Oslo, Norway
Oslo, Norway's capital, at the northern end of the Oslo Fiord, is the geographic center of this most populous part of the country. From here two railroad lines connect Norway with Sweden, one going to Stockholm, the other to Göteborg, and thence toward central Europe. The city itself lacks the historical attraction of some of the towns on the west coast. It has always been more open than the others to outside influences, mainly Danish and Swedish, but it is the real center of Norway both politically and culturally.
The City of Oslo occupies a magnificent physical site, with high hills on three sides, and the great Oslo Fjord-sixty miles long-in front. At some point in your stay, you'll want to see the town from one of its high hillside vantage points-the tallest one being the new Tryvass Tower (completed in early 1963), on Tryvass Hill, from which you can sean the entire Oslo Fjord as it opens out mto the sea.
Oslo is also Norway's most active seaport. The nature of the Norwegian exports as a whole has been made clear in the preceding treatment. The imports, as is usual in the countries of northern Europe, consist of food products (grains, sugar), textiles, and all kinds of manufactured goods. Great Britain is the greatest buyer of Norwegian exports, while Great Britain and Germany are of equal importance as sources of imports.
Directly on the Fjord is the Oslo City Hall, and it is from the waterfront street in front of this building that the tour buses leave, together with the sightseeing launches that traverse the Fjord. lt's here, too, that the famous shrimp boats of Oslo unload their wares, about which more later.
The main street of Oslo is the Karl Johans Gate, a few blocks up from the City Hall. This is the congregating and strolling street for Oslo's citizens, and it serves as your major orientation point. At the top of the Karl Johans Gate is the Royal Palace; at the other end is the antique-like East Station-the major railroad terminal of Oslo, where you'll find the all-important hotel accommodations bureau. Along the Karl Johans Gate, starting at the palace and cantining for a few hundred yards, is a narrow park.
HOTELS IN OSLO
Carlton Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Thon Hotel Opera Oslo, City Centre
Rica Holberg Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Rica Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Norlandia Karl Johan Hotel Oslo, City Centre
City Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania, Central Station
Thon Hotel Arena, Lillestrom
Anker Hotel Best Western Oslo, City Centre
Thon Hotel Bristol, City Centre
Thon Hotel Terminus Oslo, City Centre
Thon Hotel Europa Oslo, City Centre
Thon Slottsparken Appartement Oslo, City Centre
Thon Vika Atrium Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Comfort Hotel Borsparken, City Centre
Best Western Hotel Bondeheimen Oslo, City Centre
Norlandia Oslo Airport Hotel, Gardermoen International Airport
Quality Airport Hotel Gardermoen, Gardermoen International Airport
Thon Gyldenlove Hotel Oslo, Hegdehaugen
West Hotel Olso, City Centre
Thon Hotel Spectrum Oslo, City Centre
Thon Cecil Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Rica Travel Hotel Oslo, City Centre
Rica Travel Hotel Gardermoen, Gardermoen
Norlandia Saga Hotel Oslo, Briskeby
Thon Hotel Stefan, City Centre
Rica Hotel Bygdoey Alle Oslo, Frogner
Thon Hotel Oslofjord Oslo, Sandvika
Soria Moria Hotel Oslo, Holmenkollen
Thon Hotel Triaden, Lorenskog
Thon Hotel Ski, Ski
Thon Hotel Astoria Oslo, City Centre
As you walk from the palace towards the station, you'll first pass the famous National Theatre, with its statues of Ibsen and Bjornson, then the Parliament Building of Oslo, and finally you'll reach the station. Running parallel to the Karl Johans Gate, starting at the Royal Palace and contining for several blocks, is the Stortingsgate, another important street; and now you're oriented in Oslo.
Southwest Norway and the Oslo region, are Norway's most productive portion, and contain half the total population. There is, however, a great difference between the two. In southwestern Norway the fishing industry is still of outstanding importance. Cod, herring, and mackerel are caught in large quantities, and the fish market of Bergen has an international reputation. Connected with the fishing are the canning and conserving plants which use Mediterranean olive oil and tomatoes exchanged for exports of fish. In the hinterland there is more or less farming, with oats as the leading grain by far, and great numbers of dairy cattle as the main source of income. Forests cover the lower hills, and the water of the many rivers is used for large power plants and industrial enterprises. Bergen, the largest city, is built between two fiords and climbs up the slope of the adjacent hills. It is the principal fishing and trading harbor on the west coast. Another city worth mentioning is Stavanger, well known for its fish. Here, as elsewhere along the Norwegian coast, most of the transportation goes by coastal steamers, which connect all towns and settlements. A regular line runs all the way from Oslo to Kirkeness on the Varanger Fiord at the extreme northeastern corner of Norway. The better-populated sections have frequent connections with the large neighboring centers.
Whenever I think of Norway, I think of movies, featuring British Commandos joining Norwegian fishermen to blow up "a key installation." The heroism of Norway in World War II is typical of the sturdy nature of these people, and of the very sights that you will see in Oslo: the Kon-Tiki Raft of Thor Heyerdahl; the polar ship "Fram" in which the Norwegian explorer, Nansen, went to the North Pole.
As these feats indicate, the sea is very much a part oflife in Norway. At noontime even in the capital dty of Oslo, the citizens stroll to the docks in front of the City Hall and purchase little bags of freshly-cooked shrimp, which fishermen have caught in the night. And when you sean the menu of a budget restaurant here, chances are that fish will rank over me at as the predominant bill of fare.
Expect to see a dty of nature-loving people, whose resources are few and whose prices are low. There is a minimum of elegance or sophistication in this relatively small town, and an emphasis instead upon clean, honest living, tinged with the outdoors. Norway is a paradise for the sportsman, and Oslo is a perfect starting point for the nature-viewing aspects of your European tour-a refreshing, tingling, frontier-type of city that lets you relax without ostentation, at the cheapest of costs.

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