First Stop In Norway

We arrived at 2125 (9:25 P.M.) last night in Oslo. The train ride went fast and we saw the Swedish countryside with a lot of farms. They cover their hay in white plastic in the fields and Carol says they look like big marshmellows. I agree with that. when we cross the Norwegian border, we are 4 hours into our 6 hour journey. the terrain changes a little bit with more water in the form of hugh lakes and a wide river that we follow. When we arrive, we get our bearings and find the main drag, Karl Johans Gate. The street which is pedestrian only is filled with people. It is still daylight here so that is nice for us. it is only about a .75 mile walk to our hotel and we are checked in and in our room by 2200.

We awake at 0730 and go down for breakfast. There is a very nice spread of cold cuts, locks, bread, granola, cereal. an some oddities like pickled beets. I love them but never have had them for breakfast. I have now! There are also scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, potatoes, beans (yes baked beans), sausage, and some fantastic bacon that is not processed and much better than what we are used to.
After our meal, we head out to the City Hall. It is a short walk and we wait for our free tour at 1000. Outside is an astronomical clock, and wood carvings telling old Norse tales. One story, which I will post a picture of here is a pleasant tale for the children about the Smiths revenge.

Volunds Tale

When we enter the City Hall, there is a grand hall filled with murals depicting life and events in Norway. This is the hall where the Nobel Peace Prize banquet and award is held. Our guide does a great job explaining all the murals. We move on to the second floor, where every room is grand and painted from ceiling to floor. There is a mural on the Nazi occupation in one room that has the Nazis depicted as scorpions and an vil bird whose wings cover the surrounding mural (Norway) in darkness. On the main floor, one mural was designated to the WWII history from the blietzkrieg, to resistance fighters, to executions, to the end of the war and celebrating their independence day, May 17th. We also see abstract paintings of the current King and Queen, and in the same room a scene depicting naked Norwegians in a day at the beach. Kind of an odd mix.

Abstract King

In the naked scene, after the artist had started the mural, a decision was made to put two doors on the same wall. The artist was not happy and by one of the doors, he painted a boy pointing to the door and sticking his tongue out at the government officials decision.
Since it is a beautiful day, we decide to walk from the City Hall to Frogner Park to see the many statues of Gustav Vigeland, Norway’s greatest sculptor. The walk winds through some nice neighborhoods and ends up being 1.8 Miles. The park is incredible. It contains a lifetime of work. Vigeland made a deal with the city, that in exchange for a studio and pay by the state, he would spend his life filling this sculpture garden.

Vigeland,s Bronze Statues

He worked on site from 1924 until 1943. He designed 192 bronze and granite statue groupings containing over 600 figures. The statues are all nude, and many are poetry in motion, figures caught midstream swinging children, kissing, tugging on their hair, and one man who appears to be juggling children. We cross a bridge with all bronze statues, then an area of granite statues, to a fountain.

Monolith of Life

From the fountain you climb up to a monolith of life, in which 121 figures, were carved out of a single piece of stone. It weighs 180 tons and is 50 feet tall. Vigeland and 2 stone carvers spent 14 years working on it to completion. After touring the park, we find a nice bench, and have lunch. We walk back to the City Hall and stop to use the facilities.
We follow the main drag in town to the Oslo Cathedral. It is a Lutheran Church from 1697 and is where the royal family gets married. There is a royal box for the King and Queen to sit above the rest of the church. A very ornate organ is in the back and the ceilings are extremely colorful. Carol finds a small nook of the church which has quotes in books from evil people. I see one from Ted Bundy. It is almost as if to say there is evil in the world, that is why we must pray and be good.

Royal Church Box

Our touring done for the day, we go to the train station to verify our bus/train information for tomorrow. We have to take a bus to another town due to the tracks being worked on and we ask where the bus will be. We also go to the visitor center and pick up our Oslo passes, which we will use when we return. They are like the Stockholm card and will provide us with free entry to sights and unlimited use of the local transportation. We stroll back to the hotel and have time to relax. I catch up on downloading pictures to our web site entries and before we know it, dinnertime has arrived. We were originally going to walk to a fish and chips place, but Carol says we should just get pizza at the place across the street. We decide to do this and get a take out pepperoni pizza at a reasonable price. The funny part is that it is a Persian Restaurant. So we are getting a pizza in Norway from an Iranian Restaurant. It turns out to be very good and we eat in the hotel lobby.
Later on, we get to face time on our Ipad with our oldest son Steven. We find out their honeymoon went well, they are still married, and settling back into a more normal, non wedding planner, life. It was good to talk to him. Tomorrow is a travel day so we must get to bed. Good Night.
Expenses
Hotel Thon Munch 744 NOK
Persian Pizza 99 NOK
Walked 9.25 Miles