Oslo Revisited
What’s blue, white, very photogenic and found in Norway?
Clear Nordic skies over snow-capped mountains.
The bright white marble of Oslo’s opera house draped with azure skies.
And….
The Oslo Bysykkel!
I’m switching seasons and revisiting Oslo. Looking back at my 2015 post, my Observations in Oslo remain current. There are, however, a couple of new developments. One is the Oslo Bysykkel – the Oslo city bike.
Oslo city bike is a bicycle hire scheme designed to help people move around the city easily. While the scheme is not new, last year’s purple dragsters have been replaced with a cute blue and white step-through. The bikes have three gears, mudguards, a chainguard and a very handy front rack for holding your handbag or backpack. They are very easy to ride and comfortable.
There are bike stations throughout the city where you can collect and return your hire bike. A growing number of cities have bike hire schemes which typically work on a subscription basis. In Oslo, registration for the current scheme requires a Norwegian phone number. At first I thought this restricted the scheme to residents but then learnt that buying a local SIM card for the mobile phone gave us a local number.
The city bikes are really well used in Oslo and when I went to a bike station for my first ride, there were no bikes waiting. I’m told this is common and a problem if you’ve got to be somewhere by a given time. Many locals use the city bikes to commute to and from work or university, as well as between work meetings. Even though I had plenty of time I only needed to wait a few minutes before another bike was returned to the station and available for use.
Using the Oslo Byskkel made it easier for me to explore places further away from my hotel and have a different experience from walking. I rode along the river that winds through Oslo and also visited Vigeland Sculpture Park, which despite all its stairs has ramps that make wheeling a bike around the park possible.
The other change I’ve noticed in revisiting Oslo is the growing number of electric bikes or eBikes.
An electric or power-assisted bike allows the rider to pedal as usual or use the electric power to propel the bike. When riding dressed for work and needing to climb hills, an electric bike would be very helpful. And I think the eBike is well suited to Oslo which, in parts, can be quite hilly.
My visit to Oslo is a month later than 2015 and I arrived in the week that Spring burst into action. Perhaps this flurry of warmth is why there seemed to be more people riding bicycles on this visit. But then maybe it might be the enjoyment of bicycles spreading.
Footnote: Thanks to Esther for keeping me moving on two wheels while visiting Oslo 🙂
Scroll over or tap each photo below to read its caption….
Bysykkel meets street art.
Riding along Karl Johans Gate.
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Vigeland Sculpture Park
a bike for all seasons 
we didn’t go to the sculpture park so thanks for sharing the photos. glad you had a comfortable ride
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Glad you enjoyed the photos Brenda. It’s quite a wonderful park to roam around in and on a bike especially. I was lucky to be there before the tour buses arrived – phew!
Getting to the park was quite easy too – although I did opt for the footpath for much of the way to avoid the tram tracks.
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I didn’t like the sculptures at all
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One of our friends in Oslo feels the same. I first saw them on a visit to Oslo in 2000 and really enjoyed the park and the variety of expressions of people and relationships. Revisiting now, I was interested to see my response. I still enjoyed the park. Plus it’s free 🙂
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Hi Gail. Oslo looks like a wonderful place to visit. Fine cycling weather has added to the enjoyment. I love the photographs of the sculpture park.
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Hi Margaret, I’ve been fortunate to visit Oslo a few times over the years and it’s growing into an interesting and vibrant city. There’s also a very beautiful Opera House by the harbour which I mentioned in my last post. The sculpture park is very popular and I visited some wonderful museums too. I’ve enjoyed this visit very much.
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Many, many moons since I was there, I found the sculpture park amazing, fairly sure I’d feel the same now.
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I was interested to see whether I still liked the sculpture as much as the first time I saw it. Sometimes revisiting things can not be as impressive the next time around but I still enjoyed it very much.
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It is indeed an interesting city and from your photos, Gail, the arts is very much alive! So green and the landscape is picturesque. Thanks for this post on Oslo. 🙂
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That’s my impression too Iris. There is plenty to see if you enjoy the arts – be it sculpture, painting, opera – plus there’s the home of Henrik Ibsen, the playwright. And it’s all quite accessible too. Glad you enjoyed the post Iris. 🙂
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Revisiting a place can give us quite a different perspective, much like re-reading a book at a later time. I love that you’re taking your bike travels on the road. More wonderful places and experiences to share with us. The sculpture park is marvelous.
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It was exciting to visit Oslo again. Always interesting to see how a place changes as we change
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I will definitely travel there some day soon. It was nice to see a bit of it on your site.
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Good to know! It’s well worth visiting 😀.
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🇳🇴
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I seemed to have missed this post. Wonderful sculpture Gail.
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It’s quite something to see so many figures expressing so many different aspects of humanity. Thanks for reading Robyn.
🙂
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Beautiful photos. It must have been great to see it in the ‘flesh’.
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😀
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Added Oslo to my Bucket List:)
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Good choice Gina 🙂 and add a trip to the fjords too. Out around Bergen or further north too if you have time. It’s a beautiful country.
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