Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
60 kr, kids under 6 free; mid-May-Aug daily
10:00-18:00; Sept-mid-May Tue-Fri 10:00-15:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-16:00,
closed Mon; Bygdøynesveien 37, tel. 24 11 41 50,
www.marmuseum.no
.
▲▲Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum
—The site of one of the
world's oldest ski jumps (from 1892), Holmenkollen has hosted many cham-
pionships, including the 1952 Winter Olympics. To win the privilege of host-
ing the 2011 World Ski Jump Championship, Oslo built a bigger jump to
match modern ones built elsewhere. This futuristic, cantilevered, Olympic-
standard
ski jump
has a tilted elevator that you can ride to the top (on a sunny
day, you may have to wait your turn for the elevator). Stand right at the start-
ing gate, just like an athlete, and get a feel for this daredevil sport. The jump
empties into a 50,000-seat amphitheater, and if you go when it's clear, you'll
see one of the best possible views of Oslo.
The
ski museum,
a must for skiers, traces the evolution of the sport, from
4,000-year-old rock paintings to crude 1,500-year-old wooden sticks to the
slickandquicklyevolvingskisofmoderntimes,includingafunexhibitshow-
ing the royal family on skis. You'll see gear from Roald Amundsen's famous
trek to the South Pole, including the stuffed remains of Obersten (the Colon-
el), one of his sled dogs.
Cost and Hours:
110-kr ticket includes museum and viewing platform
at top of jump; daily June-Aug 9:00-20:00, May and Sept 10:00-17:00, Oct-
April 10:00-16:00; tel. 22 92 32 64,
www.holmenkollen.com
or
Simulator:
To cap your Holmenkollen experience, step into the simulator
and fly down the ski jump and ski in a virtual downhill race. My legs were ex-
hausted after the five-minute terror. This simulator (or should I say stimulat-
or?), at the lower level of the complex, costs 60 kr (if you pay for four tickets,
try getting a fifth one free).
Getting There:
T-bane line #1 gets you out of the city, through the hills,
forests, and mansions that surround Oslo, and to the jump (direction: Fro-
gnerseteren; alternatively, you can take any westbound train—that's
tog mot
