Umbrellas: Theme Day

February's Theme Day "umbrellas" are well timed. My interpretation of this month's theme (if you can call it an interpretation at all) is very boring, but the weather in Oslo the last days have been so crappy with warm weather and lots of rain, I thought I keep it simple. Here are two under their umbrellas in front of Oslo City hall at Aker Brygge (notice the two City Hall towers I was referring to in my post Oslo).

Coffee = waste?

Coffee can be said to be Norway's national drink. Only in Finland do they drink more coffee than we do. Over 80% of the adult population in Norway drink coffee regularly, and an average norwegian drink about about 5 cups a day. That's about 9 kilos of coffee a year!! In 1994 there were two coffee shops in Oslo, today it's over a hundred. No doubt coffee shops are popular, the very sign of an urban society. As Erling Dokk Holm, a professor and researcher at the Oslo School of Marketing says "coffee shops are the dynamics of the social life of the city" (ref). But enough with all these coffee facts! Lets get to my point of this photo: All these coffee shops offer cheaper coffee as take-away. I've never thought of all the garbage all those paper cups must make, until I saw this stuffed trash can!

Eye on Gandhi

Yesterday I went to the Nobel Peace Center at Aker Brygge, where they had the exhibition Eye on Gandhi. The exhibition tells the story of why Gandhi didn't win any Nobel Peace Prize, even though he was nominated for the prize four times, the fourth time just months before he was killed in 1948. The exhibition also show Gandhi's last days through the photos of famous documentary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Hurry! It's only on for another two weeks, check the Nobel Peace Center's webpage for opening hours.

Butterflies

On one of my walks this weekend, I passed by this apartment building in Karlstadgata, near Sofienbergparken. Around one of the windows on the second floor were many, small and large colorful butterflies attached the wall. What a nice way to decorate your house!

The kids are out!

After a few snowy days, with a tolerable temperature at only -3 celsius (instead of -18 as it has been lately), the kids are out, doing what they do best! Here's three, ready for action in Sofienbergparken!

Last chance

January's Christmas sales are soon over! Next week is your last chance! Have you bought anything on sale? Something you wished for Christmas but didn't get? This is from inside Bik Bok a women's clothing shop. You can find Bik Bok all over town, this on at Grünerløkka.

Australia Day

Today is the CDP's (City Daily Photo portal) very first National Day Theme, and it happens to be Australia Day! My photo for today is one from my Australia Day celebration in 2006. It's not the best photo I've taken, but it is (surprisingly) the only one I've got from this evening! It's taken in Kings Park, onlooking Perth CBD. The park is a popular spot for an authentic aussie barbie on Oz Day, waiting for the fireworks over Swan River. I wish I had found out about CDP four years earlier, it would have been so much fun to have had a Perth Daily Photo blog too!! Happy Australia Day!

Oslo

A beautiful view over Oslo. The photo is taken from east facing south west. On a clear day you can see the fjord and the two towers of Oslo City Hall in the horizon. The day I took this photo it was quite foggy and the sun was going down, giving the photo a beautiful pale, yellow light. 

Løkka

Grünerløkka, populary called Løkka, is a borough east in Oslo. Løkka is a vibrant and modern area, with lots of culture, shopping and nightlife. Today's photo is taken in one of Løkka's main streets, Thorvald Meyers Gate.

Jernbanetorget

Jernbanetorget (The Railway Square), seen through the window at the restaurant Egon, is a large square in Oslo City Centre, in front of Oslo Sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station). It is the largest node for public transportation in Oslo and Norway with all the tram lines passing through, connecting all train- subway- and bus services.

The Barcode Project

Driving through Oslo city centre in rush hour the other day gave me a good opportunity to take a close look at the infamous Barcode. The Barcode is the name given to the high-rise buildings in Bjørvika, close to the Opera House. There has been lots of discussions about these buildings, their height, design and location, both from architects and citizens: The location are said to make the Barcode a barrier between the fjord and the city and the architecture are described as chaotic. I quite like the buildings, their design and location. What do you think? Check out this webpage for the architects drawings: The Opera Quarter and my blogpost from may 2010 with photo from the earlier contruction work.

Rosenhoff Voksenopplæring

Keen on moving to Norway? Want to learn the language? At Oslo Voksenopplæring Rosenhoff (Oslo Adult Education at Rosenhoff) they offer norwegian courses, both daytime- and evening classes. The classes are held in this building at Rosenhoff, an area east in Oslo. Rosenhoff Voksenopplæring have also another faculty in the centre of Oslo. Fore more information, check out their homepage.

