Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023
Sep 26th, 2023, 01:05 PM
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Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023
Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023
Part 1
We shortened our vacation this year to four weeks and used public transportation exclusively. Having reached a Lincolnesque age, I would consider driving only in France where language is not a problem. Paris is always an obvious choice as we go there to see family and friends. My wife did most of the research for travel outside Paris, and asked me where I wanted to go in France. Lille was my choice because we had never been there. We wanted to revisit Oslo that we last saw in 2009. knowing that a great deal of construction occurred along the waterfront. Vienna is always worth a visit, and we had not been there since 2004. Finally we returned via NYC to see our family.
The air fares were considerably higher this year than last year, in part because we did not order our tickets until April 15 for a mid-May flight compared to last year when we ordered our tickets in February for a similar vacation time. Here are the cost that we paid ahead of time, or for which we committed ourselves by making reservations.
General rule: I pay in local currency and avoid DCC charges.
SFO-Paris, Vienna-NYC, NYC-SFO: $3771
Paris-Oslo: $309
Oslo-Vienna: $300
Paris-Lille: $84
Lille-CDG: $69
Total long distance transportation costs: $4533
Accommodations:
Lille apartment for two nights: $255
Oslo “apartment” for 6 nights: $856
Vienna efficiency for 6 nights: $512
Our first stop in our European visits was Paris. As usual we stayed with a friend, so cannot recommend lodging. She organized our stay, including reservations for the museums. We blocked off two time frames, one to see our friends in Fontenay-aux-roses, and the other to see my cousin in Levallois-Perret.
The three large exhibits that we saw were Sur les routes de Samarcande at the Institut du Monde Arabe , which was a gorgeous exhibit,
with a whiff of colonialism as it represented late 19th and early 20th century items, at a period when that region was being absorbed by Imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union. The colonialism was more evident in the second room which contained paintings by Russians that reminded me of French paintings of the Maghreb. We were there first thing in the morning, and as with any exhibit worth a visit, it was quite crowded by the time we left to have lunch in the cafeteria. The food at the cafeteria is so-so. I was surprised that wine was available but our friend said that the Arab world contained more than Muslims, which is true, but on the other hand it does not contain the Turkic world represented by Samarkand.
After lunch we walked around the 5e arrondissement, going down the Boulevard Saint Germain to the Place Maubert, where we discovered one of the Laurent Dubois cheese shops, up the hill to the Panthéon, back down to the rue Mouffetard marché. Eventually going back towards the Seine via the Boulevard de l’Hôpital to cross over near the Gare de Lyon and back to our Ledru-Rollin apartment.
We saw the Manet/Degas exhibit at the Orsay museum, which left me with a greater appreciation of Manet. This was a very crowded exhibit.
We went to the Centre Pompidou to see the Exposition Germaine Richier.
My impression is that the museum is generally less crowded than the Orsay and that its crowd is less touristic and more Parisian.
On another day we wandered around the quartier de l’Arsenal, combining the new with the old:
We had two evenings out. One was a Jesse Cook concert at the Sunset-Sunside Jazz Club (https://www.sunset-sunside.com/) a crowded venue similar to some of the old-line venues in the NYC Village. A pleasant way to spend an evening.
The second one was a solo pianist in the MAHJ (Musée d’Art et d’Histore du Judaîsme) whose security rivals airport security. It was a completely different atmosphere. For one thing, performer (a classical pianist) and audience were of the same older age. For another, it is a sort of cultural reunion. The performance was of newly created solos inspired by klezmer music (but I also heard some Satie Gymnopédie tonalities), and the self-deprecating narrative between the pieces was full of Yiddish references, most of which past right by me, but the rest of the audience was very appreciative. The recent article in the NYT on Melbourne Jews reminded me of this group (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/w...australia.html) in part because Yiddish is central to their identity rather than Hebrew. It was a nice recital.
Restaurants worth mentioning:
Isolé, 7 Rue de Rosny, 93100 Montreuil, France ($351.47 for 6)
Phone: +33 1 48 51 65 04 no web site
considered a neo-bistro. Here’s what we ate:
If by chance you are in the area, Le Café de la Gare in Fontenay-aux-Roses, located across the street from the RER station.
https://www.cafe-de-la-gare-fontenay-aux-roses.fr/ ($184.88 for six)
Of my picture albums for Paris, this one covers most of our geographic wanderings
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpLG4id
From Paris we took the TGV to Lille. It is said to have an excellent fine arts museum, but I did not feel that this was a reason to go there. Fodorites indicated that there is relatively little to see, and I found the main square of Arras, last seen in 2003, more attractive as an ensemble.
But doing some more research, we discovered two venues that sounded different and interesting: the Villa Cavrois designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens (https://www.villa-cavrois.fr/en) and la Piscine museum in Roubaix (https://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/en/home/)
By taking the TGV in the morning, we were able to leave our luggage in a storage place close to the train station (no consigne in the train station) and take the street car to the suburbs for our afternoon reservation at the Villa Cavrois. The métro and street car station near the train station is underground and can be confusing, but there are hospitality personnel who are very helpful in buying the appropriate tickets and getting to the appropriate platform.
The Villa Cavrois is of one piece, designed by Mallet-Stevens from top to bottom. As an Art Deco mansion it is very interesting, worth the visit, but I would not want to live there. What is as impressive is the restoration of the building. It fell into ruin between 1985 and 1991, its furniture scattered into private collections, the building vandalized and occupied by squatters. It’s living quarters, with the exception of one room to show its condition before restoration, has been fully restored with its original furniture whenever possible.
A day’s trip from Paris is feasible, but I would give Lille at least one full day. On our full day we took the métro to Roubaix to see the Piscine Museum, https://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/en/home/, which is a museum created from a repurposed Art Deco public swimming complex. The original pool has been transformed into an in-door reflecting pool, possibly inspired by Roman pools like this one:
I did not find all the changes to be successful, especially when it comes to the display of their permanent collection in side rooms. The space for temporary exhibit, Maillol when we were there, is new and similar to other museum space.
