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From the moment of landing, it seemed as though I had journeyed to barren Australia or tranquil Alaska, but Norway was certainly not at the forefront of my mind. While imagining Scandinavia, I usually picture daring mountains that slope down to meet the unimaginably clear and pure waters, just like the air. I assumed that these traits would carry throughout the rural and city provinces alike. However, the sun shone and disguised the industrialised nation. Oslo is not an ugly city by any means, but it was certainly miles away from the romanticised architecture of other European capitals such as Rome, Paris, Barcelona, or even London. This city leans more towards modernism; its world-renowned opera house – an impressive, rather angular construction that rests at the water’s edge – is the epitome of this. However, I soon discovered how easy it is to escape from this modernism – by tram. The transition between city and suburb was rapid – it was so obvious where one ended and the other began. Once past Storo, the last of the metropolitan stops, I was submerged in a more stereotypical Norway. The wooden houses looked the same – each painted in earthy greens, browns, and sometimes even brighter reds and oranges. My tram stop, twelve stops from the city centre Jernbanetorget, was a northern suburb of Oslo called Kjelsås – a quiet, charming neighbourhood. The apartment I was sharing with my three university friends was a short distance from the tram stop which was, perhaps at times, a little too cosy. Of course, it didn’t take long to settle so we set our sights on finding the Maridalsvannet lake which we were told would take no more than fifteen minutes to find. However, we were not told where to find it. Where could this mysterious lake be? The wooden cabins and snow-dusted pines stretched as far as the eye could see. Having been awake since 3.30am to travel to Norway, I was in no mood for a country hike, but we did as any blind explorers would do – we picked a direction and walked. By chance, after walking for about thirty minutes in the dry cold, we found the lake. Impossible! We were immersed in the middle of suburbia not five minutes ago with no body of water in sight, but we didn’t dwell on it. The lake was stunning – completely frozen, although showing signs of thawing around the edges and enclosed by snowy pine trees. We stood on a grassy bank and admired the sunset in the plummeting temperature… Overwhelmed with a sense of pride from finding an attraction in three times as long as it should have, we made our way home – to warmth and wine and bed before setting our sights on exploring more of Oslo and its surrounding suburbs in the following days.