Fem trær

Fem trær (five trees) in Torshovdalen. It's Sunday, the perfect day for a walk in the park. It is just me, or does my photo look a little similar to David Hockney's painting "Three Trees Near Thixendale, Winter 2007"?

Yummy Heaven

I walked past this candy store in Torggata, not far from Youngstorget yesterday. I thought to myself, hey, it's Friday, and stepped inside.. The store name and my heading says it all: Yummy Heaven!!

The tram

Todays photo is from inside one of Oslos old blue trams, taken not far from the tram stop in Hausmanns gate. Oslo got their first trams in 1875, with one tram line through the city centre. Today there are 6 tram lines and 99 tram stops in Oslo.

Holmenkollbakken by night

I have posted a photo of Holmenkollen Ski Jump earlier, but I had to post this one too. I can reveal that it is the view from the apartment where I live (with a little zooming, of course). What a cool construction and lightening! A little fun fact for today: The first record set in Holmenkollen were in 1892 at 21,5 meters (Arne Ustvedt). In 1992 the record were at 113,5 meters (Jon Inge Kjørum), and in 2011 it was at 141 meters (Andreas Kofler).

Singelblokka

Beautiful winter light reflected in the verandas of Singelblokka. Singelblokka, or "the Single Block" is the nick name the residents of this block have given their apartment building, and it is one of nine housing associations in Oslo run by the Singles Association (Ensliges landsforbund). The Singles Association is a volunteer organization that works to improve the living conditions for single people and people living alone, economically and socially.

Skating. Dreaming.

For those of you who have read my earlier blog posts know that I spent 6 weeks in Paris during the summer of 2010. Living in Paris, actual living in Paris, have always been a dream of mine. Another dream I have is to ice-skate in front of Hôtel de Ville. After reading Eric Tenin's post "Skating by the Eiffel Tower" my dream have a new location. Back in Oslo you can ice-skate at Spikersuppa, an area between the Parliament (Stortinget) and Nationaltheatret, the building you can see in the background.

I'm back!

I'm back blogging after a year's break. I've moved back to the capitol and I wish I could say that this was my house! As it's not, what I can say is that I love the colourful decoration with the lightbulbs they've got going on.

Paris, je t'aime!

It's with mixed feelings I'm leaving Paris.. I'm very happy to come home to my family and friends, but I wouldn't mind staying here longer. As of tomorrow I will continue my daily photo posting from another blog, Eiker Daily Photo, and I hope everyone who has read and followed my Oslo Daily Photo blog (and Paris Daily Photo for these six weeks), will continue to read and follow my new Eiker blog. I would like to say thanks for all the comments that you have left, it makes me happy to know people enjoy my photos! Today's photo isn't very different from millions of other photo's of Paris, but I had to blog it as my last Paris daily photo. I love this photo and I love this city!

André Citroën

I'm posting today's photo after recieving it from my mum who wanted me to reccomend Parc André Citroën. It's situated by the Seine in the 15th arrondissement, on the former Citroën automobile manufacturing plant. It's an excellent spot for running or just taking a stroll, as it got "everything." The parc has mix of small paths hidden in forestlike areas, open squares with fountains and small waterfalls. Today's photo show a few of the wooden sunbeds one might find comfortable enough to rest on after a work out session or on a summer day. The André Citroën Parc also includes six theme gardens, where every garden is associated with a metal, a plant, a day of the week, a state of the water and a sense. For example, there is The Silver Garden, associated with silver, the Moon, Monday, rivers, and sight. I have not yet been in this parc myself, therefore I am very curious to see how these six gardens look like, and as I'm leaving Paris very soon, a visit to this parc will have to be on my to-do-list for my next trip to Paris!

Métro

After six weeks I have become fairly well acquainted with the parisian métro. As the third longest métro in Western Europe, the parisian métropolitain has got 213 km of rails and over 300 stations. The average distance between the stations are 300 metres. The parisian métro contains of 16 lines, where the trains on five of them are driven on rubber wheels, whilst one line is fully automatic operated. The first métro line opened in 1900 (Line 1), the last line 98 years later (Line 14). The longest line is 22.5 km long and has 38 stations (Line 7). Every day the parisian métro transport 3.9 million people, which is just one million less than the amount of people who lives in all of Norway!