Our lodging was an apartment obtained through Booking.com in the old part of Lille between the main square and the fort. It was about a twenty minute walk from the train station. The key was to be found in a lock box across the street. Because of our peculiar situation, I did not return the key to the box when we left but left it on the dining room table (I called the local number several rimes but there never was an answer). The closets in the bedroom were full of cleaning stuff and could not be used, but there was a dresser in the bedroom. The apartment had an undeclared second bedroom with a door to its corridor and another one to the living room (no windows) with a single bed. We used that room for our suitcases. We used the kitchen to make coffee in the morning. I would recommend it for short stays.
This is part of the description in Booking.com
Unique apartment in the Old Lille !
Address: 58 Rue de la Barre, Vieux Lille,
Lille Restaurant: Au Gout du Jour https://www.augoutdujour.eu/en/ ($112.89 for two) No menu given, but pricing is based on chosen menu categories: entrée, plat, dessert; or 2 entrées, plat, dessert; and there might also be a choice of plat & dessert. You are at the mercy of the chef. If I recall correctly (I do not take notes on meals, relying on a sometimes faltering memory) the entrées were more interesting than the main dish and the dessert was forgettable. I find that it is often the case when offered a formule. But the idea is intriguing and worth a try.
I do not recommend eating at La Piscine’s own restaurant; expensive for what it was, with lackadaisical service.
All of the pictures for Lille are contained in this album:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5U2GsT
Part 1
We shortened our vacation this year to four weeks and used public transportation exclusively. Having reached a Lincolnesque age, I would consider driving only in France where language is not a problem. Paris is always an obvious choice as we go there to see family and friends. My wife did most of the research for travel outside Paris, and asked me where I wanted to go in France. Lille was my choice because we had never been there. We wanted to revisit Oslo that we last saw in 2009. knowing that a great deal of construction occurred along the waterfront. Vienna is always worth a visit, and we had not been there since 2004. Finally we returned via NYC to see our family.
The air fares were considerably higher this year than last year, in part because we did not order our tickets until April 15 for a mid-May flight compared to last year when we ordered our tickets in February for a similar vacation time. Here are the cost that we paid ahead of time, or for which we committed ourselves by making reservations.
General rule: I pay in local currency and avoid DCC charges.
SFO-Paris, Vienna-NYC, NYC-SFO: $3771
Paris-Oslo: $309
Oslo-Vienna: $300
Paris-Lille: $84
Lille-CDG: $69
Total long distance transportation costs: $4533
Accommodations:
Lille apartment for two nights: $255
Oslo “apartment” for 6 nights: $856
Vienna efficiency for 6 nights: $512
Our first stop in our European visits was Paris. As usual we stayed with a friend, so cannot recommend lodging. She organized our stay, including reservations for the museums. We blocked off two time frames, one to see our friends in Fontenay-aux-roses, and the other to see my cousin in Levallois-Perret.
The three large exhibits that we saw were Sur les routes de Samarcande at the Institut du Monde Arabe , which was a gorgeous exhibit,
with a whiff of colonialism as it represented late 19th and early 20th century items, at a period when that region was being absorbed by Imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union. The colonialism was more evident in the second room which contained paintings by Russians that reminded me of French paintings of the Maghreb. We were there first thing in the morning, and as with any exhibit worth a visit, it was quite crowded by the time we left to have lunch in the cafeteria. The food at the cafeteria is so-so. I was surprised that wine was available but our friend said that the Arab world contained more than Muslims, which is true, but on the other hand it does not contain the Turkic world represented by Samarkand.
After lunch we walked around the 5e arrondissement, going down the Boulevard Saint Germain to the Place Maubert, where we discovered one of the Laurent Dubois cheese shops, up the hill to the Panthéon, back down to the rue Mouffetard marché. Eventually going back towards the Seine via the Boulevard de l’Hôpital to cross over near the Gare de Lyon and back to our Ledru-Rollin apartment.
We saw the Manet/Degas exhibit at the Orsay museum, which left me with a greater appreciation of Manet. This was a very crowded exhibit.
We went to the Centre Pompidou to see the Exposition Germaine Richier.
My impression is that the museum is generally less crowded than the Orsay and that its crowd is less touristic and more Parisian.
On another day we wandered around the quartier de l’Arsenal, combining the new with the old:
We had two evenings out. One was a Jesse Cook concert at the Sunset-Sunside Jazz Club (https://www.sunset-sunside.com/) a crowded venue similar to some of the old-line venues in the NYC Village. A pleasant way to spend an evening.
The second one was a solo pianist in the MAHJ (Musée d’Art et d’Histore du Judaîsme) whose security rivals airport security. It was a completely different atmosphere. For one thing, performer (a classical pianist) and audience were of the same older age. For another, it is a sort of cultural reunion. The performance was of newly created solos inspired by klezmer music (but I also heard some Satie Gymnopédie tonalities), and the self-deprecating narrative between the pieces was full of Yiddish references, most of which past right by me, but the rest of the audience was very appreciative. The recent article in the NYT on Melbourne Jews reminded me of this group (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/w...australia.html) in part because Yiddish is central to their identity rather than Hebrew. It was a nice recital.
Restaurants worth mentioning:
Isolé, 7 Rue de Rosny, 93100 Montreuil, France ($351.47 for 6)
Phone: +33 1 48 51 65 04 no web site
considered a neo-bistro. Here’s what we ate:
If by chance you are in the area, Le Café de la Gare in Fontenay-aux-Roses, located across the street from the RER station.
https://www.cafe-de-la-gare-fontenay-aux-roses.fr/ ($184.88 for six)
Of my picture albums for Paris, this one covers most of our geographic wanderings
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpLG4id
From Paris we took the TGV to Lille. It is said to have an excellent fine arts museum, but I did not feel that this was a reason to go there. Fodorites indicated that there is relatively little to see, and I found the main square of Arras, last seen in 2003, more attractive as an ensemble.
