Oslo, No Nobel Prize For Travel WritingPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
Every city has its particular attraction. In Paris it’s the Eiffel Tower; in London, Big Ben; New York, the Empire State Building; San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, these attractions vary with individuals. For some in New York it might be the Statue of Liberty rather than the Empire State Building. For me, I was headed to Oslo, Norway, and it was the City Hall. Now the City Hall is not Oslo’s major attraction but for me it had a special interest—the Nobel Prizes. I guess ever since Ernest Hemingway won the prize for The Old Man and the Sea in 1957. I wondered what it must be like to win such a coveted award. So the City Hall was the first place I went.
The City Hall may not be the major attraction but it is imposing. What excitement to step into that magnificent building where the Nobel Prize banquets are held every December 10th. When I arrived, it was March and the hall was empty, or nearly empty, except for a guard and for a few tourists, but that didn’t matter. I was thrilled just the same, standing there trying to imagine what it must be like to receive a Nobel award. My imagination took over. We are all allowed a little reverie now and then and I had mine. It was December and the nominating committee had proclaimed another category, other than Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Peace, Literature and Economics. This new one was for travel writing. The Nobel Prize for Travel Writing. Imagine that! Suddenly I felt like Walter Mitty in James Thurber's novel. The King of Norway was waiting in one of these back rooms to step out and give me the award, along with all the others.
“Can I help you?” The guard touched me on the shoulder.
I was about to tell him the king was waiting but my wife, who understands, nudged me and it was March again, not December 10th.
The guard made me aware of another surprise. The Nobel Prizes are not awarded in Oslo, only the Nobel Peace Prize. I returned to my hotel to do my homework while my wife went shopping. Lonely Planet Travel Guide saved my day.
It’s true, the Nobel Prizes are awarded at formal ceremonies held annually on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, but the prizes are held not in Oslo but in Stockholm at the Concert Hall, with the Nobel Banquet following immediately in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall. Only the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held at the Oslo City Hall.
The highlight of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, which I had confused with Oslo, takes place in Stockholm when each Nobel Laureate receives his or her prize from His Majesty the King of Sweden. In Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize is presented by the King of Norway. Nobel Laureates in all categories receive three things: a diploma, a medal and a document confirming the prize amount. The medals are 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold. I recall when Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954 he received US$35,000 which, at the time, was considered a staggering amount. The grant is currently 10 million SEK, slightly more than US$1.5 million.
Stockholm would be my next visit but in the meantime the rest of Oslo was waiting. I returned to the City Hall. I learned that the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony wasn’t always held here at City Hall. The building’s construction was started in 1931 but was halted at the outbreak of World War II. It had its official inauguration in 1950 and, in June 2005, it was named Oslo's "structure of the century." With its two square towers it is a city landmark. The courtyard is adorned with fantastic figures and symbols from Norwegian mythology while the mosaics inside are based around more modern themes.
There was more than City Hall that I wanted to see in Oslo. The excitement of visiting the city had begun to build up when I had looked out the window and my plane began its descent from the clouds and entered the landing pattern on its final approach to Oslo. It was then that I realized how this Nordic capital is a water town with a seagoing past.
Situated at the head of a fjord shaped like a swan's neck, the port of Oslo is surrounded by low hills. From aloft you can get a panoramic view of the region. Small islands appear in all directions, and ferries zigzag back and forth leaving long wakes upon blue green water. When you look down at the fjords and the maze of waterways it becomes clear why the Norwegians were such great seamen. Necessity made them that way.
History books tell us that Oslo, called Christiania until 1905, was officially established in 1048. But old timers will tell you that the town was actually born in 1980, or thereabouts. Oslo before that, they say, was not a very pleasant place to live, nor to visit. To prove the point, visit the National Museum of Art and look at the paintings of Edvard Munch, Norway's most famous artist. His subjects, men and women, are all dressed in black, their hat brims pulled down low, and their faces chalk white. To him the people of Oslo were like the living dead.
Edvard Munch left Oslo for greener pastures, as did many other Norwegians with talent. The attractions that Oslo did have were all imported. The only real cultural diversions were a few museums based upon explorers and skiers. There was definitely no nightlife. The little fun that was offered to tourists and Oslonians was taken away by severely curbed drinking hours. The city literally closed at midnight. Travellers who did go to Norway used to give Oslo no more than a passing glance as they steamed through on their way to Bergen and the more spectacular scenery of the west coast fjords.
But then things happened. The Nordic City of Light has come of age. The oil boom, they say, was in part responsible for its renaissance, and with it came more money for the arts. Soon there were sufficient amusements and happenings at home to make talent want to return. Oslo today bears little resemblance to the dim place it was when Munch captured his impressions on canvas. He might have a totally different perspective were he to come back today.
