Venue
The Scandic Holmenkollen Park Hotel is one of the top hotels in Norway. It features a prime location as well as extraordinary service. So is, for example, a kid's daycare service available (for a fee). Additionally, its high-class conference facilities allow us to organise a novel type of conference featuring among other things flash talks and group discussions.
Note that the price offered for participants includes full board in the hotel's own exquisite restaurant.
(Downhill) skiing
The "Tryvann Vinterpark" in Oslo. Picture: GU-JU (flickr), CC BY-NC 2.0
Oslo's biggest skiing resort, the "Oslo vinterpark" is just five minutes away from the hotel. The area has a total of 18 runs (11 lifts) and a vertical fall of 381 metres. The vinterpark boasts a slopestyle course and Europe’s only Superpipe open to the public. Of course, there is also a skischool, ski rental, ski repair and a café. In other words, everything you could expect from a ski area offering the full package.
Cross country skiing
One of many cross-country ski tracks in the "Nordmarka", the area just bordering the hotel. Photo taken by Bent Kure (CC BY-SA 2.0).
More than 2,600 km (1,600 miles) of prepared cross-country ski trails run deep into the forests of Oslo. 90 km are lit for the special atmosphere of evening tours. Skiers can stop at 44 picturesque cabins which offer refreshments and home made pastries.
The closest ski trails start 500m from the hotel. More info at visitoslo.com.
Sledding
Sledding in Korketrekkeren, Oslo, Norway, during the first competition in 1922. This photo from the collection of the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History by Anders Beer Wilse (public domain).
Oslo's most popular toboggan is located very close to the hotel. It starts at Frognerseteren and ends at Midtstuen metro station. At the end of a run, you can catch the metro back up to Frognerseteren for another run.
Korktrekkeren is 2000 metres long, and the elevation drop is 255 metres. One non-stop ride takes 8-10 minutes. The metro from Midtstuen to Frognerseteren takes 13 minutes.
Riding in Korketrekkeren is free, but sled rental costs NOK 80-100 per day.Korketrekkeren is open when there is enough snow in the area. Webcam and updated information (in Norwegian) at akeforeningen.no.
Other activities
Other activities in close proximity to the hotel include a visit to
The Holmenkollen ski jump. Picture: Dominika Chylkowska Barwik (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
- the Holmenkollen ski jump & ski museum where you you can experience 4000 years of exciting ski history through various exhibitions.
- the historic Holmenkollen chapel which is one of Norway's cultural heritage sites.
- the hotel SPA consisting of facilities such as treatment rooms, spa, swimming pool, sauna, solarium and activity rooms.
Information about non-snow activities
by Marit Sandstad
The ski museum (and the ski jumping tower which you access through the museum) costs 180 NOK, it is literally on top of the hotel, so it's a now planning activity.
The Viking ship museum at Bygdoey takes about 45 minutes to get to, including subway and to bus routes. That still leaves people with roughly one and a half hour to browse the collection during a 4 hour break. It costs 80 NOK to enter the museum, but is free for employees of the University of Oslo. Personally I think this is really one of the few unique must-sees in Oslo, so maybe we should try to organise a time for this.
If people want to see Munch there are two ways of doing so. One which is slightly faster, somewhat cheaper and also allows for seeing other art, is going to the National gallery. It costs 50 NOK to enter and takes roughly 20 minutes by subway. All the most famous motives are shown there, though the collection of Munch pieces is relatively limited, but then again, other art is also on display there. The other option is the Munch museum, which is half an hour by subway, has 100 NOK entrance fee and shows almost exclusively Munch. One problem is that they just changed their exhibition there, meaning that there might be a part of the museum which is closed off, and where they might not be showing anything at the moment, though I guess the regular collection (which is the main Munch painting collection) is probably up.
All of these museums are open at least from 10-16 on week days, though a couple of them are closed on Mondays.
Links:
- National museum
- Munch museum
- Viking ship museum: http://www.khm.uio.no/english/
visit-us/viking-ship-museum/ index.html - Ski museum: http://www.holmenkollen.com/
eng/The-Ski-Museum - Vigeland park: https://vigeland.museum.no/en
