Oslo can be dark in the the winter months, but the spring and summer months are marked by an outpouring of activity. Vegard Giskehaug for The National
Oslo can be dark in the the winter months, but the spring and summer months are marked by an outpouring of activity. Vegard Giskehaug for The National

Not everyone gets a prize for visiting Oslo



Q&A: Beware the house-full signs

Is it a good place to stay? Any hotelier wondering where their next customer is coming from might want to look at opening up in Oslo. In early June, there is not a hotel bed for love nor money to be had. Various excuses were given as to why the city was full: Norwegian Wood, a music festival, was due to start; conferences; the weather; but none of these washed. There just are not enough hotels in the city.

What's the food like? Think fish. When you eat herring for breakfast, whether in mustard, dill or fennel sauce, you can understand why the Vikings went marauding. They were in search of croissants.

And the natives? The locals are friendly and all speak very good English, often with no trace of an accent. They do get a bit lively in the evenings, but that is only to be expected. They are very straightforward, honest and uncomplicated.

It is not just Nobel prize-winning laureates who might want to travel to Oslo, the capital of Norway. While the city can be dark and gloomy in the winter months, which last from October to April, the short spring and summer months are marked by an outpouring of activity that gives the place tremendous charm.

Like many things in Scandinavia, the city works well. The public transport connections are fast and efficient. From the airport you can find yourself in a high-speed train that whisks you to the central station. From there tram and bus links take you all over the city.

Rather like the residents of the UAE, Norwegians like their shopping centres, probably for the same reason: they create a pleasant environment that is not affected by either searing sun or bucketing rain or snow. Oslo is not a cheap place to shop, but it's convenient.

Aker Brygge is the newest shopping centre, built on the site of an old ship building yard and featuring a range of shops and restaurants, a cinema and a harbour. You can't beat a shopping centre with a harbour.

You can get a boat from the harbour to the Oslo Opera House, the city's iconic new building that was completed only in 2008. A blend of marble, glass and granite, it rises from the water like a volcanic island. It's the largest building constructed in Norway for more than 700 years, when Nidaros Cathedral was completed in Tronheim. It is popular during the day as a place to visit - it's probably the only opera house in the world that allows you to walk on its roof - and as home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet it puts on a variety of modern and traditional shows, but thanks to the city's small population, there were still tickets available for Peter Grimes on the day.

The business district is easy to access and well served by trams. Taxis are also readily available but are quite expensive. Etihad Airways flies there via Paris or London.

Top 5: Things to see in Oslo

1 Opera House

2 Statue of Sir Winston Churchill

3 Viking Ship Museum

4 Munch Museum

5 Holmenkollen

The Quote: I want to travel. Maybe I'll end up living in Norway, making cakes. Eva Green, actress

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free

Sonchiriya

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey

Rating: 3/5

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5

Fighting with My Family

Director: Stephen Merchant 

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell        

Four stars

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Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Meydan Racecourse racecard:

6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 1,900m

7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m

7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh265,000 1,600m

8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) Dh165,000 1,600m

8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh265,000 2,000m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,600m.

Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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EA Sports FC 25
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The drill

Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.

Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”

Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”

Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.” 

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4