Oslo is the capital of Norway but it’s not a big city by world standards. It has a population of only 450,000 and, until recently, the vast majority lived in its far-flung suburban areas. Today it’s a city filled with surprises. The best place to begin a tour of Oslo is the downtown waterfront area. Buy a good map but with a word of caution. Find a map that has English translations. Imagine trying to decipher names like Sjomannsskolen and Vestbanstrasjonen.
The Aker Brygge marks the edge of the harbour. It's a vast glass and chrome complex that contains an urban mall filled with shops, bars, restaurants, food stalls, theatres and galleries. There is an open-air sculpture court at its heart. And for certain, a McDonald’s. On warm days people stroll along a boardwalk that follows the harbour. There are benches for resting or for people watching, which seems to be a favorite past time. Office workers take their lunches in the open-air cafes.
On a hill overlooking the harbour is the mediaeval Akershus Fortress. Built originally in 1308, it helped protect old Christiania from pirates and marauders throughout the periods of Danish and Swedish dominance. The Nazis took over the fortress during the occupation of Norway (1940-45). When the war was over, the traitorous Norwegian chancellor, Quisling, was shot here. The Resistance Museum, on the grounds, gives us a good picture of the intense story of occupied Norway.
Stone paths through the grounds of the fortress lead to crenellated walls that open to the town below. It's an impressive view. Moored at the docks below the walls are some of the oldest wooden sailing vessels still in use in the world. One magnificent schooner dates back to 1854. Most vessels are open for charter.
West of the harbour is the Bygdoy peninsula, where the old Viking ships and other Norwegian sailing craft are kept. It’s one place I have to visit when I am in Oslo. Explorer Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon Tiki is on display here. It's the famous balsa wood raft that in 1947 floated across the Pacific hoping to prove the theory that the Polynesian islanders originated from South America and migrated to the Pacific. There is also on display the Egyptian reed boat Ra that Heyerdahl used on a later expedition.
Boating enthusiasts will love Oslo. One can hardly see more boats in any other city around the world than in Oslo. Every fjord and every water inlet is jammed with pleasure craft of some sort. From anywhere on the harbour, you will see how much Norwegians love and use their boats. On weekends the fjord becomes a flotilla of billowing sails and speeding motor launches.
Away from the harbour the streets are lined with neoclassical buildings dating mainly from the 19th century and newer concrete and glass structures. Oslo's many fires are to blame for the fact that there are so few authentic wooden buildings left.
Oslo's streets are made for walking. The attractions are as much the people themselves as the shops and stores. One can spend hours listening to street entertainers, such as one man bands, which seem popular. These solo entertainers can strum a banjo, play a harmonica or else sing, and keep rhythm on a drum that they tap with a cord fastened to their feet. You might hear them play New Orleans jazz as great as any jazz band in New Orleans can do.
Oslo’s most fascinating street is also its main street, Karl Johansgate. For much of its length it is a pedestrian street and a busy central artery for shoppers. At its western limit it becomes part of the broad avenue leading to the doors of the palace. On National Day, May 17, a parade of thousands of children marches down the street to the palace to be greeted by the king.
Parallel to Karl Johansgate is Grensen, another busy, shop-lined street. Oslo's Domkirke, the main cathedral dating back to 1697, dominates a big market square at the east end of Grensen. On the map it's marked Stortorvet. The exterior of the cathedral is of darkened brown brick. Inside is an organ five storeys high. Artists of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries have contributed to the cathedral's adornment, making it an important display of Norwegian church architecture and interior design. Behind Domkirke is a round, colonnaded market with food and handicraft stalls.
Oslo has developed into a city of music. The Philharmonic, whose home is the Konserthus on Munkedasveien, another tongue-twister name, performs with a variety of guest conductors and soloists from the world over. Every August there is an international jazz festival, and in September the Performing Arts Festival.
Thai Airways has direct flights to Copenhagen with an excellent Stopover ROR/CPH. From Copenhagen you can board a Star Alliance flight on SAS to Oslo. It’s a short hop, and, as I mentioned, an exciting one.
Next week, from a reader’s request last week, I will tell the story of Queen Emma of the South Seas. There are some remarkable women who left their mark in history, and she is one.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens. With the king of Thailand’s birthday over last year, will there be more Royal Barge Processions on the river this year? John Stephenson, N.C. USA
A. Dear Mr. Stephens. I am waiting for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to make an announcement and I will keep readers posted. --HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited.
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