Architecture Lust

Day 45. Oslo Opera House.

Left Tonsberg for Oslo this morning on a train at 7AM. I got off at Oslo Central, while Cailin, Thomas, and their dad continued their journey to the Oslo Airport. I spent the majority of the day meandering through the city, headed in the general direction of the Nobel Peace Center. Along the way I stumbled across the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (not my favorite exhibit, unfortunately), the Akershus Fortress & Castle (which was absolutely dwarfed by the gigantic Emerald Princess cruise ship parked right next to it), the Museum of Architecture (which was showcasing the works of the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta - and I absolutely loved it), and finally, the Nobel Peace Center (which had one of the most powerful b&w photo exhibit I've seen called "Dreams of Europe").

Inspired by Snøhetta's works at the Museum of Architecture, I headed out in the evening to check out one of their masterpieces - the Oslo Opera House. It didn't disappoint. An immense undertaking that took over a decade of design and construction, it's a gorgeous structure full of surprises. It's also one of those rare buildings where you can explore nearly every exterior facet of the structure on foot, all the way to the roof. The only minor quibble? Aesthetic ledges here and there that are bound to trip visitors on their way up and down the building exterior. I guess that's a fair price to pay :)

View from the Oslo Opera House in Oslo, Norway

One a day.