Nobel Peace Center | Norwegian Nobel Committee | Oslofjord | Director

Even in winter, the ferryboats that ply the waters of the Oslofjord offer a fresh way for visitors to see the forests and little villages that dot the region. The seafaring heritage is strong - as you're pulling away from the harbor, it is easy to see the museum holding the polar ship Fram, used by three great Norwegian explorers, including Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and the museum with the world's best-preserved Viking ships, the vessels that were the foundation of their power and wealth. The harbor on a cold, sunny morning is a wonderful place to walk and to enjoy the sun reflecting off the calm waters, to look at the old wooden sailboats that seem to be pining for the spring. The boats are overlooked by a thirteenth-­century fortress that now houses a museum detailing Norway's World War II resistance movement; by city hall, where the Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded each year; and by the handsome Nobel Peace Center, a converted railway station that has proved an instant hit with the public since its opening in June 2005.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the peace prize for over a century, but until last year there was no building open to the public that explained the prize and its meaning. In no way a staid museum, the new Peace Center uses high-tech, state-of-the-art exhibits - including digital wallpaper and an electronic "field" with all of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates displayed on motion-sensitive screens. There are also temporary exhibits and displays showing how the world looks from space, without national boundaries.

The goal is to provoke visitors to think about how one person can make a difference, says director Bente Erichsen, an Oslo native who spends every free winter moment on the cross-country ski trails.