From the left: Farid Akhundov, Chairman of Executive Board of PASHA Bank; Khayala Sadigova, one of five finalists; and Ambassador Erling Skjønsberg. Photo: Pasha BankA weekday in Oslo
By Nargiz Alizada
Oslo is a city where you can spend your whole day not being bored no matter where you are from, how old you are or even whether you are a man or a woman. That’s because of the uniqueness of this city. I lived and studied at the “BI International Summer Program” in a part of Oslo named Nydalen, so the beginning point of my essay will be a street called Nydalenveien.
It’s early morning (you can remember the opening tune of Edvard Grieg’s “Morning mood”). You can walk across the Aker River exploring its beautiful two waterfalls towards the city centre. The city centre is one of the meeting places where you can see most of the tourists and native Norwegians. Then you can visit the National Gallery which is not far from the city centre (just go down the street called Karl Johans gate) and enjoy beautiful masterpieces of artists from across the world, such as Picasso, van Gogh, Dega, Monet, as well as Norwegian artists such as Munch, Krogh and Sohlberg.
Then it’s afternoon and you can have a rest alone or with your friends/family in the park called Slottsparken, and also delight in watching the beautiful greenery. After that, you can pass some little streets, and come to Aker Brygge which is located on the seashore. By taking a boat you can make a fjord sightseeing and pass beautiful islands which not only have different shapes but also quite different nature. If you’re lucky, you will meet native Norwegian in the boat who will tell interesting facts about the islands and are the best of all the guides. Fortune smiled at me, and I met a native Norwegian woman and her grandson (I was surprised a lot, because she looked like a young mother, but then I understood that this is a specifity of all Norwegian women). They gladly showed me the interesting buildings which are on these islands and fjords and we talked about Norwegian culture and I also compared it with my Azerbaijani one.
It draws near the evening and you can eat some Norwegian food in one of the restaurants on the street near the seashore and then take a bus to Majorstuen. There you can find one of Oslo’s main place of interest- the Vigeland Sculpture Park. It’s not just a usual park, it’s a real museum of stone statues framed by flowers, trees and ponds. One of my favorite ones is the statue called “Advice”. It represents a mother that gives a piece of advice to her son. At the same time he averts his eyes from hers, following his own line of thought. This statue impresses very powerfully (I missed my mother at that moment). It shows the importance of family relations in Norway. The park is constructed as a labyrinth that represents life. The entrance is in the East, and the exit is in the West: they represent birth and death.
The day draws in, as does my little essay, and now you can easily take a comfortable subway (called T-bane) directly to Nydalen. The day left a mark on you, because you’ve seen many breathtaking panoramas, went to the museum and communicated with native Norwegians (as often as not, because Norwegians are open for communication). But it’s not the end, because the sun will rise again, and Oslo will enjoy you with its diversity and beauty.
Link to Pasha Bank article: http://www.pashabank.az/social_activities,284/lang,en/