Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
migrant groups. Another source of friction is the tough love Norwegians
feel they get from their government compared to the easy ride offered to
needy immigrants: “They even get pocket money in jail!”
Horrified by Breivik's actions, many Norwegians are now going out of
their way to make immigrants feel welcome. And the anti-immigrant Pro-
gress Party (which condemned the attacks) lost support in a round of local
elections held shortly after the attack.
Norway seems determined not to let the July 22 massacre poison its
peaceful soul. Calls for police to start carrying weapons or to reinstate the
death penalty were quickly rejected. “Breivik wanted to change Norway,”
an Oslo resident told me. “We're determined to keep Norway the way it
was.”
The Romanesque
Gamle Aker Church
(from the 1100s), the oldest build-
ing in Oslo, is worth a look inside (free, Mon-Thu 14:00-16:00, Fri
12:00-14:00). The church, which fell into ruins and has been impressively re-
built, is pretty bare except for a pulpit and baptismal font from the 1700s.
From the church, backtrack 20 yards, head left at the playground, and go
downhill on the steep
Telthusbakken Road
toward the huge, gray former
grain silos (now student housing). The cute lane is lined with colorful old
wooden houses: The people who constructed these homes were too poor to
meet the no-wood fire-safety building codes within the city limits, so they
built in what used to be suburbs. At the bottom of Telthusbakken, cross the
busy Maridalsveien and walk directly through the park to the Akers River.
The lively Grünerløkka district is straight across the river from here, but if
you have 20 minutes and a little energy, detour upstream first and hook back
down. Don't cross the river yet.
Walk along the riverside bike lane upstream through the river gorge park.
Just above the first waterfall, cross
Åmotbrua,
the big white springy suspen-
sion footbridge from 1852 (moved here in 1958). Keep hiking uphill along
the river. At the base of the next big waterfall, cross over again to the large
brick buildings, hiking up the stairs to the Beyer bridge (above the falls) with
