Compared with Europe, Norway is a country, which was late to urbanize. Norway is still in a process where people from the fishing areas in the north and west are searching for possibilities in the city. In Norway, there has been a tradition in which the government had wide responsibility to make decisions about land use, and it was expected that it should invest in commonly owned areas.

Norway has an extremely wide, differently shaded music scene. When it comes to art, you can see a lot of things there that are rawer and younger than you see in the rest of Scandinavia. What people find interesting is that Norwegian are not well polished.

The society there is more informal and therefore offers a richer opportunity for bright persons of all ages to come up with really rude things—–of which there are many.

The still-formidable 14th-century Akershus fortress, which presides over Oslo Fjord.

The pool and fountains of Eidsvoll Square, a greensward that runs parallel to Oslo’s grand boulevard Karl Johans gate.

The Art Hall at Tullinlokka, beside the National Gallery, which serves as a venue for special exhibitions.

A colorful corner of Gronland, a central Oslo district with a population expressive of the city’s ever-increasing multiculturalism.