Around Bjorvika harbour area near Oslo Opera House

On a rather blustery almost wintry day (maybe not in Norwegian terms) we walked around the harbour area.

Almost the first sight we saw was a construction in the water where we saw bikini clad young women who jumped into the cold, uninviting waters of the harbour and swam around a bit.  It is a floating island sauna.

Here are two more small saunas directly opposite the Opera House where we also saw women getting into the water.  Where are the men?

A closer look at the little sauna cabin.  The one next to it has a number of solar panels.

This floating stainless steel and glass sculpture was designed and created by an Italian artist, Monica Bonvinci and is entitled She Lies.  It is based on Caspar David Friedrich's painting Das Eismeer (The Sea of Ice).  The artwork floats on a concrete platform tethered to Bjorvika Harbour's floor, allowing it to turn and change, based on the tides and currents.  Its subtle movements are a reminder of nature's constant change.

This is another piece of art advertised as a Nomadic Art Project and entitled We are Still the Same.  1,200 shirts from people in Finland and Oslo are included in the wooden installation, also named Arctic Pyramid Structure.  The idea behind it is the concept that in every shirt there is a story because someone has been wearing it.  A little too meaningful for my tastes.  I much prefer She Lies, as art.

As we came around the back of the impressive building which is the Oslo Opera House, we saw many  windows which seem to house opera props and various paraphernalia.  These heads wearing powdered wigs particularly caught our attention.

Then we turned the corner and there was the magnificent Opera House. You can walk all over its roof.  It is the centre-piece of the city's rapidly developing waterfront and considered one of the most iconic modern buildings in Scandinavia.  Designed by Oslo-based architectural firm Snohetta and costing around Euro500m to build, the Opera House opened in 2008, and resembles a glacier floating in the waters of the Oslofjord.

The building is even more impressive viewed from the other side of the fjord.

There are concerts of modern music performed at the forefront during the summer months attracting the young people of the city.