The Bear Park (Bjørneparken) – the place to get close to bears, moose, lynx, reptiles as well as farm animals.

At the Bear Park at Flå, the animals are housed in large natural enclosures. You can watch the animals up close and learn about them from the park presenters. In March of 2016, the park opened the largest crocodile exhibition in Norway, with 30 crocodiles, snakes and tortoises.
There is a lot for kids to explore and do in the play areas, such as an obstacle course, zip-line, outdoor and indoor playgrounds. There are also several restaurants.

The park is open every day from Easter to the middle of October:
From March 19th 10 – 16:00; from May 1st 10 – 18:00 and from August 15th 10 – 17:00 Tickets can be purchased at the entrance and the park advises early as possible arrival. Adult ticket NOK 290,-, child 240,-

Bear Park 3539 Flå, Norway Latitude: 60.434673 | Longitude: 9.445649 Altitude: 203 meters

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter / Art Exhibition Centre

The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK) is located in the beautiful park and recreation area of Høvikodden on the Oslo fjord peninsula, surrounded by public trails, wharfs and shorelines. The statues outdoors in the park are well worth looking at. The exhibitions change several times a year. For example from 3rd January to 3rd May the Henie Onstad Centre is hosting an absolutely fascinating exhibition of Picasso’s Suite 347 which consists of 347 erotic etchings and engravings. The suite of works has only been presented in its entirety once before. In addition the exhibition presents Picasso’s work in the Government Quarter in Oslo.
From 3rd January to 23rd August 2020 there is a mini exhibition of Claude Monet’s motifs from Norway. These paintings are really beautiful and a treat for those who love Impressionist work.

The museum ticket is NOK 120,-, students NOK 70,- with free entrance for children and youths below 18 years.
Opening hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 – 17:00 but open until 22.00 on Thursdays
The centre is closed on 1st, 17th and 30th May; 21st December – 26th December and on December 31st and January 1st.

The photos shown below are from the permanent Yayoi Kusama installation – Hymn of Life (on the upper left hand side), the Picasso Exhibition and the Monet exhibition (on the lower right side)

Sonja Henie was one of Norway’s most famous women, winning three Olympic gold medals, six European Championships and ten World Championships in figure skating and, after 1936, becoming a very successful film actress in Hollywood. Sonja and her husband Niels Onstad donated all her awards, films and documentation as well as their art collection to the Exhibition Centre at Høvik in Bærum.
Today the Henie Onstad Art Centre is well known for its modern art exhibitions, sculpture park and events.

Henie Onstad kunstsenter Sonja Henies vei 31, 1311 Høvikodden, Norway

Hop-on Hop-off Tours of Oslo

Spend a day seeing the sights of Oslo, the oldest of the Scandinavian Capitals, from an open-top, double-decker tour bus. Your pass is valid for a full 24-hour period, and you can hop on and off at your leisure. You will enjoy 360-degree views from the open top of the bus and learn about the city’s history from your multilingual audio guides. The full loop lasts 90 minutes and frequency at the stops is every half hour. Book your ticket online

Stops include:
• Oslo City Hall
• Oslo Cruise Terminal & Akershus Fort.
• Oslo Opera House
• Oslo Central Station
• Clarion Royal Christiania Hotel
• Grand Hotel & Karl Johan Street
• Oslo Parliament & Karl Johan
• The Royal Castle & The Ibsen Museum
• Vigeland Sculpture Park
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Viking Ship Museum
• Kon-Tiki, Fram & Norwegian Maritime Museum
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Aker Brygge

Useful to know:

