Oslo: The Wet Day aka Day 3

One last day in Oslo (technically just an afternoon, really, since I had a 5pm flight back to Amsterdam) but I had saved the best, or at least the most scenic, for last. On this, my final hours, I had made a reservation for a lunch cruise around the fjords. For the past two days, I had watched families cruise by, enjoying the gorgeous summer weather and the majestic panorama offered up by the fjords. Now it was my turn. So why was I waking up to the sound of rain on the windowpanes accompanied by loud claps of thunder. I convinced myself for a brief moment that it was noise coming from the air conditioner. A noise that I just had never noticed before. I even shared this fleeting fantasy with my hot roommate, the one who had just finished hiking through Pakistan and is currently working on a guide to outdoor adventures. Curiously, he did not share my delusion.

With the reservation already made and the $65 cruise included for free with my $68 Oslo Card, I decided I could brave the elements. By the way, the Oslo card, the 72 hour one that includes entry into all the museums and unlimited public transportation and is only $3 more than the cruise itself, is offered for sale at the very same kiosk as the cruise tickets. Seriously, if anyone has ever paid full price for this thing, I want to meet them so that I can stomp on their foot. Without even counting the cruise, I had already visited seven museums for a savings of $75 and hopped on and off trams, subways and ferries for an additional savings of $30.


So with these travel-savvy savings, I bought a jaunty rain hat, grabbed a pizza and off I went. Now, I realize that it may seem odd to bring a pizza to a lunch cruise, but it is certainly no odder than the response I received from the Batservice Sightseeing company when I wrote to them to make my reservation and inform them that I am a vegetarian. So as not be accused of exaggeration, I am going to let their reply speak for itself: Your reference is 0506 they are booked in your names. We only serve shrimp buffet on the boat. Please bring your own food.
Yes, that is correct. I was told to bring my own lunch to a lunch cruise. Nice, huh?


The entirety of the non-vegetarian lunch buffet.

The weather never really improved, but the two-hour spin around the near-by islands allowed for an interesting peek into a side of Oslo I had not yet seen...and the pizza was good...so while I would not necessarily recommend the cruise, it was not the worst way to spend a few hours. As I stepped off of the boat, I saw there was a gathering of people of all ages standing in front of City Hall, carrying posters bearing photos of Iranian dissidents believed dead as a result of the recent election protests. I joined them briefly to show my support for the incredibly brave protestors in Iran, handed them a donation and began making my way back to the hostel.

I had planned my route so as to catch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, something that on four separate attempts has eluded me in London. For that reason, I don't know how the guard's choreographed routine plays in London, but speaking for the one in Norway, it was mass confussion led by men in funny hats. All of us assumed, with some justified reason I would argue, that the changing of the guard would take place directly in front of the palace...and that is, indeed, how it began. Why they then marched the whole show over to the far right side of the palace, leaving everyone standing with open umbrellas and puzzled looks, is beyond me. Eventually, everyone sauntered over to where they were, just in time to watch them play an elaborate game of "statue", wherein they stood perfectly still, staring at each, for what felt like a ridiculously long time. I took this as my cue to continue back to the hostel, grab my bags and bid "Ha Det" to the lovely but costly city of Oslo.





Captaining the lunch cruise.


Pulling away from the harbour behind City Hall.


Although the rain sucked at the time, I actually like the atmospheric quality it lent to these photos.


Summer homes of the Norwegian rich and famous.


A stowaway aboard our vessel.



A show of support for those protesting the election "results" in Iran.










The changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.

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Oslo: Day 2

My second day in Oslo was devoted to two things: art and exploring the city itself; or one could say artfully exploring the city. I started off with a self-guided walking tour around the comfortably compact downtown area. The city was as clean and tidy as one would expect, but what I found a bit disconcerting was the number of junkies I encountered throughout my walk. I had noticed them the previous day at the train station, but I had chalked it up to the sad fact that oftentimes, that is where those living on the fringes of society tend to congregate. I should quickly point out that at no point did I feel threatened or in any kind of danger, it just struck me as such an odd dichotomy between the stereo-type of the hale and hearty Viking and those sunken-eyed lost souls that seemed to be simply everywhere.

My walking tour lead me to The National Gallery, where I had my first chance to see Edvard Munch's iconic painting, The Scream. I say it was my first chance, because Munch, being a bit on the obsessive side, kept painting the Scream over and over until he was satisfied with the results. Later in the day, when I visited The Munch Museum, I saw my second version of The Scream, along with several preliminary attempts where he explored similar themes of angst and alienation. Our guide at the Munch Museum explained that there are 5 known versions of his most famous work: 2 at the National Gallery, 2 at the Munch Museum and 1 belonging to a wealthy family and presently at the crux of an ugly estate battle between brothers. One thing the guide did not mention, but my guide book did, is that both of the museums have had a version of the Scream stolen and eventually returned. No wonder that they now had such strict security measures in place.


I followed up the Screams, with a late-afternoon picnic in one of many open squares. It wasn't that I was feeling particularly whimsical or out-doorsy at the moment, it was just that, in case I did not emphasize it enough in my last post, the restaurant prices in Norway are certifiably insane and it was a nice day, so why not enjoy it? It also gave me a nice opportunity to watch the mingling of locals and tourists, easily differentiated by the tourists all clutching maps in this, the city of no directional signs.

