Prosperity Only Reinforces

It's Saturday morning. The capital gave itself heart and soul to the outdoors and sport.

On the streets, an athletics event is being prepared in which several thousand Scandinavians participate and which blocks traffic in several key streets. A little everywhere skaters pass us at great speed.

And, on trails in vast green areas, even cross-country skiers who, even without snow, continue to keep in shape for the competitions that will return with the winter.

jogging, vigeland park, capital, oslo, norway.

Athlete runs in front of the Vigeland statue complex.

But it's not just physical activity that makes the day. We walked through Slotts Park when we came across two little women and a boy, all in traditional costume. In the distance, we glimpse several other people in similar robes.

The discovery intrigues us. We can't resist starting a conversation and asking questions.

The Added Value of Norwegian Cultural Roots

Amalie, the eldest of the brothers aged 19, offered to explain: “We have all come for Lutheran profession of faith ceremonies. The costumes are typical of the region and village in which we live, called Frank, just like our nickname.

typical costumes, religious ceremony, capital, oslo, norway

Amalie Frank, a Norwegian from a village on the west coast of the country, dressed to watch a Confirmation taking place at the City Hall in Oslo.

It is on the west coast of Norway. The ceremonies will take place in the City Hall. Several of the guests are atheists or agnostics and, therefore, chose not to do them in any church.”

Respect for the beliefs of others and a strong tradition of intervention in the pacification of the World and its celebration is predominant in the country.

center nobel paz, capital, oslo, norway

Facade of the Nobel Peace Center building, located in the historic heart of Oslo.

It has headquarters at the famous Nobel Institute and the Nobel Peace Center which we passed after a strategic stop at the entrance to City Hall.

There, we can contemplate and photograph the dozens of picturesque natives from the Frank area who arrive and greet each other with feeling.

guests confirming the city hall, capital, oslo, norway

Guests of a religious ceremony in traditional costume at the door of the City Hall.

It has never been more notorious than now that Norway, and Oslo in particular, have their problems.

The Stains of the Far Right and Apolitical Crime

With the crazy attacks that perpetrated against government buildings in the center and in Utoya island, against the young participants of the AUF summer camp (Working Ungdomsfylking or League of Young Workers), Anders Breivik gave expression to a tiny faction of xenophobic Norwegians and, at the same time, extremists.

Even if the Oslo police declared some time ago that the city was the safest in Europe, surprising figures show that crime has increased, surpassing that of other cities in the north of the old continent, to the point that a German travel guide book having dared to dub Oslo the city of “The Scandinavian Crime Capital”.

In the superficial day-to-day of a visitor, this reality shows little or nothing.

esplanade, inhabitants, convivio, capital, oslo, norway

Inhabitants live on an esplanade in the capital, despite the unwelcoming weather.

At Vigeland Sculpture Park, a laid-back crowd of residents and tourists alike enjoy the eccentric statues. They photograph themselves interacting with them.

The summer day weather does not match that of southern countries. But it only takes a few more minutes of walking, this time along the Stranden docks, to see how the Oslo Norwegians have become used to compensating for the lack of sun.

Reassured by the unquestionable national prosperity, they now enjoy increased well-being, travel frequently to distant and exotic places, consume much more and almost always more expensive.

Austerity no longer makes sense in these parts.

Stavanger, Norway

The Motor City of Norway

The abundance of offshore oil and natural gas and the headquarters of the companies in charge of exploiting them have promoted Stavanger from the Norwegian energy capital preserve. Even so, this city didn't conform. With a prolific historical legacy, at the gates of a majestic fjord, cosmopolitan Stavanger has long propelled the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Flam a Balestrand, Norway

Where the Mountains Give In to the Fjords

The final station of the Flam Railway marks the end of the dizzying railway descent from the highlands of Hallingskarvet to the plains of Flam. In this town too small for its fame, we leave the train and sail down the Aurland fjord towards the prodigious Balestrand.
Las Vegas, USA

