Today we walked inner city Oslo. We saw buildings old, very old, new and modern. And of course some that are rundown or under renovation. RENOVATION!! RECONSTRUCTION! Is every city in the world half dug up?

Regardless, we saw heaps, but two buildings really stood out. The first was the Oslo Opera House.  At first sight it looked like a dazzling ski slope descending into the harbour. Completed in 2008, the structure is apparently mostly on or under the water and the sloping roof of granite and marble is to be imagined as ice, like a glacier sliding into the sea.
 
 
 
 Anyone can walk on the roof and from here are good views of the city around it. Sometimes performances are held up there. There are three main performance areas and it is hard to believe that in this building are 1100 rooms. In contrast the foyer has a beautiful wave-like wall of golden oak and very high windows to the view outside. It is a stunning building. 
 
Out in the water nearby is a floating sculpture of steel and glass. Looking like a boat, it can move on its base with the wind. In winter the structure can be examined more closely by walking out on the ice. We love the way these European cities have so many sculptures. They are everywhere and really add to the aesthetics of a city.
 
 
   
 
The other building that stood out for us was the Radhuset or City Hall. I had no expectations of the wonderful interior, as the outside does not look inspiring. The building is special because each December the Nobel Peace Prize is presented in its Ceremonial Hall. Which is glorious. The painting on the rear wall of this room is the largest in Europe. Well-known Norwegian artists were invited to decorate the interior and so each of the other rooms also have similarly stunning paintings. There was no charge to view the interior of this building and surprisingly very few staff to monitor visitors. We have noticed this here - that there seems much less surveillance of visitors in galleries here than in Australia. 
 
Lunch time saw us find out what expensive really is. We had been expecting high costs in Sweden but had been surprised that lunch time meals were quite reasonable for quality food. But in Oslo things are different. Around A$25 for soup? At lunch time? No way. Problem solved by a very tasty salad baguette from a corner store for $8 each. And this we could eat on a bench in the sun overlooking the harbour.
 

 
The Aker Brygge area, next on our journey, was a wonderful example of what can be done in building transformation. Historic shipyard buildings that have been converted to apartments and shops, and new buildings in bold styles makes for an area that has the best of old and new.

Oslo has so much to see. And we saw lot. Walking home we shopped for dinner for the next few nights. Salmon. white asparagus. Who would want to eat out?