Norway - Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Park

What comes to mind when you imagine Norway? Frojds, mountains, and trolls, perhaps. Since we'd been traveling the fairly flat areas of Denmark and Sweden, our entrance to Norway was delineated by a ridge of mountains. Ekeberg camping is flanked by Ekeberg Sculpture Park and sits high above Oslo giving us a wonderful introduction to the area with great hiking sprinkled with benches and viewpoints for admiring the city through the trees. Dramatic sculptures dot the landscape - some were beautiful, most were thought-provoking. Famous names such as Rodin, Dali, and even Paul McCartney were represented among the 41 artists. We didn't even cover a tenth of it.

Click here for our photos, "i" for information

The second day we followed RS's Oslo walk. He had warned of pick-pockets and possible aggressive pan-handling we felt perfectly safe. 

The Oslo Cathedral's colorful ceiling and special box for royals was lovely. The city is compact but still manages to fit in a large relaxing park with a water feature that does double duty - in warm months it's a fountain and wading pool for youngsters and a skating rink in winter. The City Hall is enormous and slathered with art depicting scenes from Norse Mythology.

We’d listened to Norse myths from the Swedish National Museum's app on the drive to Norway so we appreciated it a bit more. There's a Norse mythology equivalent to Adam and Eve except their version of Eve isn't the cause of original sin and she is depicted beautifully.

Meeting up with friends in our travels is such a rare, special treat. Dermot's friends Frank and Marion had often asked him when he was coming to Norway and we made plans to meet Frank downtown. I enjoyed meeting him and listening to their banter as they caught up. Frank graciously invited us to spend Friday and Saturday camping at their home.

The National Museum of Norway has such a huge collection of art that we decided to do the audio "Meet the Collection" tour on their app which highlighted 22 works throughout the museum. It was fascinating. You would think that would be fairly quick but we often found ourselves just walking by such intriguing works or pieces by such famous artists as Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Rodin - that we couldn't help but stop for a quick look. We broke up our visit with lunch in a nearby cafe enjoying the view of the sparkling harbor from the second floor. 

As you can see from our photos album, the Vigeland Sculpture Park captured our imagination. Gustav Vigeland was Norway's greatest sculptor and he specialized in nudes. Rick Steves wrote "At once majestic, hands-on, entertaining, and deeply moving, I find this park to be one of Europe's top artistic sights." It had something for everyone.

The angry toddler statue has become famous and you can see from the picture that his small left fist has been polished by the many people who can't help but hold it. I found the statues depicting moments of joy as well as the struggles of both young and old couples particularly moving.

We’d “earned our refreshment,” as my cousin Sonja would say, so we stopped at The Dubliner Folk Pub for a rejuvenating beer/cider break. Since restaurants are particularly expensive in Oslo, I went shopping for the makings of dinner while Dermot had a second beer for good measure. Pickings were slim so we had heat-and-serve Chicken Tandoori in the van that night. 

The following day we took care of some essentials and headed to the Bygdøy area. The Fram Museum includes two ships and many artifacts from several polar explorations and their brochure recommended starting with the widescreen film but it wasn’t working. So we tried to follow the story by reading the many displays and touring the two ships. Though it was somewhat interesting, I never got my arms around the subject and just felt frustrated. 

Kon-tiki

The Kon-Tiki Museum was easier to follow and featured the two rafts used by Thor Heyerdahl and crew to cross oceans as well as artifacts gathered in their research. Dermot’s and I both enjoyed this one. We marveled that only one Kon-tiki crew member had any experience sailing and Thor was afraid of water. The story is well-documented in film and books so you can learn more if you're interested. Here's a link to get started: Kon-tiki

Dermot’s friend Frank met us at the campground Friday and drove with us to his home in a suburb of Oslo. Frank, Marion and their three children (aged 15-20) shared memories and laughter. The oldest daughter’s boyfriend joined as well and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together and great conversation until the wee hours. It was the first night we went to bed after dark in weeks.

The following day Frank and Marion took us on a nice hike through woods and along the water to an inlet of the Oslo Fjord. It was beautiful and so relaxing watching the ducks and boats glide along the crystal clear water. 

Marion is from Norway and her national pride was clear as she told us about her country and offered us Norwegian foods to try such as mackerel in tomato sauce, pâte with bacon and her favorite licorice candies. She went above and beyond providing advice and options for the rest of our Norway travels. 

Frank cooked another wonderful dinner and we enjoyed their hospitality for another night. The following afternoon we waved goodbye but not before making plans to see them again.

That day we visited the Norwegian Folk Museum and learned alot about the folk traditions, varied architecture, and Sami cultures. Two thumbs up from me but Dermot was multitasking - earphones tuned to the Munster hurling final while also touring the museum.