But doing some more research, we discovered two venues that sounded different and interesting: the Villa Cavrois designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens (https://www.villa-cavrois.fr/en) and la Piscine museum in Roubaix (https://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/en/home/)
By taking the TGV in the morning, we were able to leave our luggage in a storage place close to the train station (no consigne in the train station) and take the street car to the suburbs for our afternoon reservation at the Villa Cavrois. The métro and street car station near the train station is underground and can be confusing, but there are hospitality personnel who are very helpful in buying the appropriate tickets and getting to the appropriate platform.
The Villa Cavrois is of one piece, designed by Mallet-Stevens from top to bottom. As an Art Deco mansion it is very interesting, worth the visit, but I would not want to live there. What is as impressive is the restoration of the building. It fell into ruin between 1985 and 1991, its furniture scattered into private collections, the building vandalized and occupied by squatters. It’s living quarters, with the exception of one room to show its condition before restoration, has been fully restored with its original furniture whenever possible.
A day’s trip from Paris is feasible, but I would give Lille at least one full day. On our full day we took the métro to Roubaix to see the Piscine Museum, https://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/en/home/, which is a museum created from a repurposed Art Deco public swimming complex. The original pool has been transformed into an in-door reflecting pool, possibly inspired by Roman pools like this one:
I did not find all the changes to be successful, especially when it comes to the display of their permanent collection in side rooms. The space for temporary exhibit, Maillol when we were there, is new and similar to other museum space.
Our lodging was an apartment obtained through Booking.com in the old part of Lille between the main square and the fort. It was about a twenty minute walk from the train station. The key was to be found in a lock box across the street. Because of our peculiar situation, I did not return the key to the box when we left but left it on the dining room table (I called the local number several rimes but there never was an answer). The closets in the bedroom were full of cleaning stuff and could not be used, but there was a dresser in the bedroom. The apartment had an undeclared second bedroom with a door to its corridor and another one to the living room (no windows) with a single bed. We used that room for our suitcases. We used the kitchen to make coffee in the morning. I would recommend it for short stays.
This is part of the description in Booking.com
Unique apartment in the Old Lille !
Address: 58 Rue de la Barre, Vieux Lille,
Lille Restaurant: Au Gout du Jour https://www.augoutdujour.eu/en/ ($112.89 for two) No menu given, but pricing is based on chosen menu categories: entrée, plat, dessert; or 2 entrées, plat, dessert; and there might also be a choice of plat & dessert. You are at the mercy of the chef. If I recall correctly (I do not take notes on meals, relying on a sometimes faltering memory) the entrées were more interesting than the main dish and the dessert was forgettable. I find that it is often the case when offered a formule. But the idea is intriguing and worth a try.
I do not recommend eating at La Piscine’s own restaurant; expensive for what it was, with lackadaisical service.
All of the pictures for Lille are contained in this album:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5U2GsT
Last edited by Michael; Sep 26th, 2023 at 01:14 PM.
Sep 26th, 2023, 01:16 PM
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Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023
Part 2
From Lille we took the TGV to CDG to catch the only direct flight to Oslo.
At the airport we were picked up by a private car service courtesy Booking.com for a reason I cannot fathom as I am not aware of having used them that frequently. But it was appreciated, even more after the fact. The driver did mislead us, claiming that everything would be closed because it was a big holiday when it turned out that most things remained open. But he drove us to the address, and neither he nor we could find the proper number of the building: the entrance was no. 15, we were looking for number 13, which was eventually confirmed by those entering the building using their code. So we managed to enter the building, the driver left, but we did not have the code to the hotel part of the building nor our room number. That’s because I still live in the 20th century and the telephone number given could not help us when I requested that necessary information while we still had access to a computer while in Paris. The information would only be available the morning of our arrival. But I travel without a smart phone, hence no access to my computer. Before leaving the U.S. I had received two different confirmation e-mails. The first one claimed that payments were in cash only, the second one that only credit cards were accepted. On the phone they confirmed the second option. But because we booked with Booking.com which had automatically charged our credit card a few days before arriving in Lille, I assumed that the system would work the same way. Wrong assumption. A young man entered the building and we asked if he could help us. He called the phone number I gave him, and we were told that since we had not paid the bill, I could not receive the room number and the access code. But he could not accept my credit card number over the telephone, it had to be done by computer using their web site. Fortunately the person who called for us was willing to take us to his apartment (one floor of the complex is run by a travel rental organization and the rest are leased or purchased apartments) where we could speak to someone on the phone while getting to a computer and pay for the room to be confirmed a few moments later by phone; then we were given the full access information at that moment.
We chose that rental because it had an elevator. From the photos it was less appealing than other possibilities, but the others had no elevators which ruled them out. This was an “apartment” according to Booking.com’s web site. In fact it was a large enough room for a queen-size bed and a corner qualified as a kitchen whose saving grace was that it had a washing machine. The cooktop had no fan and the directions suggested that we would be charged if the fire alarm went off. So we used the kettle for hot water in the morning, and otherwise did not use the kitchen; but we did do a laundry.
A big plus was that the room was perfectly located 15 minutes from the train station on one side and 15 minutes from the harbor in front of city hall in the other direction. We never used local transportation within the city, as we had seen some of the major tourist venues (the open air museum, the currently closed Norse museum, etc.) on our previous trip.
