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Weekend in Oslo

595We’ve had a fairly quiet weekend at home in Oslo. Christine was sick on Thursday night (food poisoning we reckon although we’re not quite sure from what) and was still recovering. We just went in to town yesterday. We started out at the playground in Aker Brygge although Emma largely ignored this and just walked her buggy up and down instead. Next stop was the tourist information office in the hope that they would help us decide on the route for our summer trip to the west coast. Strangely enough, although very nice, they couldn’t really help in our general indecision between having a relaxing few weeks and cramming in the sights. We walked back home via Frognerparken as the sun was shining by this point.

Today we made the short trip to Bogstad. We started off by taking Emma around the Tur-orientering course. These are a bit like permanent orienteering courses in the UK except that they change from one year to the next and are just left out for the summer. They use flat plastic controls and, although we have seen one burn specimen, they generally rely on Norwegian youth being less anti-social than their UK counterparts (where metal posts concreted in to the ground aren’t uncommon).

One issue I’ve heard brought up in the UK is how to distribute maps when there is nowhere at the location to sell them. In Norway each club sells packs of maps via sports shops (so Bogstad is one of four maps belonging to our club that we bought via the shop over the road from us). This has the benefit that, if you enjoyed the first one, then you have several more to try. It’s also nice people just out for a walk also using the maps.

After lunch by the lake we then walked over to Bogstad Gård. Being listed in the open farms section of the Oslo guidebook we were a little disappointed by the selection of animals on offer: goats, sheep and chickens. The gardens and exterior of the house also looked a bit tired. I suspect most people come to see the museum (60kr) or, more likely, just to eat at the cafe. Still, Emma had her first close encounter with sheep as they tried to nibble her shoes!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 13th, 2008 at 7:35 pm and is filed under Family, Orienteering, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Weekend in Oslo”

  1. Neil says:
    14 July 2008 at 10:12 am

    Dave,
    in Italy I have seen orienteering maps for permanent courses on display in the local tourist information offices. Which could be a solution for the UK. Although I suspect that most courses are a long way from any tourist office.

    Also what animals would you expect on a farm? I would perhaps have expected cows and horses in addition to goats sheeps and chickens but nothing more.

    cheers,
    Neil

  2. Dave says:
    14 July 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Yes – tourist information would be worth investigating, particularly if, for example, we had more courses in somewhere like the New Forest. When did you last go to the tourist information office in Southampton though?

    I guess I expect to see more quantity on a public/open farm – that could be different types or it could be just more of the same. Bogstad can’t have had more than about five or six of each.

    Dave