World Capital of Weddings vs Sin City

The greed of the game, the lust of prostitution and the widespread ostentation are all part of Las Vegas. Like the chapels that have neither eyes nor ears and promote eccentric, quick and cheap marriages.
Cape of Good Hope - Cape of Good Hope NP, South Africa

On the edge of the Old End of the World

We arrived where great Africa yielded to the domains of the “Mostrengo” Adamastor and the Portuguese navigators trembled like sticks. There, where Earth was, after all, far from ending, the sailors' hope of rounding the tenebrous Cape was challenged by the same storms that continue to ravage there.
Valletta, Malta

An ex-Humble Amazing Capital

At the time of its foundation, the Order of Knights Hospitaller called it "the most humble". Over the centuries, the title ceased to serve him. In 2018, Valletta was the tiniest European Capital of Culture ever and one of the most steeped in history and dazzling in memory.
Melbourne, Australia

An "Asienated" Australia

Cultural capital aussie, Melbourne is also frequently voted the best quality of life city in the world. Nearly a million eastern emigrants took advantage of this immaculate welcome.
Perth, Australia

the lonely city

More 2000km away from a worthy counterpart, Perth is considered the most remote city on the face of the Earth. Despite being isolated between the Indian Ocean and the vast Outback, few people complain.
Singapore

The Island of Success and Monotony

Accustomed to planning and winning, Singapore seduces and recruits ambitious people from all over the world. At the same time, it seems to bore to death some of its most creative inhabitants.
Serengeti, Great Savannah Migration, Tanzania, wildebeest on river
Safari
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Yaks
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 11th: yak karkha a Thorong Phedi, Nepal

Arrival to the Foot of the Canyon

In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
The Little-Big Senglea II
Architecture & Design
Senglea, Malta

An Overcrowded Malta

At the turn of the 8.000th century, Senglea housed 0.2 inhabitants in 2 km3.000, a European record, today, it has “only” XNUMX neighborhood Christians. It is the smallest, most overcrowded and genuine of the Maltese cities.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Adventure
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
Conflicted Way
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

Through the Belicious Streets of Via Dolorosa

In Jerusalem, while traveling the Via Dolorosa, the most sensitive believers realize how difficult the peace of the Lord is to achieve in the most disputed streets on the face of the earth.
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatismo, Mexico, San Nicolau Cathedral
Cities
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico

The Home Sweet Home of Mexican Social Conscience

Mayan, mestizo and Hispanic, Zapatista and tourist, country and cosmopolitan, San Cristobal has no hands to measure. In it, Mexican and expatriate backpacker visitors and political activists share a common ideological demand.
Cocoa, Chocolate, Sao Tome Principe, Agua Izé farm
Meal
São Tomé and Principe

Cocoa Roças, Corallo and the Chocolate Factory

At the beginning of the century. In the XNUMXth century, São Tomé and Príncipe generated more cocoa than any other territory. Thanks to the dedication of some entrepreneurs, production survives and the two islands taste like the best chocolate.
Tiredness in shades of green
Culture
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Composition on Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
Traveling
Yala NPElla-Kandy, Sri Lanka

Journey Through Sri Lanka's Tea Core

We leave the seafront of PN Yala towards Ella. On the way to Nanu Oya, we wind on rails through the jungle, among plantations in the famous Ceylon. Three hours later, again by car, we enter Kandy, the Buddhist capital that the Portuguese never managed to dominate.
EVIL(E)divas
Ethnic
Male Maldives

The Maldives For Real

Seen from the air, Malé, the capital of the Maldives, looks little more than a sample of a crammed island. Those who visit it will not find lying coconut trees, dream beaches, spas or infinite pools. Be dazzled by the genuine Maldivian everyday life that tourist brochures omit.
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