My take on Oslo has changed drastically since we were there in 2009, At that time I wrote:
We were not overwhelmed by Oslo as a whole. Its architecture is not unusual or particularly appealing except for a building here and there and some of the old streets, although we missed the "old" neighborhood near the downtown because of walking limitations. We were less than impressed by Karl Johans Gate, the walking street that goes from the Central Station to the royal palace.
And the question recently came up about Oslo as cosmopolitan city or a provincial town. It obviously is not Paris or any of the other major cities in Europe. But it is not a provincial town. There are some obvious reasons for this: It is a university town, it is the administrative center of Norway, and it has worked on being commercial and cultural hub. As a tourist, I can’t say much about the commercial side, except that the amount of construction both in commercial and residential buildings and new hotels around the train station all attest to its growth. This is what we came to see, and what we saw. During our previous stay in Oslo we saw the Viking Ship Museum (now closed until 2026), the Norsk Folkemuseum, the Fram museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum—all within walking distance of each other, the Vigeland Park and the Museum of Decorative Arts (now in the new National Museum).
This map covers most of what we saw while in Oslo.
We visited the Munch Museum which is not particularly appealing visually,
and we felt that it was big given the amount of exhibition space. But it is intended as a national museum for a single artist, and it may have all sorts of services (restoration, research, etc.) that take up space that the ordinary visitor never sees. Postcards are available in the bookstore, but a word of warning: sending a postcard overseas will cost $4—we paid about $40 for ten overseas stamps.
We found the new library impressive inside and out. It is meant as a reading and take-out library and has few books that are not directly available on the open shelves. The building is impressive architecturally and its interior open plan is very appealing. It has two eating areas, and one could have a light lunch there.
This is also the “bar code” area, in that a series of buildings were inspired (?) or were to represent (?) bar codes. I found it a less interesting part of the recent constructions in part because the part close to the train station is too linear.
But from there we crossed over the railroad tracks, went to the bus terminal and eventually found ourselves in a immigrant neighborhood where the grocery stores spilled out on the sidewalk making the area more lively than the rest of what we saw. If we had decided to cook, this is where we would have gone to buy our food.
This about covers the area around the train station whose old section is now a food court:
Going from our hotel in the opposite direction, we visited the new constructions near City Hall. The square in front of the City Hall was closed off because of a meeting of NATO ministers, as was City Hall, but we fortunately had seen it during our previous visit.
That part of the harbor contains the ferry and tour boat piers. The larger ferries are now fully electrified—no noise, no smoke. Walking along the waterfront towards the open water of the bay one encounters a new residential area, visually interesting, and capped by the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Contemporary Art, a Renzo Piano structure which I believe is meant to echo with its slopping roof the opera house on the opposite side of the waterfront (although not visible).
The museum was closed, which is not a great loss according to a reviewer who mentions that the structure is interesting but holding a mediocre collection.
What appealed generally was the attempt at modifying the rectilinear, whether vertical or horizontal.
We wandered away from our map, coming a more established neighborhood containing several embassies, the National Library and the Sommerro Hotel of which we had a private tour of the public areas offered by the doorman, a student working at his summer job. The hotel has been recently refurbished and it is a prime example of Art Deco architecture.
From there we walked by the park containing the royal palace to the parliament house and our restaurant reservation near-by. The restaurant is located in an Art Deco building which was redone in a deconstructed style, now housing in the upper stories various music and art venues.
We also spent part of a day in the National Museum, which is the result of the consolidation of the National Gallery, The Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and the Museum of Contemporary Art. We oriented ourselves toward the decorative arts,
Our personal discovery were the paintings of Thorvald Hellesen who seems to have been a forgotten Cubist artist. He had a sense of color and movement:
The third direction from our hotel was to walk away from the water past the cathedral to walk along the torrent that provided the power for Oslo’s industries. It is now a linear park and many of the industrial buildings have been repurposed. One striking example is a large silo which is now student housing:
We ended our walk at the Labour Museum which is somewhat disappointing although one gets to see one living unit by taking a guided tour. The guide tried to emphasize the positive of the housing and working conditions, which would be like emphasizing only the positive when taking a tour of the Tenement Museum in NYC. For what it’s worth, 4 people lived and slept in this one room, possibly 12X12 and may be smaller, with an attached kitchen:
The unit was in this house:
The other units were modernized and hopefully modified by combining at least two units. The worker’s museum in Copenhagen was more informative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Workers_Museum
From there we meandered back down toward the waterfront, discovering some old housing
and stumble stones memorializing more recent history:
We took one day off from the city, taking the hourly train to Fredrikstad to visit the preserved old town surrounded by 17th century fortifications. The Google article sums it up:
Fredrikstad fortress is unique in Norway by being the only fortress that is preserved as it was. The remaining military installations in Fredrikstad were closed in 2002 and today the fortress with its mix of old buildings and art exhibitions is very popular for visitors.
Here are Oslo restaurant worth mentioning:
Near the converted silo, mathallen oslo vulkanfisk ($71.51) that my wife declared the best fish soup ever and a whale burger, beer, coffee. The restaurant is a chain, we ate at its Mathallen location. Good service.
Oslo Fiskeriet ($109.77 dinner for two) We made a reservation, were seated after a short wait, and then were not served for at least half an hour, and even then because the people next to us mentioned something to the waiter. Their excuse: they are a fish store and just opened as a restaurant with very limited space. The food was good, but the wait as the evening chill descended is a big negative.
We recommend the Sentralenmat Restaurant ($154 dinner for two). Here’s the web site for the entire complex:
https://www.sentralen.no/food-and-beverages
The restaurant did not seem to be overcrowded, so walk-in might be possible, but we had reservations.
Here is the Oslo album combining our two visits:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAJnuC
Part 2
From Lille we took the TGV to CDG to catch the only direct flight to Oslo.