After some more post-picnic strolling through the city and a very quick run through the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, I went to City Hall for a guided tour of its artwork (this being the day devoted to the city and to art, after all). The rest of the city's tourist population had different ideas of how to spend the late afternoon (or perhaps had lost their maps) because come tour time, I was the only one there. I have been in this situation before and always feel as if I am putting the guide out by having them do what is essentially a private tour, so I tried to gracefully back out, but my guide was not having it. For about an hour, she showed me around the building, starting in the main hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each year and leading me through both official and ceremonial halls, all covered in art work which spoke to the history of the Norwegian people. Perhaps it was the benefit of having a private guide, but I found myself more impressed with the works on display here than those in the National Gallery of Art. To see such bold and almost defiantly secular works inside a government building was refreshing and a lesson in the true meaning of the division of church and state. As if to make sure that the cherry was placed atop the cake, my guide finished off the tour by inviting me to come up to the bell tower to listen to a carillon concert while enjoying the best view in all of this city. This is something that is available to all visitors, for free (!!) but for some odd reason is not mentioned in any guidebooks or websites (until now, I guess). Best of all from that vantage point, it was easy to check out which waterfront bars are filling up for happy hour. All in an effort to continue artfully exploring the city, of course...









Strolling down Karl Johan Street.



A look at traditional Norwegian Dress as opposed to my own less traditional look in the reflection.


Heading down into the metro.



An early version of Edvard Munch's famous "Scream".



Munch's self-portrait wherein he examines his own mortality.



A reflection of the Munch Museum itself repeating the pattern found on the sheets in the self-portrait seen above.



The city as seen from the top of City Hall.



This photo taken at approximately 8pm and check out how much sunlight there still is.





Enjoying a $10 beer by the waterfront.



Today's Norway encompasses a richer blend of cultures than ever before.

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Oslo: Day one

When discussing Norway, there are two things which are invariably mentioned by all who have visited. First is the natural beauty of the fjords and second the exorbitant amount of money the visitor paid for a pizza/ soda/ beer or some other implied gauge as to how expensive this city is. Actually, I think if a highly scientific poll were to be done, the order of those two would probably would have to be reversed. So to address the elephant in the fjords, yes, it is a very vast and beautiful landscape and yes, this allure has caused them all to lose their ever-loving minds when faced with a price gun.

My plans for visiting this, my 80th country, were to stay in Oslo for three days and see about a half-dozen museums, preferably without having to resort to selling a kidney or other organ that I may someday want back to pay for it all. That is where the Oslo Card came in very handy. For one price (approximately $68), I had unlimited access to the city's museums and very efficient public transportation system for a total of 72 hours.


The first thing I did at the very sleek Oslo airport (seriously, it looks more like a furniture design warehouse than an airport) was to buy this card. With it, I jumped on the train to the city, dropped off my bags at the hostel and began ticking museums off of my list, one by one. I went both to museums I was interested in and to those that I might normally skip, just because, well, I could. One that I was looking forward to was the Viking Ship Museum, which as its name suggests, houses ancient Viking ships.

What is so remarkable is that since the 9th century ships were used as part of burial ceremonies, they are surprisingly well-preserved. The specially built museum allows you to walk around the ships and also climb onto balconies to get excellent views of the decks. It was impressive beyond words and I am not even much of a boat person (or a car person or an airplane person...modes of transportation don't generally thrill me is what I am saying).

Next on my agenda was the Folk Museum, where they have taken structures from all over the country and transported them to a large park-turned-museum, similar to Bucharest's Village Museum. The reason for my stopping here was to see a stave church dating back to 1212. There are very few remaining in Norway and most of them are further up north, where I was not going get a chance to visit, so having one right on Museum Island was an opportunity I was going to take full advantage of. The fact that I also got to join a free guided tour and learn about the evolution of Norwegian building techniques and customs through the ages was a nice added bonus.

Not satisfied with seeing only 2 museums on my first day and wanting to squeeze every kroner out of that City Card, I ferried over to the Kon-Tiki Museum. I knew this museum had something to do with a raft, but that was about it. It was not until I started reading the placards that I realized just how fantastic what I was looking at truly was. I had never heard of Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian scientist and explorer, but ten minutes in, I was wishing I could have met the man and was eager to know more about him. He believed that there had been contact between the Inca of Peru and the people of Polynesian Islands and constructed a primitive raft to show just how this was possible. He assembled a group of men, all from different cultures, in order to study what would happen when such diverse personalities were forced into such close proximity for an extended period of time (something that would surely have been turned into a reality show today) and set sail from Peru for 101 days until he crashed into the Tuamotu Islands, 4300 miles away, thus proving his theory that such a journey was indeed possible.

The original raft, as well as the Ra 2 raft, which travelled from Morocco to Barbados, are on display. Looking at them up close, I had to admire the courage of these men to even consider crossing an ocean on such rickety-looking vessels. By the time I had left the Kon-Tiki, the day had wound down and most other museums had closed. Yet thanks to a sun that refuses to set until late in the Norwegian summer , I was still able to visit Frogner Park and admire the work of Gustav Vigeland, namely sculptural nudes of all shapes and sizes. It was somewhere I would try to return to during my remaining days, but not before I took full advantage of that Oslo Card.

Waiting for the tram outside the main train station.






The new Opera House/ urban playground.


City Hall.



The ferry to "Museum Island" (aka Bygdoy).



The Viking Ship Museum.









I believe these are part of a free bike program.


The Norwegian Folk Museum.


One of the few remaining Stave churches.





A grain storage shed.










The Kon-Tiki Museum









Vigeland Sculptures in Frogner Park

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