Using the Oslo Pass

If you ever come to Oslo to go sight seeing the best deal by far is the Oslo Pass.   You can buy it in 24, 48 or 96 hour increments.  The pass includes all public transportation in zone 1 (that does NOT include the airport) and admission to 30+ museums around the city.  On Thursday we decided to leave the kiddos at home with Jon and I took my Mom, Dad and Laura to downtown Oslo.  

Here is a shot of them in front of the Palace.  

Our first stop after buying our tickets was Holmenkollen Ski Jump.  To get there you take the line 1 T bane up the mountain.  Then, when you get to the Holmenkollen stop you have to walk up hill.  We had a beautiful day for being out and about, much better than our last trip up to Holmenkollen.  

Here is the official sign for Holmenkollen, when you get to this point you are through about half of your climb.

This is the hotel/restaurant that Jon and I go to enjoy on our first trip to Oslo.  It has been here since the 1800s and was the Nazi headquarters during the WWII occupation.

Laura and the Troll.  From here we went through the ski museum, a very neat place to see how skiing has evolved over the years.  

This is one of the exhibits that I thought was so Norwegian.  This is a picture of a 9 month old baby boy skiing for the first time.

Then we got to take an elevator ride to the top of the ski jump.  The views were just beautiful.

I can't imagine having to be told to leave this platform if it was storming out.

Here is the Holmenkollen Hotel from behind.

I love being able to see all the way to the fjord.

Here is a view from the very top, down to the bottom of the ski jump.

Standing at the top of this jump makes me realize it takes a very special person to be willing to go down this ramp.

Mom did NOT enjoy this part of the trip.  She got off the elevator, but just barely.  

The ski jump cafe has a good selection of sandwiches and salads and desserts.  We stopped for lunch there and then headed down the mountain.  The gift shop here at Holmenkollen is one my favorites in the city too.  They have a beautiful collection of Norwegian sweaters.  They are still expensive, but at least they have a good selection.  I did notice that a stuffed animal I bought was about 30 NOK or $5 less at this store than at other stores I saw in the city.  Our next stop was the Nobel Peace Center, it was interesting, but not someplace I would be anxious to get back to.  

Our last stop for the day was The National Gallery.  It is not a huge gallery, but they do have works by Picasso, Rodin, van Gogh, 

and Munch.  Edward Munch was from Oslo and usually this piece, The Scream, is at the Munch Museum.  Right now they are preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary so things have been moved around. This is not my favorite type of art, but it is always neat for me to see famous works of art in person.  The National Gallery is free on Sundays so I think we will be heading back here.