At the airport we were picked up by a private car service courtesy Booking.com for a reason I cannot fathom as I am not aware of having used them that frequently. But it was appreciated, even more after the fact. The driver did mislead us, claiming that everything would be closed because it was a big holiday when it turned out that most things remained open. But he drove us to the address, and neither he nor we could find the proper number of the building: the entrance was no. 15, we were looking for number 13, which was eventually confirmed by those entering the building using their code. So we managed to enter the building, the driver left, but we did not have the code to the hotel part of the building nor our room number. That’s because I still live in the 20th century and the telephone number given could not help us when I requested that necessary information while we still had access to a computer while in Paris. The information would only be available the morning of our arrival. But I travel without a smart phone, hence no access to my computer. Before leaving the U.S. I had received two different confirmation e-mails. The first one claimed that payments were in cash only, the second one that only credit cards were accepted. On the phone they confirmed the second option. But because we booked with Booking.com which had automatically charged our credit card a few days before arriving in Lille, I assumed that the system would work the same way. Wrong assumption. A young man entered the building and we asked if he could help us. He called the phone number I gave him, and we were told that since we had not paid the bill, I could not receive the room number and the access code. But he could not accept my credit card number over the telephone, it had to be done by computer using their web site. Fortunately the person who called for us was willing to take us to his apartment (one floor of the complex is run by a travel rental organization and the rest are leased or purchased apartments) where we could speak to someone on the phone while getting to a computer and pay for the room to be confirmed a few moments later by phone; then we were given the full access information at that moment.
We chose that rental because it had an elevator. From the photos it was less appealing than other possibilities, but the others had no elevators which ruled them out. This was an “apartment” according to Booking.com’s web site. In fact it was a large enough room for a queen-size bed and a corner qualified as a kitchen whose saving grace was that it had a washing machine. The cooktop had no fan and the directions suggested that we would be charged if the fire alarm went off. So we used the kettle for hot water in the morning, and otherwise did not use the kitchen; but we did do a laundry.
A big plus was that the room was perfectly located 15 minutes from the train station on one side and 15 minutes from the harbor in front of city hall in the other direction. We never used local transportation within the city, as we had seen some of the major tourist venues (the open air museum, the currently closed Norse museum, etc.) on our previous trip.
My take on Oslo has changed drastically since we were there in 2009, At that time I wrote:
We were not overwhelmed by Oslo as a whole. Its architecture is not unusual or particularly appealing except for a building here and there and some of the old streets, although we missed the "old" neighborhood near the downtown because of walking limitations. We were less than impressed by Karl Johans Gate, the walking street that goes from the Central Station to the royal palace.
And the question recently came up about Oslo as cosmopolitan city or a provincial town. It obviously is not Paris or any of the other major cities in Europe. But it is not a provincial town. There are some obvious reasons for this: It is a university town, it is the administrative center of Norway, and it has worked on being commercial and cultural hub. As a tourist, I can’t say much about the commercial side, except that the amount of construction both in commercial and residential buildings and new hotels around the train station all attest to its growth. This is what we came to see, and what we saw. During our previous stay in Oslo we saw the Viking Ship Museum (now closed until 2026), the Norsk Folkemuseum, the Fram museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum—all within walking distance of each other, the Vigeland Park and the Museum of Decorative Arts (now in the new National Museum).
This map covers most of what we saw while in Oslo.
We visited the Munch Museum which is not particularly appealing visually,
and we felt that it was big given the amount of exhibition space. But it is intended as a national museum for a single artist, and it may have all sorts of services (restoration, research, etc.) that take up space that the ordinary visitor never sees. Postcards are available in the bookstore, but a word of warning: sending a postcard overseas will cost $4—we paid about $40 for ten overseas stamps.
We found the new library impressive inside and out. It is meant as a reading and take-out library and has few books that are not directly available on the open shelves. The building is impressive architecturally and its interior open plan is very appealing. It has two eating areas, and one could have a light lunch there.
This is also the “bar code” area, in that a series of buildings were inspired (?) or were to represent (?) bar codes. I found it a less interesting part of the recent constructions in part because the part close to the train station is too linear.
But from there we crossed over the railroad tracks, went to the bus terminal and eventually found ourselves in a immigrant neighborhood where the grocery stores spilled out on the sidewalk making the area more lively than the rest of what we saw. If we had decided to cook, this is where we would have gone to buy our food.
This about covers the area around the train station whose old section is now a food court:
Going from our hotel in the opposite direction, we visited the new constructions near City Hall. The square in front of the City Hall was closed off because of a meeting of NATO ministers, as was City Hall, but we fortunately had seen it during our previous visit.
That part of the harbor contains the ferry and tour boat piers. The larger ferries are now fully electrified—no noise, no smoke. Walking along the waterfront towards the open water of the bay one encounters a new residential area, visually interesting, and capped by the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Contemporary Art, a Renzo Piano structure which I believe is meant to echo with its slopping roof the opera house on the opposite side of the waterfront (although not visible).
The museum was closed, which is not a great loss according to a reviewer who mentions that the structure is interesting but holding a mediocre collection.
What appealed generally was the attempt at modifying the rectilinear, whether vertical or horizontal.
We wandered away from our map, coming a more established neighborhood containing several embassies, the National Library and the Sommerro Hotel of which we had a private tour of the public areas offered by the doorman, a student working at his summer job. The hotel has been recently refurbished and it is a prime example of Art Deco architecture.
From there we walked by the park containing the royal palace to the parliament house and our restaurant reservation near-by. The restaurant is located in an Art Deco building which was redone in a deconstructed style, now housing in the upper stories various music and art venues.
