My love/hate relationship with Oslo, Norway
I hate Oslo.
In weak moments, I also love it, but I mostly hate this city, the capital of Norway.
I have lived in Oslo several years, in the Kolbotn area outside it, and I remember from already back then when I was 9-10 years old: I hated the city. There was something about the look of the city that disgusted me.
Yes, there are very nice parts of Oslo, and I have always enjoyed Holmenkollen, Bygdøy and the forests outside the city that are so readily available. I enjoy the Vigeland park, as this video was a testament to.
I arrived Oslo half an our ago, tired from the bus ride with a drunkard just behind me shouting all night: “Are we not in Oslo yet? Jesus!”. When we arrived Göteborg (halfway on the way to Oslo) he was SO ready to leave the bus, but went into a fit when he was told that no, this was not Oslo. Funny, tragic.
So, I arrived Oslo half an hour ago, and I walked on the passage between the bus station and the train station, and deep down in my guts, I shivered. This is the only city I have visited that gives me this reaction. There is something about Oslo trying to hard to be an international city, and it cannot, even though it is the capital of Norway.
Perhaps I just conveniently make Oslo the scapegoat for all the negative feelings I have for Norway, my own country. All my distaste with the complacency, the headlines in newspapers going “Norway is the world’s best country!”, the patting ourselves on the back, staying out of the European Union because we are so darned afraid of losing our independence again, and going shopping around the world with our oil money.
There are a lot of good people in Norway, but there is a part of the culture and the public debate that is bugging me, that is making me as physically ill as I feel when I arrive Oslo from a lengthy absence. Let’s see how I feel when I arrive Bergen later today.
Norway disgusts me, and yet they are - literally - my people.
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Sorry to comment an old post, but I so understand you. It is now 2 years that I live here in Oslo and I must say that I hate it most of the time. In fact not the city itself, it has its good sides: the fjord in the summer, the forests, the lakes… It’s more the way people behave here that disgust me. You are right. It’s the right word “disgusting”.
I have been thinking a lot about moving to Denmark lately. What’s you opinion about living there?
Thank you for your comment, Evelyne!
The title of this blog is “Don’t Lose the Question”, and one of the themes of the blog is a rebellion against “the timestamp”. The fact that this blog post is a few months old should matter NOTHING. The dialogue should continue just as naturally 2 monthe later as if this was written yesterday.
I LOVE Copenhagen. Sometimes I miss my home-country, but Copenhagen is a great city in itself.
Yes, the people in Oslo. I don’t know quite how to pinpoint it, but there is something there. I guess there are quite a few more people living in Oslo who has experienced this - would love to read other perspectives.
Hi, Raymond. I hope you are well.
I remember talking to you about Bergen when we met a couple years ago but I don’t think we spoke of Oslo. My viewpoint is that of a visitor, having spent a few days there, so it is ultimately without merit, probably. I found the city rather uninteresting and I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why. Everywhere else I went in Norway I loved, whether city or countryside. Oslo left me cold.
What doesn’t it have that other great cities do? I don’t know. It was the general feeling of the place and I was glad to leave when I did. No negative interactions, but not many positive ones either. I did not expect a grand welcome, but the people were not at all friendly, as I recall.
Anyway, I found your post interesting. Thanks!
Hey Carl, thanks for your comment. Yes, I can recognize what you say about Oslo. There is something missing, it is a rather uninteresting city, but I also have a hard time putting my finger on exactly why. Perhaps with time I will be able to express it more clearly.
At least I am glad to know that I will never Live in Oslo again, altho I will visit the city many times.