Resident of Dali, Yunnan, China
History
Dali, China

The Surrealist China of Dali

Embedded in a magical lakeside setting, the ancient capital of the Bai people has remained, until some time ago, a refuge for the backpacker community of travelers. The social and economic changes of China they fomented the invasion of Chinese to discover the southwest corner of the nation.
Mexcaltitán, Nayarit, Mexico, from the air
Islands
Mexcaltitan, Nayarit, Mexico

An Island Between Myth and Mexican Genesis

Mexcaltitán is a rounded lake island, full of houses and which, during the rainy season, is only passable by boat. It is still believed that it could be Aztlán. The village that the Aztecs left in a wandering that ended with the foundation of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the empire that the Spanish would conquer.
St. Trinity Church, Kazbegi, Georgia, Caucasus
Winter White
Kazbegi, Georgia

God in the Caucasus Heights

In the 4000th century, Orthodox religious took their inspiration from a hermitage that a monk had erected at an altitude of 5047 m and perched a church between the summit of Mount Kazbek (XNUMXm) and the village at the foot. More and more visitors flock to these mystical stops on the edge of Russia. Like them, to get there, we submit to the whims of the reckless Georgia Military Road.
Cove, Big Sur, California, United States
Literature
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

Over 150km, the Californian coast is subjected to a vastness of mountains, ocean and fog. In this epic setting, hundreds of tormented souls follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and Henri Miller.
El Nido, Palawan the Last Philippine Border
Nature
El Nido, Philippines

El Nido, Palawan: The Last Philippine Frontier

One of the most fascinating seascapes in the world, the vastness of the rugged islets of Bacuit hides gaudy coral reefs, small beaches and idyllic lagoons. To discover it, just one fart.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
mini-snorkeling
Natural Parks
Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Back to Danny Boyle's The Beach

It's been 15 years since the debut of the backpacker classic based on the novel by Alex Garland. The film popularized the places where it was shot. Shortly thereafter, the XNUMX tsunami literally washed some away off the map. Today, their controversial fame remains intact.
khinalik, Azerbaijan Caucasus village, Khinalig
UNESCO World Heritage
Chinalig, Azerbaijan

The Village at the Top of Azerbaijan

Set in the rugged, icy 2300 meters of the Great Caucasus, the Khinalig people are just one of several minorities in the region. It has remained isolated for millennia. Until, in 2006, a road made it accessible to the old Soviet Ladas.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Characters
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Dominican Republic, Bahia de Las Águilas Beach, Pedernales. Jaragua National Park, Beach
Beaches
Lagoa Oviedo a Bahia de las Águilas, Dominican Republic

In Search of the Immaculate Dominican Beach

Against all odds, one of the most unspoiled Dominican coastlines is also one of the most remote. Discovering the province of Pedernales, we are dazzled by the semi-desert Jaragua National Park and the Caribbean purity of Bahia de las Águilas.
Pilgrims at the top, Mount Sinai, Egypt
Religion
Mount Sinai, Egypt

Strength in the Legs, Faith in God

Moses received the Ten Commandments on the summit of Mount Sinai and revealed them to the people of Israel. Today, hundreds of pilgrims climb, every night, the 4000 steps of that painful but mystical ascent.
Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
On Rails
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
Society
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

Work is essential to most lives. But, certain jobs impose a degree of effort, monotony or danger that only a few chosen ones can measure up to.
Saksun, Faroe Islands, Streymoy, warning
Daily life
Saksun, StreymoyFaroe Islands

The Faroese Village That Doesn't Want to be Disneyland

Saksun is one of several stunning small villages in the Faroe Islands that more and more outsiders visit. It is distinguished by the aversion to tourists of its main rural owner, author of repeated antipathies and attacks against the invaders of his land.
Newborn turtle, PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Wildlife
PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica

A Night at the Nursery of Tortuguero

The name of the Tortuguero region has an obvious and ancient reason. Turtles from the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea have long flocked to the black sand beaches of its narrow coastline to spawn. On one of the nights we spent in Tortuguero we watched their frenzied births.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
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