Island tranquility, just minutes away

EXCURSIONS: After a challenging summer in the City of Oslo, the island of Gressholmen in the fjord off Norway’s capital beckons as a haven of tranquility. It’s just a short ferry ride from downtown but a world away from congestion and city sorrows, also inviting as temperatures start to fall. Ferries to the city-owned islands [...]

Harbor cops chase down speedsters

An everyday scene in Oslo’s harbor: Police officers have spotted a leisure boat going far above the permitted speed limit of five knots. The police boat easily overtakes the speedster, who is in for a serious talk and possibly a high fine. File photos from the summer of 2008. PHOTO: Views and News [cincopa 10635499] [...]

Springtime in the suburbs

Garden flowers are coming out and the garden grass is greening at Fornebulandet, with a view to the Oslo fjord and the dramatic hills above Oslo. This used to be the site of Norway’s main airport, but today large parts of it has been turned into recreation areas. Most grand plans for business development, however, [...]

Ice threatens shipping on the Oslo Fjord

Local authorities have had to call in a fleet of ice breakers for the first time in 15 years, in order to keep shipping lanes open along the Norwegian coast. Hardest hit are island communities around Hvaler and coastal areas as far south as Grimstad, while ferries and local shipping also have been disrupted between [...]

Historic day on the waterfront

Thousands of people turned out Sunday for an historic chance to walk, for the first and only time, through a new six-lane tunnel under the fjord at Oslo’s eastern harbor. The new tunnel will steer traffic away from the waterfront area that already is the site of the Opera House and soon will sport a [...]