First Impressions: Oslo

This blog was not intended to be a study of comparative awesomeness, but on such a scale as I have just created thus, I can assure you that Olso has a far greater standard deviation of awesomeness than København. Here's proof:

1. The City

Alright, so Copenhagen's modern-period architecture shits all over Oslo's mini-New York aspirations. However, I quite like this - it feels more real, more urban. I like the look of a huge glass tower shopping mall. It's not as quaint. I think Copenhagen is a place I could live in, whereas Oslo is an awesome place to visit.

2. The Shops

So far I have found a cigarette bar called KigaretteSlutt, a CD store called FreeRecordShop (don't be fooled, folks) and a large shop in the main street called Kondomeriet. It's not as cute as Copenhagen's poor-taste English, but then I haven't been very far yet.



3. The Music

Last night there were speakers in the main Rundle Mall-esque paved shopping area playing Johnny Cash. And right by my hostel is a rock and metal club, blasting Slayer out into the open night for the benefit of the black-clad patrons sitting with beer at tables within.

4. Accommodation

Alright, so I'm paying twice as much for my accommodation as I was in Denmark. The thing is that Scandinavia is so expensive that it is impossible to attract backpackers, and therefore it has no real backpacker accommodation. My hostel in Denmark was the Hotel Jørgensen, which was actually just a cheap budget family hotel (like a large bed and breakfast) with dormitory rooms downstairs. Even this cost $AUD37, and I was in a twelve-bed dorm where the toilets where up two flights of stairs, and the showers were in little cupboards such that it was impossible to even bring a change of clothes into the room. There were no lockers in the room, and the room had to be completely emptied (including the rented linen) between 11am and 3pm for cleaning. The breakfast was awesome, and the place was relatively clean, but for the price, it was quite strange.

I'm now paying $67 per night, which is far more than I wanted to pay for a backpacker trip. However, last night I slept in a four-bed dorm by myself. So few travellers to Norway are cheap enough to require dormitory accommodation that this place is practically empty. The rooms are incredibly clean, the quilts are big and warm, and the ensuite bathrooms are excellent, with free-flowing hot water. The lifts are automatic, but have doors that you actually need to manually open when you get to your floor. And the breakfast... I got the choice between hard-boiled and soft-boiled eggs, not to mention a machine which knows the exact capacity of a cup of coffee and delivers it straight to your cup. There were fifteen types of bread, and for those non-vegetarians, an amazing selection of meats. And spreads I had never before seen. It looks like my plan of eating enough breakfast to last until dinner will work out even better here.

So I have discovered that the more you pay for accommodation, the better you feel, and the less you pay for everything else.

I got home at 11pm last night and found that I had a hotel room, in a foreign country, completely to myself. I figured this was an incredible privilege, and I needed to do something truly special. So I did what any self-respecting man would do.

I sat and watched BBC World while clipping my toenails.