Oslo 6-20-12

6-25-12: I felt "over-museumed" in Oslo by the end of the 21st, but I was determined to use that pass as much as possible! Will try to keep it interesting....

Hey Everybody,

Have I mentioned that Oslo is NOT cheap? This is so true that I am staying at a hostel, in a 4-bed room. At least it's an all-female room....some places are not! I am way too old to have to share a room with university boys! Pretty sure those boys would agree with me!! It is not my favorite way to travel, but it was by far the cheapest option, especially since it included a light breakfast. And the staff are incredibly kind and helpful. I would definitely recommend this place - it's called The Perminalen Hotel. It probably caters to students most in the summer months, but it has singles & family rooms, and business travelers stay here as well.

Started the day at the information center to book a train trip and a 2-day city pass (covers public transportation including some ferries, museum entry & offers some discounts). I'll tell you more about the train trip another day, but I can tell you that if you plan to visit a number of museums it's worth purchasing. If not, the transportation pass might be better.

Rain was in the forecast for this afternoon so my goal was to focus on the outside locations first. I began with Vigeland Sculpture Park on the west end of town. If I remember correctly, it was the first dedicated sculpture park in the world. It's quite interesting, especially given how conservative Norway once was. Some of Vigeland's pieces are a bit troubling - for instance, a couple of his sculptures emphasize aggression in men's relations toward women. Essentially all his sculptures are nudes, but I think whatever a person's opinion about the images he or she will be moved. As I said, there are some troubling sculptures, but there are some incredibly sensitive and beautiful ones too. I recommend this park as a must when you get to Norway. As children might read this, I will let you define the sculpture in the center....I heard an interesting conversation about it yesterday. Ask me if you want more details.

Speaking of children, can you see them climbing all over the nude sculptures? Several groups of school children (preschool and up) were here during my visit. I have to wonder if we in the states would encourage our young children to climb on a bunch of nude sculptures. Any thoughts? I noticed very little giggling & then only from the group that seemed to be co-ed and at the "tween" age.

Vigeland's old studio (now museum) is nearby, but I will try to get there tomorrow. So, the next three stops began with a 15min ferry ride to Bygdoy for the Viking, Kon-Tiki & Fram museums.

Given that I'm going to be bi-polar this year (not my line; credit goes to the video guy on the arctic ship) I had to visit the Fram Polar Ship, which Nansen deberately designed to freeze into the Arctic ice, his planning was successful & upon his death he gave the ship to his country. Visitors are welcome to walk around on the ship....pretty cool. This summer the museum has a special exhibit about both Scott & Amundsen's expeditions to the North Pole.

The Fram

Just outside the Fram museum sits the Gjoa. This vessel was the first ever to sail the North West passage. Amundsen captained this trip with 6 crew.

Next stop: Kon-Tiki museum. Thor Heyerdahl crossed the world in simple vessels, especially in the Pacific region. He wanted to show that cultures could have met even in pre-historic times. It's kinda cool....

1947: Kon-Tiki raft voyage across the Pacific Ocean

1970: the Ra II crossed the Atlantic Ocean

Then I made my way to the Viking Ship Museum...there are 3 Viking ships here & it is said they are the best preserved in the world. This is believed to be from about 800 A.D.

One more item from the Viking Ship Museum....this cart is the only one of its kind from the Norwegian Viking Age. Usually they are discovered in pieces.

Finally I hopped back on the ferry and made it to the Nobel Peace Center for about an hour before closing. A hour was enough to see everything, but it would be easy to spend an entire day if you wanted to study the recipients in depth.

In the Afghanistan photo exhibit I learned that only 5,000 girls attended school under Taliban rule. In 2010, 2.4 million girls went to school!

This room is cool....it's called "The Nobel Field" and is an artist's rendering of the Nobel Peace Prize winners & each screen gives info about a recipient.

At the end of the exhibit upstairs, there are a bunch of blank circles & people are asked to write on them how they might bring peace to the world. Then, they slide them down the pole.

One of the entries:

A little more from Norway (2 posts, I think) and then we will be in Iceland! Thanks for staying in touch...I feel very out of the loop with all of you! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer (and staying dry in FL! I just heard about TS Debby).