Oslo, Norway, March 24th, 2025
A red eye with Sleazy Jet to Oslo this morning.
Thankfully, Manchester airport has escaped the Heathrow chaos. The criminals in charge of broken Blighty can’t blame the Russians for anything today. Just thank their push for utter Net Zero bollix and no investment in much needed infrastructure for an ageing Hayes substation.
It’s crazy to think it’s 13 years since I used to report on the Spirit of Qatar Team’s progress in the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship at places like Oslo, Trondheim and Arendal and then Team Abu Dhabi in action in the UIM F2 World Championship in Tønsberg a few years later.
Managed to get some urgent work finished on arrival at Hotel Bondeheimen in the city centre and found time for a leisurely stroll through the centre of Oslo to Akkerbrygge for a coffee stop, the Nobel Peace Centre, on to Thuvholmen and back past the Akershus fortress and Stortingsparken.
Hotel Bondeheimen was founded by the Norwegian Farmers’ Youth Association in 1913 as a home for farmers and rural visitors travelling to Oslo. It became a meeting point for authors, artists and politicians. Traditional cuisine and amazing breakfasts are served in Kaffistova.
The Nobel Peace Centre was opened in 2005 by His Majesty King Harald V of Norway in a ceremony attended by the royal families of Norway and Canada. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai was also present. It is located in the former Oslo West railway station building, although it ceased to be used as a railway station in 1989.
Cloudy and 5C with the sun trying to break through and some brave souls sitting outside the odd coffee shop.