Feeding Frenzy

I'm pretty sure I know enough french to understand that this sign which says "Si vouz aimez les oiseaux, ne les nourriturez pas" translates into "If you like the birds, do not feed them." I therefore find it a bit ironic that this little boy and his mum, which you might see crouching down on his right, chose just this spot in Parc Montsouris to feed the birds yesterday afternoon

Comme c'est curieux!

What a culturel afternoon I had yesterday! First, I went to a photography exhibition at Monnaie de Paris, the Paris Mint, with photos by Willy Ronis. The exhibition marks the centenary of his birth and show, amongst a few of his well known photos, many previously unknown works. Read more about the exhibition here. Afterwards, some of my classmates and I went to Théâtre de la Huchette in the Latin Quarter. As you can see in today's photo, it's a tiny little theatre. I don't think it holds more than maybe 60-70 people at the time. Every day, Théâtre de la Huchette show two plays by Romanian/French playwrighter and dramatist Eugène Ionesco: "La Chantatrice Chauve" (The Bald Soprano) and "La leçon" (The Lession). Yesterday we saw both plays and we all really enjoyed them. As Ionesco is one of the most famous playwrighter in the style "Theatre of the Absurd" I had many good laughs and I highly recommend going! Follow these links for Théâtre de la Huchette and Eugène Ionesco

Tree hut

Today I'm taking you from the exterior to the interior of Centre Pompidou, showing you how it looks like from the inside and out, through the bearing structure and technical installations. The tree hut you can see is part of one current exposition Centre Pompidou is offering at the moment. It is by Japanese-born artist Tadashi Kawamata, and you can read more about it here

Pompidou

Once upon a time, two architects wanted to design somthing different, something that would break with the traditional parisian facades, buildings and architecture in general. The architects, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, recieved much criticism for these ideas and the building that arose from them. In 1977, Centre Pompidou were finished, although one could say it didn't look finished, having all its bearing structure and technical installations on the outside. By now, it seems like the parisians have grown used to their modern looking museum/library. I took this photo of Centre Pompidou last night, and only having seen it in daylight before, I quite like it by night

Monsieur Pique!

With only one more week here in Paris, I have spent my Saturday afternoon doing what I love: Wandering around little streets, popping into every shop I find interesting and when my feet gets tired, relax in a little park or garden. Today I started in Parc de Bercy, did some shopping in Bercy Village and finished off with exploring the streets around the Marais area. That's where I met Monsieur Pique, the proud guardian of this art gallery/shop

Room with a view

Earlier I told you my dream of living in Paris started in Place des Vosges. An addition to the dream is that it would have to be a room with a view. Like this for example: The view of Paris from Butte Montmartre

Paris Plage

Every summer for the last 8 years, the Seine's Rive Droit, right bank, and the highway along it has been transformed into a beach. One can argue whether or not it's A BEACH, but everything is relative. Paris Plage stretches from Le Louvre until Pont Sully, which is about 3.5 km. Read more about it on it's homepage

Bright colours

As today's theme is bright colours, I chose this photo taken in one of the many art galleries in the Arcades surrounding Place des Vosges in Marais. This square is so beautiful. I love the red brick houses that surrounds the square, and it was here my childhood dream of living in Paris started!
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Abbesses

Thanks to Eric Tenin's blog I have now (yet) another favourite street in Paris. His daily photo from two days ago took me to Rue des Martyrs, and yesterday afternoon I found myself wandering up the street. It is full of boulangeries, pâtisseries, second hand shops and small cafés and bars. At the top of the street, right by the metro station Abbesses, where the amount of tourist increases, I found this staircase covered in colorful graffiti. The staircase led me to the top of Butte Montmartre and the museum Espace Dalí Montmartre (www.daliparis.com), which is also a favourite of mine

Buskers

Today's photo is taken right in between Paris' two islands, Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis. Not only situated in the middle of Paris' tourist area, Île de la Citè is also geographic and historic centre. Ponte Saint-Louis, the bridge that connects the two islands is a popular spot for buskers, and a perfect spot for nice views of the French Renaissance style inspired Hôtel de Ville, which houses the office of the Mayor of Paris

Pine

In the beginning of my stay in Paris I wrote about Jardin du Luxembourg, how it's my favourite spot for lunch on a sunny day. I am a little embarassed to say that even though I have been in Paris many times, I have not really visited that many parks and gardens, only because I kept going back to Jardin du Luxembourg. Since then I have spent some of my afternoons and weekends exploring other green lungs in Paris. Of the numerous parks and gardens in Paris, I still have a "few" left to see before I've seen them all. So far I am very surprised that all the parks and gardens are so different to each other. Not all of them has, what is for me a characteristic Parisian style, with the fountains, statues and flowers like Jardin du Luxembourg or Jardin de Tuileries. Today's photo is taken in Parc Montsouris, in the 14th arrondissement. What I like the most about this park are all the trees, in particular the pine trees that reminds me of home, and by reading about the parc I learnd that there are about 150 species of trees and shrubs growing there

Fancy a beer?

