Autumn in Oslo

If I may just get you to imagine with me for a while, a city covered with autumn leaves, how will you picture it? I went to Oslo with the expectation to see a few high rise buildings and parliament houses with autumn trees around (since Autumn was around the corner). Not too bad but honestly, not too exciting. I have heard that many gave Oslo a skip and I was tempted to do so but as my friends and I wanted a short getaway from Lund, Oslo seemed like the perfect deal. It's 9 hours away by train with a stopover at Gothenburg. Wifi was such a friend to us on the Norwegian train that 9 hours did not feel too long.

Thankfully, we stayed with our friends in Oslo and their housing was situated north of Oslo, nearer to nature and further away from the more commercialized buildings. When I first got down the train, I was greeted by my first scent and sight of Autumn. The air was comfortably still allowing me to appreciate the bright orange-yellow hues on the leaves. I liked that there were few people here, it felt for a while like it was only me and the nature surrounding me. I haven't seen anything yet and I was already amazed.

Our friends brought us past the fields and into the woods. And I wondered what I was about to see as our friends told us that we were heading to a lake. Dawn was breaking at that moment, the sky was about to turn dark and I seriously had my doubts if we could see much of the lake.

As we continued our journey, I cannot help but continue snapping photos of the trees. When I looked up, I saw really tall trees in fully bright orange hues. I felt so enchanted by the forested areas we had to pass through. I can totally picture myself being Gretel as I continued the walk, stuck in the woods and looking for my candy trail. Thank God I burst my bubble in time and I got to witness even more breathtaking sights.

Songsvaan Lake

My spirits soared and I exclaimed aloud when I saw this magical lake, called the Songsvann Lake. This was like a real life perfect art piece just that it was not art. It is real. Well, God is an amazing artist, undeniably. I cannot help but hop around with glee. I think I am a secret country girl. Sights like these amaze and excite me very much or too much even. One of my friends told me that that was not all and that I may be able to see some horses around. Horses? Wow, Oslo scored a few points above many other cities I have visited (in my heart).

The horse looks so charming and I can't help wondering to myself : "These lucky animals! They get to live in such a beautiful place everyday." I was extremely pleased with what I had viewed and I felt like I was ready to head back to Lund. But I knew there were other sights awaiting me the next day.

The University's Aula

The Royal Palace

I got to visit the city area via a train the next morning and it was really interesting to witness the lifestyle of Norwegians as they get ready for the day. I remember seeing a few people jogging as I walked to the sights. Generally, Scandinavians are really healthy and value exercising a lot. Also, I visited The University's Aula and The Royal Palace too. They were interesting and perhaps even fascinating for history lovers but I am not one of those so I prefer to look at nature and was excited to know that we were heading to Akershus Fortress.

Akershus Fortress

Akershus Fortress was built some time ago with the intention of protecting Oslo. I was really pleasantly surprised that the fortress was so well-maintained. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love autumn. It has made the landscape so much more vibrant and colorful. It's so picture perfect.

Not only was the fortress well-maintained, it was absolutely beautiful. The view really says it all. I had a fun time playing with fallen autumn leaves. You have no idea how fascinated I was with the leaves. I did everything possible, I think? Kicking it, throwing it up, blowing it... I just seemed like an over-excited child. Well, I'm not :)

 We are still not done with the sights! We continued visiting the Opera Oslo House which was seriously pretty impressive. Somehow, the sky got dark really fast and it started to get gloomy and yet it did not deter us from heading to Frogner Park.

Opera Oslo House

 Frogner Park

This park is well-known for the sculptures that they have. The sculptures show different movements the body can make and some sculptures even look like they are in a dance position or a dance pose. My friends even encouraged me to dance around here! Hahaha! And the leaves? They were naturally red, I took a fallen leaf back for memory sake.

Oslo did impress me at the end. I remember telling my friends back in Lund that I was pleasantly surprised by my trip to Oslo. Did I regret going to Oslo? Not at all and I am really glad I came. And witnessing Autumn here has truly been amazing. I would say this is by far my most beautiful autumn.