Oslo - A Day by the Water

Oslo, a Tuesday in August, the third stop after Copenhagen and Gothenburg. A whole day of bright sunshine, from the parliament to the fjord, in a city shared between its wooden quays, its sunny benches and the water, always at the end of the street.

The Storting, the Norwegian parliament, under a blazing sun, Oslo — Oslo

Morning in the centre.

The Storting under a sun that burns into the lens, a reader by a fountain, a royal guard standing still in front of his sentry box. Then the new city: curved wooden facades, passages where the glass reflects the sky, a sculpture of red, green and yellow blocks set down like a toy.

People sunbathing on the orange benches of the waterfront, Oslo — Oslo

From Aker Brygge to Tjuvholmen.

By the water, Oslo soaks up the sun. On the wooden decks, people sit facing the fjord with the City Hall behind them; the orange benches line up sunbathing bodies, a runner goes by, a woman in a straw hat stretches out. At the end of Tjuvholmen, a small beach, swimmers on a pontoon, and a cruise ship moored like one more building.

Passers-by in front of large black and white portraits, a woman in a green dress in the foreground, Oslo — Oslo

Noon among the portraits.

In town, a hoarding covered with large black and white portraits watches people go by: a woman in a green dress, another in white, men in suits. A florist arranges her buckets, a customer leans into an ice-cream kiosk, and on the benches everyone stays bent over their phone.

The Dyna lighthouse alone on the water, under a cloudy sky, Oslo — Oslo

On the fjord.

In the afternoon, an old sailing ship leaves the harbour. From the water, the white Opera House and the leaning tower of the Munch museum draw the city’s new waterfront. Further out, the Dyna lighthouse stands alone on its islet. On board, an old white-bearded sailor rests at the galley door.

Children chasing soap bubbles across a large square, Oslo — Oslo

The end of the day.

Back on land, children chase soap bubbles across a large square. The sky clouds over and the city heads home: a young man in red runs out of Stortinget metro station, a poster promises karaoke in the sauna on Saturdays, a couple lingers on the grass. And on the steps, pink socks in black clogs.