Fancy a beer? And not the usual one? My tip is this Belgium beer bar in 19 Rue Sufflot, close to the Panthéon. It's called La Gueuze and serves at least 40 different beers. I like "La fin du monde" (The end of the world), "Bière du dèmon" (Demon beer), "Cochonette" (Piglet) and "Judas"

A cat's life

There has always been so much talk about the thousands of dogs that live here in Paris, and especially about their dirty business they leave behind in the streets, I have completely forgotten about all the cats! That was until I saw this petit chat in Jardin du Luxembourg some days ago. Having this park as you outdoor playground, this really must be a cat’s life!

Same same but different

Another sunset over the Seine, but from another angle. I took this photo on France's national day last week, while I was waiting for the fireworks. It's taken on Pont Mirabeau in the 15th arrondissement. I love the blue colour of the sky and the reflection off the buildings on the right. It's very different from yesterday's sunset, yet it's the same city and the same river. I'm also gonna refer to an old post from this blog (you can see it here) where I find myself in the philosophical corner, if that expression works in English. I describe how you can experience a whole different world if you take time to stop and look back to where you came from. In this case, if you view the Effel Tower from different angles and parts of Paris, the experience can be quite different

Sunset

A beautiful sunset over the Seine. Today's photo is taken on Pont Louis Philippe, a bridge that connects Rive Droit, the Right Bank, and the island Ile Saint-Louis

Exploring

I love exploring areas, places and parks in Paris I have never visited before, except for the getting lost part. Today I got lost in Gare de Lyon, trying to find my way out. When I finally saw daylight, I also saw these photos scattered around the front of the station. According to this webpage, the world-renowned photography festival "Les Rencontres d'Arles," based in Arles, are spreading the festival to six stations across France, with Paris Gare de Lyon as one of them. Read more about the festival on this webpage www.rencontres-arles.com This exhibition of photos in front of landmarks also reminds me of the open-air exhibitions that takes place in Oslo in front of the City Hall every now and again. This is something I posted a photo of earlier. You can see that daily photo here

White facades

Today's photo show a typical parisian facade, as almost every house/facade in Paris are white. I specially enjoy the view from Montmartre and the basilica Sacré-Cæur for this reason, Paris just looks so white from there. This photo is taken on Île de la cité, one of the two islands on the river Seine, on Place Dauphine, a street and square shielded from the noise from the heavy trafficated streets along the Seine. It's a very cosy and quiet place with a few restaurants and bars not far from the busy tourist centre around Notre-Dame and Saint-Michel, worth a visit!

When in Paris..

..do what the Parisiens do. Go jogging in a park. This is one of the most Parisien things I know about. No matter the day, no matter the time or no matter the weather, you are bound to see several Parisians running in the park. I might be here for 6 weeks, but I'm not on holiday so I need to keep exercising, which in this case mean joining in on these guys

Wow

Today it's Bastille Day, France's National Day. Forget about the military parade that goes down the Champs-Elysées in the morning. Go instead to one of the two Parisian Operas, Palais Garnier or Opera Bastille for a free matinée. I went to Palais Garnier, and even though the queues and the wait was long, it was worth it. Not only was the ballet show "La danseuse de Degas," by choreographer Patrice Bart, really good, the Opera house itself was breathtakingly beautiful. I got more and more mesmerized the further inside I got, and the whole experience was perfect when I saw Marc Chagall's roof painting. Wow! Read about the show here

Mission failed!

