Holmenkollen

When you get there you probably won't have a clue what they're telling you about, but when you leave you'll definitely tell everybody you know about it. I'm talking about Holmenkollen, my dear Erasmusites, an absolute must-see for when you're in Oslo.

Holmenkollen is a part of the city of Oslo where you'll find the famous ski jump that hosts competitions in the sport every winter. In all, it's not much more than a big structure with a massive ramp surrounded by grandstands. So, it can seem like a fairly basic, bare place, but when you're then in winter with the stands full of people and the ramp covered in snow...it's entirely different.

Even so, if you go when there isn't any snow (as you'll see in my photos), it's still absolutely worth visiting. Given that this part of the city is up high (on the mountain), you can get some spectacular views of Oslo.

The best thing is that the jump is completely open to the public. It's a sort of open stadium that you can go to whether or not there's an event on, and it's free! There's also a museum there, although you do have to pay and I don't really thing it's worth it unless you're super into ski jumping and understand the English signs perfectly (because you'll definitely struggle with the Norwegian ones).

It's fairly simple to get there: take Line 1 of the T-bane to Holmenkollen station. There are signs to show you the way from there. All you have to do is go up a hill and through a little wood, and you're there. You can either go up first and then come down via the grandstands, or do it the other way around. I recommend you go up first and then come down (although if you're scared of heights you might not like coming down the metal steps alongside the jump).

In summer, people use the steps and stands to train. It's really cool to see people giving their all as they go up and down the steps as fast as they can. I was actually pretty surprised that people trained there because they have actual mountains right nearby, but anyway, each to their own.

The surrounding area of the jump is full of forests, pines and flowers too. It's really pretty with nature right in your grasp, as you'll find is the case all over Norway.

If you want to see the ski jump competition, you've got to go in March. The tickets are well-priced: between 8 and 13 euros, so there's no excuse to miss out on an AMAZING atmosphere at the event.

What do you think? Come on, come on, come on, go and visit!