Kelly and I went to Oslo, Norway's capital, today; the flight took around 15 hours from Taipei. The architecture here is so modern, yet, you can still see medieval churches and places that show history. I noticed that there are a lot of buildings made of plain wood, stone, and even sustainable materials!
The Opera House in Oslo built in 2008 is stunning, the design is also really clever since you can walk on the roof. However, we didn't have time to catch a performance today, but we did go to this stave church (stave architecture is a type of wood construction in Medieval times) in Lom the other day. This church is believed to date back to 1192 and it just looks absolutely gorgeous.
The inside is also covered with wood, and it is currently used for weddings and church services. See for yourself!
Norway is a quite prosperous country, but I did hear that their taxes are really high. In contrast to the United States who taxes about 30 percent of their incomes, Norway taxes about 50 percent! But locals say that after education, health care, and all that stuff in the States, the outcomes are similar. Another thing that is worth noting is that their currency is different, like it's supposed to. Its called 'Norwegian Krone' and it changes into 3.89 New Taiwan Dollars. I also heard in one of the tours that Norway exports oil and natural gas. They say that it is also rich in natural resources though, like fish, minerals, and such.
Finally, summers are a good time to go hiking and cycling on all those beautiful mountains in Norway. But as in right now, we are in time for Skiing (considering how cold it is)! We happened to catch the Sunndal Ski Session, from April 7th to 10th. It's in the Sunndalsfjella mountains, and it is suitable for anyone, even beginners in the mountain sport to join. Although under heavy persuasion by my travel partner, I am really bad at skiing, so only Kelly would be going. But, the final schedule would be dependent on the weather and road conditions.
In the capital of Norway, there are many styles of architectures from different time periods. Did you enjoy the modern architecture or the medieval churches more? Why?
回覆刪除Hi! I enjoyed the medieval churches more because I don't see similar types of architecture in Taiwan. Surely I've seen churches, but elaborately carved wooden churches can really represent one aspect of Norwegian architecture. Also, I heard that stave churches can once be found all over Northern Europe, but now they are almost exclusively found in Norway!
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