Oh, how completely different today's post and photo is, compared to how I planned and hoped it would be. Tomorrow is Bastille Day, or France's National Day, so tonight and tomorrow night, several fire stations around in Paris are hosting big parties, called "Bals des Pompiers de Paris." I had one mission for tonight. That mission was to go to one of these parties, have a drink and take a photo of one smoking hot firefighter. They are, as I have read somwhere, seen as major sex symbols here in Paris (and I won't argue that!). Anyways, I chose the fire station close to Église Saint-Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement. The queue you can see on today's photo is about 1/5 of the whole line of people waiting to get in. I probably don't need to say I wasn't up for that, no matter how sexy the firefighters. But what I need to say is: Mission failed!

Viva España, again

You might not believe me when I say I'm no big fan of football, since today's photo is the second football related photo on this blog in just a few days. But I just had to see the World Cup Finale. Again I spent the evening at Trocadéro, with good friends and wine. Yesterday the crowd got even bigger than it did last Wednesday for the semi final, so we kept a little in the back. That turned out as a good idea, as people managed to push down fences and find their way through the barriers and into the Fifa Fan Fest area. Crazy football fans!

Libraire

Just a quick post today! I think this libraire, bookshop, has a really smart solution to show off books outside the shop. This is a bookshop at Place de la Sorbonne!

Viva España

Today I spent the evening at Trocadéro, amongst thousands of football fans. I'm no big fan myself, but I came along and hoped Spain would win. Which they did, after scoring a goal in the 73rd minute. As Trocadéro is my favourite spot in Paris to view the Eifel Tower, this was a perfect spot to view the last semi final in open air. I love the colours of the sky behind the tower at sunset from this angle, and together with the atmosphere from the crowd a minute after the scooring, I think this makes quite a nice photo for today!

Carefree cooling off

It's hot in Paris, and hotter it will be! While some people are worried about a new heatwave hitting town, this little girl in pink, cooling off in a fountain in front of École Militaire, seems to be very carefree!

Les fleurs

One of my followers commented on my post yesterday asking where all the flowers in Jardin du Luxembourg were. To be honest, I didn't notice or think about that my photo yesterday from the garden was one without all the beautiful flowers they use to have in their flowerbeds. The photo i posted yesterday was taken last week, when I was here in Paris for a quick two-day meeting. I guess the gardeners have been busy since then. Compare yesterday's flowerless photo to today's photo I took yesterday. It's the same flowebed, just from another angle!

Jardin du Luxembourg

One of my favourite things to do when in Paris, is to have lunch in the Luxembourg gardens. The park is the garden of the French Senate which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace you can see on today's photo. Jardin du Luxembourg is the largest public park in Paris (22.5 hectares), its located in the 6th arrondissement and not too hard to spot on the Paris map. There are still places in the park I have never been, like l'Orangerie, where lemon and orange trees take shelter from the cold or Rucher du Luxembourg, where bees have produced hunny centuries. I think today is a perfect day for lunch in Jardin du Luxembourg!

Place de la Sorbonne

First of all I have to say I don't have much background knowledge of Paris and its buildings, squares, monuments etc, but as this 6 week long stay will be my 9th time in Paris I do know my way around in the city so some extent. This "new" Paris Daily Photo blog will be more of a means for me to show you the places I already have been and love, and new places i will pass through and most definitely love as well! Today's photo is of a square or place where I'm sure I'm gonna spend a lot of time sitting in the sun, cool down in the water from the fountains and do some french class homework. This is Place de la Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter, in front of La Sorbonne, the historical house of the former Univeristy of Paris

100 reflections of Oslo

From this blog's very first post in February, I have today posted exactly a 100 pictures from Oslo! With this I will end this Oslo Daily Photo blog. I have not grown tired of this daily habit, the only reason for me to stop posting pictures from Oslo is because I have moved from the city and back home to my hometown. I will continue posting daily photos from my municipality, Eiker, in a new blog although this blog will not be up and running until 15th of August. From tomorrow and for the next 6 weeks I am a Parisian!! I urge you therefore to keep following this blog for a Paris daily photo, until mid August, when I hope you will follow me to my new blog and see many beautiful pictures from my little hometown! Please stay tuned!! Not forgetting about theme day today, I have chosen to give this month's theme "reflections" a wide interpretation. As reflectins can be representations or images I will mention again that today's picture is the last in a series of one hundred photos, images, representations or reflections of Oslo. The building you can see in today's photo is the Oslo Opera House. It was finished in April 2008, after about 5-6 years of building. In just one year, the Opera House had 1.3 million visitors, making it one of Oslo's most popular tourist spots. It's roof is open for the public to walk around on, giving some nice views over Oslo, and in summer time the roof is also used as a concert venue.
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