Stop 1 is at the City Hall

The bus operates from 1st April – 30th October 2019

First departure is at 10:00

Last departure is at 16:30

There will be earlier departures when cruise ships are in port

Golf

We are members at Kjekstad golf club, a 15 minute drive from Vollen. – Kjekstad has several practice putting greens, a large driving range, pitching and sand practice areas, a café and shop. The picture above was taken on 9th May 2016 when the temperature was a wonderful 24 degrees Celsius! The club has two courses – the 18 hole which is fairly demanding and also provides an amazing nature experience as you move round the forest, even glimpsing Oslo in the far distance from the highest point. The 9 hole course is my favourite – it’s a par 3 course but provides a lot of challenge. Hole 6 is shown on the introduction photo – where a few times in a season I might get a birdie and there’s always the hope of that elusive hole in one…

There are quite a number of golf clubs in the Oslo region. Depending on the weather conditions and how early or late the snow melted, the season begins in late April and ends in October.

I usually drive up Vollenveien to Heggedal and then take road 167 to join road 165. Perhaps take one route there and the other home?

The physical map shows both the 9 hole, 3-par course to the west of the Clubhouse at Kjekstad Golf Club and also the 18 hole course to the north. I’d like to mention Hole 10, which is the most northerly and has a spectacular tee-off over the lake.

Walking/jogging/skiing in the forests and on the coastal paths

There are many trails and paths in the forests and along the fjords all over Norway. In Vollen we have some very beautiful ones. Many of the most popular trails are marked at intervals with a blue stripe on a tree or stone (see the photo below)
From July until the frost arrives in October, you can enjoy picking edible wild berries such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, and also edible mushrooms. Some mushrooms are unmistakable, but you MUST be absolutely certain they are not poisonous. I have included a picture of one of the best loved below – the golden chanterelle.
You can enjoy rambling at all seasons of the year – perhaps using the Scandinavian spiked soles which can be fastened to boots if the ground is icy – and of course on cross-country skis in snowy conditions.

On top of Skaugum hill looking down on Asker county

The blue line on the map below shows our local coastal paths. Apart from the lovely walks around Vollen, where you will notice especially many “good bathing places” flags, there are other walks of especial interest. The trip around Løkeneshalvøya (Løkenes peninsula) is beautiful and you will pass one of the famous “ice-lakes” where, in the 19th century, ice was cut and exported to England – even to Queen Victoria!! The sail ships which raced across the North Sea with the frozen cargo, came into Spire bay just south of Spire Lake.
Konglungen island used to be the home of local fishermen. It is now an extremely fashionable area with many multi million villas.

Another notable walk is round Brønnøya island. This is a protected area with no vehicle access. On fine evenings all summer, and especially on the Eve of St Hans in June, the sound between Brønnøya and the next island to the east, Langåra, is a very popular place to enjoy dinner on board at an anchorage out of the wind. In fact the sound is popularly known as Middagsbukta (Dinner Bay)

Vigeland Park

View to the statue bridge

Baby waiting for birth

The Angry Boy

Monolith

Vigeland Park is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist, and is one of Norway’s most popular tourist attractions. The park is open to visitors all year round. There is a large parking lot beside the park. Allow at least an hour to enjoy the various elements in the park. We suggest that you first go to the beginning of life circle of eight bronze sculptures down below the bridge – with the little baby waiting to be born in the centre. Then make your way through the park, finally arriving at the amazing monolith.

The unique sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland’s lifework with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. Vigeland was also in charge of the design and architectural layout of the park. The Vigeland Park was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949.

Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850 meter long axis: The Main gate, the Bridge with the Children’s playground, the Fountain, the Monolith plateau and the Wheel of Life.

Oslo citizens use the park for lots of recreational and sporting activities – skiing, jogging, walking, meeting friends, picnicking on the grass – and it is equally popular at all seasons.

You will enjoy finding your favourite statue – mine is the first on the left below!

From the Monolith, walk to the Circle of Life. After enjoying this, look over at the hills to see the iconic Holmenkollen ski jump.

Do find this first picture on the frieze of the Fountain of Life. Then walk to the left to see the entire circle of life evolve.

There are several cafes in the park. This one is close to the Monolith. They sell small copies of the “Angry Boy” as well as postcards.