Farewell to Oslo

This morning ahead of our flight home we had time to visit the last two places on our list of tourist attractions we were had wanted to visit.

The first was the award winning Deichman Library voted the best new library in the world in 2021.  The library has six floors, all flooded in light thanks to the many windows and three huge geometric skylights.  It is angular in design and the subtle colours provide the peaceful atmosphere you would expect in a library.

While it’s dedicated to literature, the library’s many floors house much more than books. There are, of course, reading and study areas, but there’s also an entire floor dedicated to children, as well as a café, a restaurant on the first floor, a cinema and an auditorium in the basement.

Hanging from the sixth floor ceiling is an installation called 100 Colours.  It is the creation of Emmanuelle Moreaux and consists of 10,000 letters cut out of paper and is 18 metres in length.

It looks spectacular and certainly fulfils her aim of giving people the opportunity to become more aware of all the colours that surround them.

You could very easily spend your day in the library and by the looks of it many students do!

On the way back to the hotel to await our taxi to the airport we popped into the Rådhuset  (town hall) at the second time of asking as there was a wedding on the previous occasion and we were turned away.  It only took a few minutes to admire the murals that adorn the interior walls of grand hall.  They show Norwegian life through the ages, they were very impressive.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our special holiday and Oslo has more than met our expectations.