What to do on a rainy day?

When it rains I love going to the cinema! My favorite cinema in Oslo is definitely Gimle cinema. It`s old fashioned and very charming. You can even buy a glass of wine or two and take it with you into the movie theatre.

Gimle cinema is placed at Bygdøy Alle 39, just 5 minutes walking from Skovveien 8, and has since the opening in 1937 been well known to show artistic and quality movies. Right now, it is Woody Allen`s new romantic comedy A midnight in Paris. The film was premiering at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in May, and is fable-like, with a sense of “when you wish upon a star” quality. I would say this is his best and most enjoyable work in years!

Gimle cinema also broadcasts Opera from the Met in New York.

If it`s raining, or if you just want to be entertained, I would suggest you visit Gimle cinema. It`s absolutely worth trying!

Check out: http://www.oslokino.no/kinofakta/gimle/
And the weather forecast: http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oslo/Oslo/Oslo/

A historic look around Ullevålsveien 1

What I find extra interesting about Frogner House apartments' different addresses, is that each location has historic significance. In the area surrounding Ullevålsveien 1, one can clearly define the development through time by the architechtural styles of the buildings.



(Map: St. Hanshaugen 1917)

 Remnants from early Iron Age habitation has been found in the area. Several man-made mounds towards the Stensberg park distinguish what was probably a defence point from 400 – 600 AD, before the population was Christianized in the late 1000’s. One of the oldest roads from medieval Oslo ran from the Aker church, crossing the St. Hanshaugen district and Ullevålsveien, connecting this church to the Akershus fortress by the Aker Brygge waterfront. Aker church is probably the oldest standing building in Oslo, built in the late 1000’s to support the local community silver-rich galena miners. This was the first mine in Norway, named Akersberget, and it continued production until 1579.

Surrounding Aker church were mainly farms and farmland, which were divided in 1629 by King Christian IV (Danish king and head of Union, see blog from May 16^th) and given to citizens of the city, which was then called Christiania (now Oslo). The citizens built houses there, creating a suburb of small houses and narrow streets. The area east of the ‘Akersveien’ street, including streets ‘Dops gate’, ‘Telthusbakken’ and ‘Damstredet’, consists of small wooden houses from the late 1700s, which are very well preserved. The upper part of the ‘Akersgata’ street developed in the early 1800s with more wooden houses with the typical fenced-in gardens.     

('Dops Gate' street)



As the settlement expanded and the population in Oslo increased towards the mid 1800s, the neighbourhood gradually grew part of Christiania city. St. Olavs catholic cathedral, just across the road from Ullevålsveien 1, was built in 1856, and the protestant ‘Trefoldighetskirken’ church just down the street followed in 1858. Both are built in the Gothic Revival architectural style. From the 1860’s, the area around Ullevålsveien 1 and the ‘St. Olavs gate’ street was developed with more mason townhouses ("swiss villas") . The St. Hanshaugen hill was developed by the district council in 1865, when 1275 trees were planted. The entire city, including the St. Hanshaugen area, experienced a tremendous growth spurt. In 1899, collective transportation ran up Ullevålsveien in the form of a horse drawn tramline.   

(Making of St. Hanshaugen Park stream, 1889)

Some Art Nuveau, or "Jugend", buildings mark the turn of the 19^th century, such as Ullevålsveien nr 48 and 50, as well as the old government building (now treasury department) in ‘Apotekergata’ street, towards the city centre. Further buildings in the 1900s are dominated by functionalism and neo-classicism, for example by the south-east corner of St. Hanshaugen Park by the streets ‘Collets gate’ and ‘Louises gate’. The public library, "Deichmanske bibliotek", from 1933 is the light green, neo classisist building seen on the left hand side down the street from Ullevålsveien 1. Further down 'Apotekergata' street, the government centralised in buildings resulting from an architechtural competition in 1939. These buildings form the government quarter, or "Regjeringskvartalet", represent what we call the 'brutalist' style, stemming from the "beton brut" idea of massive, untreated concrete exteriors popular in this industrial development era.

(View from the Government quarter, with Deichmanske library in the background)

 In 2005, the entire district of St. Hanshaugen, together with ‘Bislett’ and ‘Ila’, were proposed established as a conservation area. The real estate market prices in the district are the second highest in the country (after the Frogner district), and the current population is typically upper middle class persons between 20 and 39 years old and of higher education.

