Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway

by Wen Norway

Vigeland Sculpture Park

We had exceptionally good weather while in Oslo. We were actually here looking for the ‘Angry Baby’ and found out this place was very interesting. The sculptures were excellent and took you through the human emotions of life from birth through death.

Viking Ship Museum

We took the ferry over to Bygdoy (about 15 minutes). The Viking Museum was easily accessible via the ferry boat on the city waterside, with just a short walk to the museum from the docking point on the other side of the bay.

The Viking Ship Museum contained 3 ancient Viking ships over 1100 yrs old along with multiple artifacts found with them. Only place where you can see a real viking ship from the 900s. The museum was not big, which made it very manageable.

The Norwegian Folkesmuseum

We walked about 5 minutes from the Viking Ship museum to the Norwegian Folk Museum. The museum was an outdoor collection of historic buildings and villages. It showed how Norwegians used to live from medieval times until quite recently.

Really interesting and well presented collection that gave a sense of life in rural Norway through the years. Don’t miss the awesome Stave Church.


The Royal Palace

Beautiful palace and grounds. Changing of the guard takes place at 1:30 every afternoon. There is no gender requirement for being a guard.

The mounted guards lead a parade of marching guards and a full band up the Karl Johans Gate from Akershus Fortress to the palace. Once they reach the front of the palace, they perform a little concert and go through their military routine.

One of the guards passed out. Amazing how they can stay so official looking despite the sun beaming down and dozens of people taking photos of their every move.

The weather was beautiful when we visited. Lots of people were basking in the sun.

National Museum

We wanted to see Edvard Munch ‘The Scream’. If you are a Munch fan, you are in for a treat as a lot of his works are here. The Scream is obviously a hugely famous work of art and it was great to see it up close.

Fall in Love with Vienna in Winter

by Wen Austria

Vienna in Winter

After finishing our trip in Croatia for a week, we were heading to Vienna.  It's the capital and the largest city of Austria. Beautiful architecture and delicious food. Home to both Beethoven and Mozart. We spent 2 full days in Vienna which was not enough to enjoy this beautiful city!

Albertina

This was a beautiful, old but modern museum.  Really well laid out exhibit halls. We enjoyed our visit, particularly the Edward Munch collection. We were actually here to see the Scream! :-O)

The Scream | Edward Munch

Saw The Scream!

Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum)

You can easily spend a few hours at this museum. Each room holds unique and interesting exhibits. The dinosaurs was what I loved the most and it was really impressive. The museum was most famous for the Venus of Willendorf. It was really cool to see it in person. Hands down, this was definitely the best natural history museum I have ever visited!

Natural History Museum Vienna

Venus of Willendorf

"The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimeter-tall (4.4 in) Venus figurine estimated to have been made 30,000 BCE" - Wikipedia.

State Opera House

The building was beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't book the tickets in advance. We took advantage of the showing of the Opera on the big screen outside the Opera house. It was freezing cold outside but totally worth it. 

Live videostream outside the Vienna State Opera House

State Opera House Guide Tour

We could not get any tickets to an opera performance so instead we booked a guided tour (separate tours in multiple languages) in the opera house. The 45 minute guided tour included stopping in some of the ornate rooms and the auditorium.

Café Sacher Wien

The cafe was just behind the State Opera House. We popped in to have some tea and Sachertorte since it was one of the most famous gastronomic foods to try in Vienna. It was a bit pricey but worth it!

Sachertorte

Gewürzgugelhupf

Böhmische Liwanzen

Concerts at the Mozarthaus (Mozarthaus deutschordenshaus)

The room was said to be the oldest concert hall in Vienna. Small performance beautiful room with less than 100 people. The venue was intimate and the sound quality was impressive. 

Concerts in Mozart’s House

Stephansplatz

Stephansplatz was a busy and popular square right in the center of Vienna.  It was a great pedestrian area surrounded by shops and cafes. During the holidays the city was very festive. Very atmospheric especially with he Christmas season.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

We visited St. Stephan's Cathedral at night. It was breath taking. The exterior and intricate design of tiled roof were stunning. We were there in the winter so it wasn’t very crowded.  

Manner Shop

Located right across from St. Stephen's Cathedral. Prices are around the same as local supermarkets. They also have Mozart chocolates and other fun touristy things. The shop was super busy but the service was pretty good. Great place to get souvenirs.

Belvedere Palace Museum

Went to see the famous “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

The Palace has stunning decoration inside with painted ceilings and marble floors which are breathtaking. 

Gustav Klimt | Kiss

When I saw the Kiss I was blown away by its power and exquisite beauty. It was so different when you saw it for real. 

Looked like it was snowing pretty hard while we were inside.

Hotel Bristol Vienna

The hotel was located next to the Opera House. The location was perfect, closed to the Palace, the pedestrian shopping area, and the Sacher Hotel. Our room was overlooking the Opera House which was awesome!

Good morning Vienna!

Snowing in Vienna