We also spent part of a day in the National Museum, which is the result of the consolidation of the National Gallery, The Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and the Museum of Contemporary Art. We oriented ourselves toward the decorative arts,
Our personal discovery were the paintings of Thorvald Hellesen who seems to have been a forgotten Cubist artist. He had a sense of color and movement:
The third direction from our hotel was to walk away from the water past the cathedral to walk along the torrent that provided the power for Oslo’s industries. It is now a linear park and many of the industrial buildings have been repurposed. One striking example is a large silo which is now student housing:
We ended our walk at the Labour Museum which is somewhat disappointing although one gets to see one living unit by taking a guided tour. The guide tried to emphasize the positive of the housing and working conditions, which would be like emphasizing only the positive when taking a tour of the Tenement Museum in NYC. For what it’s worth, 4 people lived and slept in this one room, possibly 12X12 and may be smaller, with an attached kitchen:
The unit was in this house:
The other units were modernized and hopefully modified by combining at least two units. The worker’s museum in Copenhagen was more informative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Workers_Museum
From there we meandered back down toward the waterfront, discovering some old housing
and stumble stones memorializing more recent history:
We took one day off from the city, taking the hourly train to Fredrikstad to visit the preserved old town surrounded by 17th century fortifications. The Google article sums it up:
Fredrikstad fortress is unique in Norway by being the only fortress that is preserved as it was. The remaining military installations in Fredrikstad were closed in 2002 and today the fortress with its mix of old buildings and art exhibitions is very popular for visitors.
Here are Oslo restaurant worth mentioning:
Near the converted silo, mathallen oslo vulkanfisk ($71.51) that my wife declared the best fish soup ever and a whale burger, beer, coffee. The restaurant is a chain, we ate at its Mathallen location. Good service.
Oslo Fiskeriet ($109.77 dinner for two) We made a reservation, were seated after a short wait, and then were not served for at least half an hour, and even then because the people next to us mentioned something to the waiter. Their excuse: they are a fish store and just opened as a restaurant with very limited space. The food was good, but the wait as the evening chill descended is a big negative.
We recommend the Sentralenmat Restaurant ($154 dinner for two). Here’s the web site for the entire complex:
https://www.sentralen.no/food-and-beverages
The restaurant did not seem to be overcrowded, so walk-in might be possible, but we had reservations.
Here is the Oslo album combining our two visits:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAJnuC
Sep 26th, 2023, 01:26 PM
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Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023
Part 3
From Oslo we flew to Vienna. We stayed at an Airbnb in Leopoldstadt, five bus stops from the S-Bahn from and to the airport, and two underground stops from a major transfer hub on the Ringstraße. That was the fast way into town but required walking 5 blocks to the underground station. A slower but more scenic way was the street car going around the south side of the Ring which stopped one block from where we stayed. The location was as convenient as it could be without staying in or within the immediate vicinity of the Ring area.
The neighborhood is mixed, and we saw as many children wearing a yarmulke as women wearing the hijab. It was a real efficiency apartment, larger than the equivalent of a hotel room with kitchen facilities. The only issue we had with it is that my flip phone stopped working in mid-conversation and never worked afterwards. I was speaking with an Austrian friend who lives in Klagenfurt to arrange a meeting place convenient for him driving by car when the phone went dead. Fortunately we had arranged the essentials and were able to meet.
Aside from just walking around, here are the museums we visited:
MAK (museum of decorative arts). It’s nice but the building itself is more impressive than the collection. There are a couple of rebuilt rooms that are interesting. It is not a primary destination, more suited to the frequent Vienna visitor who are looking for something different. On the other hand, its restaurant is good, friendly service, not crowded, and not too noisy. When the museum is closed, as for an evening meal, there is a side entrance on the Ring that gives access to the restaurant; walk past the main entrance to the corner of the building ($90 for two)
The Albertina is not to be missed if interested in modern art
The National Library has a wonderful main hall
with some of its ancient manuscripts on display
We were not taken with the Upper Belvedere (timed reservations required), but it is considered an important collection of Austrian art. It has a nice view of the gardens and the city behind.
We went to the Volkskundemuseum which contains folk art. We arrived a little early and decided to have a coffee in its garden. We were lucky, it was before the arrival of the lunch crowd so they could accommodate us until the crowd came, but reservations are expected.
There are some striking items in the collection, one of which is am enormous weather vane
The building is too small for the collection, so many rooms had items squeezed in next to each other, making it more difficult to appreciate individual items. Throughout the exhibition space
there were little cards with comments about current immigration issues. One sticks to mind: “a dirdln is just another hijab” and there was also a map of one refugee’s travel from Afghanistan to Austria
We really like the Leopold Museum, but were a little rushed, arriving there a bare two hours before closing time.
https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en
We feel that we have now seen the ultimate in Secessionist architecture, having visited Otto Wagner’s Kirche am Steinhof
It is the equivalent of having visited Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia, or the Victor Horta Museum, or the Musée de l'École de Nancy, all of which are incredible but leave one sated of Art Nouveau.
The Kirche am Steinhof is in the outer edges of Vienna, but it takes only one bus ride from the Ring and gives a glimpest of non-tourist Vienna, both neighborhoods of apartment buildings as well as neighborhoods of villas. The church is on the grounds of the main psychiatric hospital, and I have the impression that Otto Wagner was involved in the design of the enormous grounds. The church can only be visited on weekends. Definitely worth the ride out.
We did meet our friend who took to the top of the Wienerwald for a very smoggy view of Vienna. Then lunch at the GastHaus Rebhuhn Rebhuhn - Gasthaus in der Berggasse $92 for 3. It was very good. It was on that day that we visited the Leopold Museum. From there we went to an Italian restaurant (Bar & Restaurant Wien) where we were joined by his sister-in-law. We basically had common platters of cured meats, cheese and salads. We paid for the meal, cash only. I had to run to an ATM but that did not bother the owner who obviously knew the locals. From there we were taken to the Tunnel Vienna Live
https://www.tunnel-vienna-live.at/
where we heard performance of American Blues sung creditably by an Austrian ex-lawyer friend of our friend. All in all as close as we would come to Viennese gemütlichkeit.
