Don't judge a building by its bricks

I have to admit, when I walked past Oslo's City Hall for the first time, my reaction was... "What?" What is this big red brick factory-looking building doing in the centre of Oslo right next to the Nobel Peace Prize - and more importantly, why on earth would the Nobel Prize Committee award a prize that prestigious in a factory?

So despite all my reservations and assurances that going in would not be worth my while (I mean, come on - there wasn't even a queue to go in or anything, so clearly no-one is interested right?) I went inside anyway, but mainly because it was free and I had time to kill.



As you can see, I was clearly wrong about them awarding the Nobel Peace Prize in a factory.

Oslo's City Hall is a place out of a fairytale - beautiful coloured wall murals, lush thick draperies and tapestries, pictures of the Royal Family, all done in the most beautiful Scandinavian design style.



I walked in to a massive entrance hall, with murals filled with depictions of Norwegian life - musicians, farmers, seamen, families.



The hallways reminded me of palaces - grand, old palaces with a million rooms, and it also reminded me of the Von Trapp Villa from the Sound of Music. The tall ceilings seemed to swallow me up, making me feel tiny and placing me in awe of the sheer amount of workmanship that must have been put into this building.











I learned a very important lesson: just as they say never judge a book by its cover, never judge a building by its bricks. You may be surprised by what you find!