Oslo - Norway - page 133

More-organised summer activities include taking an hourly Thomas Train City
Tour ( www.thomastoget.com ; adult/child/under 3yr Nkr70/30/free;
11am-5pm Mon-Sat mid-Jun-Aug) or the twice-hourly Oslo Toget
( www.oslotoget.no ; adult/child/under 3yr Nkr70/30/free; 10am-9pm Mon-Sat
mid-Jun-Aug) , which is another cheerfully painted open-air train. Both do a loop
around the city centre. Tours begin every half-hour in front of the Paléet shopping
centre ( Offline map Google map ) and Aker Brygge shopping complex ( Offline
map Google map ). There's a Christmas train in December.
For a more rural experience, try the EKT Riding School and Husdyrpark (EKT
Rideskole and Husdyrpark; Click here ; 22 19 97 86; www.rideskole.no , in
Norwegian; Bekkelagshøgda 12; pony rides Nkr170) in the Ekeberg forest south-
east of the city centre. There are sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits, as well as Norwegian
fjord ponies. Take tram 19 towards Ljabru to Sportsplassen and walk 15 minutes up-
hill until you reach the farm. The Norwegian Folk Museum ( Click here ) also has
regular events geared towards children. For something more slippery, most kids will
love meeting the snakes and lizards (as well as the odd monkey) at the Oslo Reptil-
park Offline map Google map ( www.reptilpark.no , in Norwegian; St Olavs gate
2; adult/child Nkr100/70, free with Oslo Pass; 10am-6pm Apr-Aug) .
In the winter, try sledding down the 'legendary' Korketrekkeren (corkscrew) to-
boggan run. The 2km-long track drops 255m and began its life as a bobsledding run
for the 1952 Olympics. Sleds can be rented at the Akerforeningen
( www.akeforeningen.no , in Norwegian; adult/child from Nkr80/50; 9am-9pm
Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun during winter) , next to the Frognerseteren restaurant. To
get here, take the T-bane to Frognerseteren and follow the signs downhill.
A popular rainy day distraction is the Norwegian Science & Technology Mu-
seum (Norsk Teknisk Museum & Telemuseum; Click here ;
www.tekniskmuseum.no ; Kjelsåsveien 143; adult/child Nkr80/40, free with Oslo
Pass; 10am-6pm mid-Jun-mid-Aug, shorter hr rest of yr) near Lake Maridal,
which has Norway's first car and tram, water wheels, clocks and enough gadgetry to
keep the whole family busy for a few hours at least.
Finally, TusenFryd Offline map ( www.tusenfryd.no , in Norwegian; Vinter-
bro; height over/under 120cm Nkr265/216; 10.30am-7pm mid-Jun-Sep,
shorter hr rest of yr) , an amusement park 10km south of the city, is enormously
popular with kids from all over the Buskerud region. The park offers carousels, a
fantasy farm and an excellent wooden rollercoaster, which creates zero gravity 12
times each circuit. You'll find it just off the E6. The TusenFryd bus (bus number 546;
Nkr60) departs from the corner of Fred Olsens gate and Prinsens gate ( Offline map )
roughly hourly between 10am and 4pm.