In addition to the restaurants mentioned above, I have a record for the following.
Figlmueller (https://www.figlmueller.at/en/) $99 for two
We did not have the schnitzel as the size was just too large, it covers the entire plate. The wait was about 45 minutes because we did not have a reservation. I do not recall the choices that we made, but do recall a pleasant atmosphere with no attempt to rush us. Because the restaurant has many nooks and crannies, noise is not an issue.
Café Restaurant Morris (Restaurant in downtown Vienna ? House MORRIS) $51 for two
If I recall correctly, this is where I had the schnitzel. Decent enough, although perhaps not the best, but then I am not an expert in this matter. Even a guaranteed better one, such as having a Viennese gourmet lead me to it, I do not think that a schnitzel is a priority for me.
For quick light lunches we stopped at Nord See—there is nothing wrong with a matjes herring fillet on a roll. There are three locations in the Innere Stadt. i.e. inside the Ring, and we found one at the beginning of the Naschmarkt. One stop cost us $25 and the other $12, which is not a reflection of gouging but of ordering more in one instance.
Before leaving the US my wife had made reservation for the TIAN Bistro Spittelberg. Although this was our 4th visit to Vienna—the first one was in 1975—I had little sense of the neighborhoods aside from the ones we had visited, and in any case I had not memorized the names by looking at a map of Vienna. We had reservations for our last evening in Vienna, but since my phone stopped working on the first day, we had no way of confirming the reservation. We ran into two branches of TIAN in the Ring; one was a take-out only limited in its hours, and we passed it twice and each time it was closed. Then we ran into the main venue in the Ring during the day, and it was closed, not due to open for another couple of hours. Fortunately on the day we went to the Volkskundemuseum we also decided to walk around the remains of 19th century working class neighborhood, which now consists of maybe one street and two alleys not really worth a visit, but we fell upon TIAN at the end of an alley and could confirm that this was he correct venue for us. We just were an hour early. It’s a prix fixe ($146 for two) menu, we were sitting in a glass covered (good thing as it was raining cats and dogs) courtyard and were well served a multi-course vegetarian/vegan meal. It definitely was worth the price, not expensive by our SF Bay standard for fine dining restaurants.
This is the album of our combined visits to Vienna: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjoZU4h6
From Vienna we flew to NYC to see our family.
We did a couple of touristy things: MOMA
and the Staten Island ferry (free) and coming back to Manhattan on the Mid-Town ferry (not free) which actually stopped near the World Trade Center. Walked through the Oculus to our subway back home.
I had good mussels at a restaurant between the two ferry landings on Staten Island, with a view of Manhattan
For the fines bouches I recommend Saint Julivert Fisherie https://www.saintjulivertbk.com/ ($515 for 5) Excellent seafood restaurant on Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Here is the album of our visits to NYC: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpf9yHx
This concludes my trip report for our May-June travels.
Part 3
From Oslo we flew to Vienna. We stayed at an Airbnb in Leopoldstadt, five bus stops from the S-Bahn from and to the airport, and two underground stops from a major transfer hub on the Ringstraße. That was the fast way into town but required walking 5 blocks to the underground station. A slower but more scenic way was the street car going around the south side of the Ring which stopped one block from where we stayed. The location was as convenient as it could be without staying in or within the immediate vicinity of the Ring area.
The neighborhood is mixed, and we saw as many children wearing a yarmulke as women wearing the hijab. It was a real efficiency apartment, larger than the equivalent of a hotel room with kitchen facilities. The only issue we had with it is that my flip phone stopped working in mid-conversation and never worked afterwards. I was speaking with an Austrian friend who lives in Klagenfurt to arrange a meeting place convenient for him driving by car when the phone went dead. Fortunately we had arranged the essentials and were able to meet.
Aside from just walking around, here are the museums we visited:
MAK (museum of decorative arts). It’s nice but the building itself is more impressive than the collection. There are a couple of rebuilt rooms that are interesting. It is not a primary destination, more suited to the frequent Vienna visitor who are looking for something different. On the other hand, its restaurant is good, friendly service, not crowded, and not too noisy. When the museum is closed, as for an evening meal, there is a side entrance on the Ring that gives access to the restaurant; walk past the main entrance to the corner of the building ($90 for two)
The Albertina is not to be missed if interested in modern art
The National Library has a wonderful main hall
with some of its ancient manuscripts on display
We were not taken with the Upper Belvedere (timed reservations required), but it is considered an important collection of Austrian art. It has a nice view of the gardens and the city behind.
We went to the Volkskundemuseum which contains folk art. We arrived a little early and decided to have a coffee in its garden. We were lucky, it was before the arrival of the lunch crowd so they could accommodate us until the crowd came, but reservations are expected.
There are some striking items in the collection, one of which is am enormous weather vane
The building is too small for the collection, so many rooms had items squeezed in next to each other, making it more difficult to appreciate individual items. Throughout the exhibition space
there were little cards with comments about current immigration issues. One sticks to mind: “a dirdln is just another hijab” and there was also a map of one refugee’s travel from Afghanistan to Austria
We really like the Leopold Museum, but were a little rushed, arriving there a bare two hours before closing time.
https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en
We feel that we have now seen the ultimate in Secessionist architecture, having visited Otto Wagner’s Kirche am Steinhof
It is the equivalent of having visited Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia, or the Victor Horta Museum, or the Musée de l'École de Nancy, all of which are incredible but leave one sated of Art Nouveau.
The Kirche am Steinhof is in the outer edges of Vienna, but it takes only one bus ride from the Ring and gives a glimpest of non-tourist Vienna, both neighborhoods of apartment buildings as well as neighborhoods of villas. The church is on the grounds of the main psychiatric hospital, and I have the impression that Otto Wagner was involved in the design of the enormous grounds. The church can only be visited on weekends. Definitely worth the ride out.