What are these landmarks known for today?

Iron Age mounds -> ‘Stensbergparken’ Park

Aker Church -> Still in use, and especially popular for weddings

Akersberget mine -> A wonderful restaurant is operating in the red wooden house by the mine entrance, serving high quality food and a great selection of wines and beers.

17-1800s wooden houses -> Still in remarkably good shape and habited by locals who often tend to their gardens with great diligence!

St. Olav’s Cathedral -> Only current catholic cathedral in Oslo

St. Hanshaugen Park -> Very popular for park-lounging, exercising and Sunday pizza at the restaurant on top. 

Deichmanske Bibliotek -> Still functions as a public library, although the building itself is criticized for being too ugly...

(Foto: visitnorway.no - Akersberget restaurant, interior)




(Foto: vibb.no - Akersberget Restaurant, exterior)





Does the date 17th of May mean anything to you?

No? Well here’s another cultural treat for you! The 17th of May is celebrated by Norwegians everywhere, as it marks the day when our constitution was passed and we received our independence – so to speak. In short, what happened was…:



(Foto: Stortingets arkiv)

Norway had been part of a union with Sweden and Denmark, and had not had our own government for almost 300 years. To put it bluntly, we had no say in national or international affairs, and the proud Nowegians wanted their voices heard. A selection of educated patriots gathered at an estate at Eidsvoll to find a way to peacefully claim our independence. The Eidsvoll council drafted up our constitution and selected a suitable king. They finalized an agreement with Sweden, which was passed the 17th of May 1814. (At this point, Denmark was no longer in the union.) The story doesn’t end there, though. The new king, Christian Frederik, was deposed after only a few months, and Sweden still ruled Norway until 1905. However, we were allowed to keep our constitution, and gradually established our own consulate to build international connections.

(Henrik Wergeland)

King Karl Johan of Sweden, our regent at the time, was not happy about the celebration of the 17th of May, but the more he protested, the bigger the celebrations got. In 1928 in Oslo, a ship called ’Constitutionen’ (translation: ”The Contitution”) was received at the docks on May 17th by a mass of applauding people. The celebration was dispersed by cavalery and infantery. The people accused the government of using unnecessary force, and the author Henrik Wergeland became a key person in the fight for our right to celebrate constitution day. He wrote speeches, songs and supporting articles, and in 1930 our parlament beseeched King Karl Johan to acknowledge the date as a natioanal festive day.

(Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson)

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, author of our national anthem (in 1864), was also a pioneer. He organized the first children’s parade in Oslo in 1870. The children met at Akershus fortress, passed the parlament building and continued up to the royal palace. The children’s parade is now the main event of our national day, and ever since 1906, the Norwegian royal family has greeted the children from their balcony.

The fight for our right to govern ourselves was long, even after we passed our consitution May 17th 1814. Still, we celebrate this date to honor the Eidsvoll men who rekindeled our belief in Norway as a free nation and the children as our future. So tomorrow, May 17th, take to the street and be part of our proud audience as the children make their way past the statue of King Karl Johan towards the palace. They will be singing the songs written by Wergeland and Bjørnson, cheering for the King and his family - who cheer back from their balcony.

(17th May 2010)

The full plan for the day can be found at here.

Sources: aktivioslo.no; visitoslo.no

It is not a rumor anymore, we are renovating!

These pictures say more than 1000 words, work has started and we see progress after each passing day...

Henrik Ibsens Museum

Just around the corner from our adress in Arbinsgate 3, and a few minutes walk from our other two adresses, we find Henrik Ibsens Museum. This is a museum that I would recommend on a rainy day!

Henrik Ibsen is recognized as the founder of the modern drama, and alongside William Shakespeare, he is the most performed playwright in the world! Henrik Ibsen, was a norwegian playwright and poet, he was born in Skien and died in his apartment in Arbins gate 1, in Oslo. Here he lived the last 11 years of his life and wrote his last two plays.

The apartment is now restored to its original splendour with authentic interior an Ibsen´s furniture. The apartment with his study, library, bedroom and dining room shows Ibsen's private sphere and tells about his life in later years. Ibsen had great impact on contemporary issues and current affairs, and his themes are still relevant today.

