Vikings and the Northern Lights

Oslo is famous for its museums. Almost every weekend there are promotions offering a free entrance for students. The National Gallery and Munch museum are popular and have many of the world’s most famous paintings, including The Scream. There are also many museums related to the Viking Era, since many of them lived in the area of Scandinavia, and have authentic Viking ships from centuries ago! The Contiki museum has the original ship used in the expedition. My favorite visit to a museum was actually the Norwegian parliament, where you can take a free tour in English every weekend. It was interesting to see the rooms where politics took place and I saw many senators walking next to us. I would have asked them for a picture if I had known who any of them were, but the Norwegian senate is not my strong suit.

Despite the many amazing museums in Oslo, along with exciting landmarks like the King’s Palace, my favorite place in Oslo is Sognsvann Lake. It is conveniently located less than five minutes walking from my apartment. The lake is huge and inside an extensive forest. There are many trails you can take to walk next to the lake, including many that go within the forest and go pretty high inside the mountain. You can go and exercise, watch the sunset, or simply walk around. In the summer, many people went swimming in the lake. Nowadays, it’s mostly people jogging on the trails.

The reason why I love Sognsvann so much is because you can see the Northern Lights from there. There are no tall buildings or activity near the area since its in the outer area of the city, and thus it can be really dark at night. Scandinavia has an online app where you can check the Aurora Borealis forecast and it tells you exactly at what time you are able to see the lights. People build bonfires near the lake and everyone takes their blanket to enjoy the show.