Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tøyenbadet,
a modern indoor/outdoor pool complex with a 330-foot-
long waterslide, also has a gym and sauna (80 kr, children-38 kr, Mon-
Fri 7:00-19:30, Sat-Sun 9:00-15:00, sometimes closed mornings for school
events, 10-minute walk from Edvard Munch Museum, Helgengate 90, tel. 23
30 44 70). Oslo's free botanical gardens are nearby.
Connect the dots by following the self-guided “Walk up the Akers River to
Grünerløkka” (see
here
).
Akers River
—This river, though only about five miles long, powered Oslo's
early industry: flour mills in the 1300s, sawmills in the 1500s, and Norway's
Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. A walk along the river not only spans
Oslo's history, but also shows the contrast the city offers. The bottom of the
river (where this walk doesn't go)—bordered by the high-rise Oslo Radisson
Blu Plaza Hotel and the “Little Pakistan” neighborhood of Grønland—has its
share of drunks and drugs, reflecting a new urban reality in Oslo. Farther up,
the river valley becomes a park as it winds past decent-size waterfalls and
red-brick factories. The source of the river (and Oslo's drinking water) is the
pristine Lake Maridal, situated at the edge of the Nordmarka wilderness. The
idyllicrecreationscenesalongLakeMaridalareaworldapartfromtherough-
er reality downstream.
▲Grünerløkka
—The Grünerløkka district is the largest planned urban area
in Oslo. It was built in the latter half of the 1800s to house the legions of
workers employed at the factories powered by the Akers River. The first
buildings were modeled on similar places built in Berlin. (German visitors
observe that there's now more turn-of-the-20th-century Berlin here than in
present-day Berlin.) While slummy in the 1980s, today it's trendy. Locals
sometimes refer to it as “Oslo's Greenwich Village.” Although that's way
over the mark, it is a bustling area with lots of cafés, good spots for a fun
meal, and few tourists.