Get there:
Henrik Ibsensgate 26, Oslo
Take bus or tram to Slottsparken, or enjoy a walk from one of our addresses.
Opening hours and fees: http://www.norskfolkemuseum.no/en/Related-units/The-Ibsen-Museum/Hours-and-Fees/

LEADERSHIP

Earlier this week we held our second breakfast seminar, and this seminar was also successful. We had several guests who mentioned how the seminar was interesting and new for this type of branch.

The seminar was about leadership and how we in the industry often times can learn from leaders in sports, such as their way to lead a team or how a coach can push individual practitioners to achieve new goals. What the sport often does better is to convey specific messages, make quick decisions in hard situations and the most important: Always provide their colleagues with feedback!

It a beautiful day
so I hade to take
some picture of
the beautiful
Frogner. Enjoy!

Daylight saving time

As Stine was saying spring is really great and now it is official!
The night from saturday to sunday we turn the clock one hour forward and the outdoor furniture should be put on place. More information on why we are changing the time can you find here

At Frogner House Apartments we have started spring cleaning, we have placed new flowers in the reception, set up our classic umbrellas for sale again (The Scandinavian summer unfortunately includes some rain!). Furthermore this month we will have breakfast meetings together with our closest clients and we are working hard with our future summer event!

Change from 4 to 2 wheels!

So why not write a small text about bikes now when the spring is knocking on our doors, I hope and believe that there are more people than me waiting for streets empty from snow and until the day you can pack a picnic basket and ride out to Bygdøy or why not Frognerparken.

Is there something more exclusive and beautiful way to get around in the city than with a bike? a classic men's or bike for ladies with a saddle from Brooks, a sign of quality and convenience that makes definitive if not 100% sure more impression than a Porsche Cayenne in central Oslo.

In my opinion there are too few bicycles in Oslo, and I hope this will change, look at Copenhagen they have figured out that totally 36% take there bike to work and by 2015 they should reach 50% I think this is something Oslo should find inspiring, the city would be booth more beautiful and also sustainable! So we at Frogner House Apartments promise that from the 1 of April at least 50% of our crew will take there bike cycle to work.

Attractive cities in 2011

Lonely Planet has listed the most attractive cities in 2011; and if they can, Frogner House Apartment can. So here is the list over the cities we at Frogner House Apartments (mostly me personally) find interesting and recommend our readers to take a look at in the year 2011.

1. Oslo – Spring is great! When a city has winter 7 month a year everyone can imagine how people wake up and get an extra big smile on there faces when the first sun arrives and the temperature goes over 10 + Celsius!
2. Amsterdam - A modern and urban Paris with a touch of New York, buy a bottle of Rose wine and enjoy it by the side of one of all beautiful cannels.
3. Miami – Our general manager, Arne, consider this city to be one of his favourites. He has many travel memories among others when he rented a cab and drove to the airport to pick up his friends with Will Smiths classic song Welcome to Miami playing on the radio. I think you get the picture!
4. Delhi – All the interesting story’s guests have told us about India and particular Delhi in the past year have created an enormous interest and personal feeling about this city!
5. Hong Kong – Combines’ the best of all world, enjoy the mountains, skyscrapers and history!

Times changed with Galileo

Speaking of ideas and creativity, I went to the theatre yesterday and saw Galileo by Bertolt Brecht.

(Painted by: Giuseppe Bertini)



The play portrays how the invention of a telescope in the 17^th century brings Galileo on edge with the Catholic Church, as he discovers the movement of planets and moons in accordance with each other. This leads him to the conclusion that the world is not the centre of the universe, rather a part of an infinite, moving universe where the astronomical objects circle around the sun, around themselves and even around each other!

Considering the simplicity of the preceding world understanding, where every single star is attached and moving along a sky dome surrounding our stationary earth to prevent them from falling down on us, it’s no wonder people get confused. After all, if the world revolves around itself, at which point are we upside down? Hang on tight, everyone!

The scepticism and counter-arguments are overpowering. Galileo is told that he is mistaken, and that even if he is not mistaken it would be best not to publish these ideas "for the sake of the morale of the population".

Yesterday’s blog presents that knowledge is more easily available, and the innovative and new-thinking population, independent of social stance, is now the major force for development. Galileo believed firmly in the power of common sense, and that if presented with evidence people would be able to draw logical conclusions and change their perceptions accordingly. He was clearly a man ahead of his time…

Are we there yet?