We did meet our friend who took to the top of the Wienerwald for a very smoggy view of Vienna. Then lunch at the GastHaus Rebhuhn Rebhuhn - Gasthaus in der Berggasse $92 for 3. It was very good. It was on that day that we visited the Leopold Museum. From there we went to an Italian restaurant (Bar & Restaurant Wien) where we were joined by his sister-in-law. We basically had common platters of cured meats, cheese and salads. We paid for the meal, cash only. I had to run to an ATM but that did not bother the owner who obviously knew the locals. From there we were taken to the Tunnel Vienna Live
https://www.tunnel-vienna-live.at/
where we heard performance of American Blues sung creditably by an Austrian ex-lawyer friend of our friend. All in all as close as we would come to Viennese gemütlichkeit.
In addition to the restaurants mentioned above, I have a record for the following.
Figlmueller (https://www.figlmueller.at/en/) $99 for two
We did not have the schnitzel as the size was just too large, it covers the entire plate. The wait was about 45 minutes because we did not have a reservation. I do not recall the choices that we made, but do recall a pleasant atmosphere with no attempt to rush us. Because the restaurant has many nooks and crannies, noise is not an issue.
Café Restaurant Morris (Restaurant in downtown Vienna ? House MORRIS) $51 for two
If I recall correctly, this is where I had the schnitzel. Decent enough, although perhaps not the best, but then I am not an expert in this matter. Even a guaranteed better one, such as having a Viennese gourmet lead me to it, I do not think that a schnitzel is a priority for me.
For quick light lunches we stopped at Nord See—there is nothing wrong with a matjes herring fillet on a roll. There are three locations in the Innere Stadt. i.e. inside the Ring, and we found one at the beginning of the Naschmarkt. One stop cost us $25 and the other $12, which is not a reflection of gouging but of ordering more in one instance.
Before leaving the US my wife had made reservation for the TIAN Bistro Spittelberg. Although this was our 4th visit to Vienna—the first one was in 1975—I had little sense of the neighborhoods aside from the ones we had visited, and in any case I had not memorized the names by looking at a map of Vienna. We had reservations for our last evening in Vienna, but since my phone stopped working on the first day, we had no way of confirming the reservation. We ran into two branches of TIAN in the Ring; one was a take-out only limited in its hours, and we passed it twice and each time it was closed. Then we ran into the main venue in the Ring during the day, and it was closed, not due to open for another couple of hours. Fortunately on the day we went to the Volkskundemuseum we also decided to walk around the remains of 19th century working class neighborhood, which now consists of maybe one street and two alleys not really worth a visit, but we fell upon TIAN at the end of an alley and could confirm that this was he correct venue for us. We just were an hour early. It’s a prix fixe ($146 for two) menu, we were sitting in a glass covered (good thing as it was raining cats and dogs) courtyard and were well served a multi-course vegetarian/vegan meal. It definitely was worth the price, not expensive by our SF Bay standard for fine dining restaurants.
This is the album of our combined visits to Vienna: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjoZU4h6
From Vienna we flew to NYC to see our family.
We did a couple of touristy things: MOMA
and the Staten Island ferry (free) and coming back to Manhattan on the Mid-Town ferry (not free) which actually stopped near the World Trade Center. Walked through the Oculus to our subway back home.
I had good mussels at a restaurant between the two ferry landings on Staten Island, with a view of Manhattan
For the fines bouches I recommend Saint Julivert Fisherie https://www.saintjulivertbk.com/ ($515 for 5) Excellent seafood restaurant on Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Here is the album of our visits to NYC: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpf9yHx
This concludes my trip report for our May-June travels.
Last edited by Michael; Sep 26th, 2023 at 02:10 PM.
Sep 26th, 2023, 01:37 PM
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Trip Report: Paris, Lille, Oslo, Vienna, NYC, May-June 2023 Part 3 From Oslo we
Could you please check off Norway and Austria as relevant countries to the trip report given in the title of this thread. I forgot that replies cannot have that information added, so while the second and third part of the report are pertinent to those two countries, the connection must be made in the first part. Thank you.
Michael
Michael
Sep 26th, 2023, 02:27 PM
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Sep 26th, 2023, 02:30 PM
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I forgot to mention that we also visited the Conciergerie, which can be seen on the same day as the Sainte Chapelle
And the Père Lachaise cemetery which provides a green respite from the hubhub of the city
And the Père Lachaise cemetery which provides a green respite from the hubhub of the city
Sep 27th, 2023, 04:39 AM
#10
Thanks, Michael, for a wonderful trip report. I’m hoping to return to Vienna sometime soon as we just got a teeny taste last November so your explorations are of great interest to me.
And I love your photos of NYC. I live in the city and know all the places you’ve photographed, so I really enjoy seeing them. I did see your earlier ones, too, including a poignant image with the WTC towers.
And I love your photos of NYC. I live in the city and know all the places you’ve photographed, so I really enjoy seeing them. I did see your earlier ones, too, including a poignant image with the WTC towers.
Sep 27th, 2023, 05:46 AM
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Great trip report! I'm interested in some more details about Lille (somewhere I almost lived, but the pandemic interrupted my plans) since I've been thinking about visiting - sounds like you were less than enthused about it? Besides the pool museum and mansion, what was it like just wandering around the town? Interesting architecture? I heard Lillois are very friendly - true? Did you notice lots of parks and gardens like in Paris, or not so much?
Thanks so much in advance!
Thanks so much in advance!
Sep 27th, 2023, 08:13 AM
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We walked around. The core of the city is very lively. The neighborhood where we stayed (Old Lille) is very pleasant. A few days would be fine, but I am not sure about a lengthy stay.
Jan 21st, 2024, 02:15 PM
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taken with a Panasonic DMC-FZ18
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