Paul was still out wandering Oslo on foot when Dwight and Cindy got back to the hotel. I'd made it back from the Resistance Museum easily, thanks to the fact that the museum was an easy fifteen minute walk from the hotel, and thanks to the map that I consulted at least ten times as I walked. They both wanted to wander over to the remarkable Oslo Opera House, and that sounded like a perfect plan to me. The building opened in 2008 and was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. It looks like a ship moving right out into the fjord, and the best part is that you can walk this marble building's sloping roof from bottom to top!
We had dinner outdoors at the Opera House's restaurant, eating at a table right near the water, then we toured as much of the indoors as we could before moving outside to climb the roof to the top.
There was a TV crew there taping some Norwegian show, complete with a singer, dancer, and a troupe of young unicycle riders. For me, though, the building itself was the best entertainment. There were new angles and shadows at every turn, and a really good photographer would have a blast here. My SD card filled up to maximum capacity inside, though, so I didn't get a chance to capture any of my own mediocre photos outside. Cindy sent me this stunner taken at the top, though.
That photo was taken at about 10pm, by the way, and as you can see, the sun is still shining. Oh, how I miss the midnight sun!
We headed back to the hotel, via the virtually empty Oslo metro. Cindy wondered out loud if the subway was empty because the sun was still shining, and Norwegians face such long dark winters that being underground on a nice summer evening might be unthinkable. I have to admit that it was a pleasant change after all of those jam-packed train cars in London and Paris. Back at the hotel, I started the process of packing, and while I meant to get to bed early, I didn't get there until about 1am. My room was on the fifth floor, and on the street below were several bars and dance clubs, and on a nice summer Saturday night, they were hopping and noisy. Even with ear plugs in, I could still hear the shrieks of laughter and the bass beat of the music. I got up and called the front desk for a 3am wake-up call. I chuckled when the guy at the desk said, in heavily accented English, "That sucks for you."
At 3:15, I awoke to the sound of my alarm. What happened to my wake up call? I took a quick shower and lugged my stuff to the lobby. I asked the desk clerk about the call: "I called you twice," he said, "and then I came up and knocked at your door." He looked pissed, so I thanked him and made some comment about being a heavy sleeper--which I am not. I believe him, but I'm a little stunned that I slept through all of these attempts to wake me. Paul and I went outside to wait for the bus at about 3:45. Let me say that Oslo at that hour is just crazy. The streets were full of young people, still partying, gypsies out panhandling, and a queue of bleary-eyed travelers waiting for the airport bus. There were more people on the street at 4am than there were at 11pm the night before!
I liked Oslo a lot. I frequently find that the last destination on a big trip is one I hate--I'm travel weary and if the last spot is a big city, I feel too tired to deal with it. I thought that would be true in Oslo--I was certainly weary--but it wasn't. I enjoyed my 24 hour tour of this great Scandinavian city. I hope I'll return one day to see more.
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