A business trip to the Norwegian capital gave me the opportunity to discover this city with two very different atmospheres, two very different lights… all in the space of a few hours.

In Oslo, the sea is very present and it’s by its bay that I’ll be approaching it first, in fine weather and with the warm colours of the early evening sun.

Its bay is made up of a large number of small islands, easily accessible to its inhabitants, for an end of day or a weekend, ideal for the Scandinavian way of life?

Return to Oslo and its seafront, in the city centre, with its very modern architecture, including the opera house and the Munch museum.

The next day brought a change of atmosphere: the sky was grey and it was raining over the city! We headed for the seafront to get a closer look at its modern buildings and catch the changing light on the opera house.

Along the quays in the city centre, there are numerous cultural monuments with modern architecture. After the Munch Museum and the Opera House, here is the Astrup Fernley Museum with its wooden façade. The light is -somewhat- back.

The quays offer other photo themes based on wood, metal, rain and reflections:

And others to play with colours:

Strolling through the town centre near the quays, you can also see some older, and fairly rare, monuments, of which here are a few examples.

Oslo is a city of relatively recent development and this is clearly evident in its architecture, so don’t expect to find the colourful wooden buildings you see on the west coast of the country. A visit to its Munch museum is a must.