Oslo - Day Four

We are heading out to see Vigeland Park today. It is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist, and is one of Norway's most popular tourist attractions. The park is open to visitors all year round. As you can see in these photos...it is very popular to locals and tourists:)

 

 

The unique sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland's lifework with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. Vigeland was also in charge of the design and architectural layout of the park. The Vigeland Park was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949.

 

 

 

Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850 meter long axis: The Main gate, the Bridge with the Children's playground, the Fountain, the Monolith plateau and the Wheel of Life.

 

 

This garden reminded me of Versailles in France...on a slightly smaller scale...

 

 

These sculptures are both beautiful and disturbing at the same time...Vigeland did not name, explain or describe his sculptures...he wanted people to interpret them however they saw them...so when you see this giant pillar of people/bodies one on top of the other...what or how does that interpret for you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting is one way to look at these sculptures, beautiful, amazing, strange, disturbing...I have to say that we all felt that way seeing all of them...makes you wonder what Gustav was thinking and what everyone who is at the park is thinking...this is 'Art' for sure...

 

 

This sculpture below has been 'named' over time as the 'Angry Baby' but in doing some reading it has been said that Gustav gave a child some chocolate...and then he took it away...this was the reaction he was wanting to capture to recreate for his sculpture...

 

 

 

It almost felt like we were witnessing an episode of William Shatner's 'Weird or What' show...but it was totally worthwhile going today....I would have to say its unlikely that I'll ever see such a park again :)

 

 

We stopped at a cafe in the park for some lunch/snack and a drink...this is my cousin Nancy and the photo below is of my cousin Barb's shrimp open-faced sandwich...and my highly nutritious chocolate chip cookie! Almost as big as her sandwich...I thought a beer and cookie was a perfectly acceptable lunch option :)

 

 

 

After leaving the park we decided to head back downtown to do some more shopping...cause you can always find something's that you didn't know you needed, right!??? Like maybe a giant Polar Bear...

 

This is my cousin Barb and I almost getting attacked by this Polar Bear in the Department store!

We were looking at some authentic Norwegian items and to see what the Oslo 'department store' was like...it is similar but different from home...I found that they have lots of houseware available, women's clothing of course and some specialty stores but there wasn't really any shoes to speak of and no jewelry or watches etc. in the Dept. store...it is interesting to compare and see the differences.

 

 

You can find a wonderful amount and quality of yarns here...it is yarn paradise for any knitters out there...

 

 

Barb and Auntie June returned to the hotel and we continued on...we had seen an advertisement for an Ice Bar...we couldn't possibly leave town without having a drink there...we found Magic Ice and after bundling up, entered the bar...we were the only ones there but it was beautiful inside! and cold too!!! You are charged admission which includes a drink...white wine cut with a berry liquor...super tasty!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner tonight was going to be Indian...after a tram trip and multi-minute walk...we have arrived at the Punjab Tandoori restaurant...which looks really sketchy but the food was delicious...it also seemed to be a total hot spot for locals as they were serving people non-stop for the entire time we were there! Mom was not impressed with the location, interior or pretty much everything...but in the end the food was good and it was an adventure!

We are all packed up tonight...at 7AM we are off to the train station and onto Maloy...which is approximately 7 hours by train!!!! Not sure what to expect but I'm sure I'll have something to report by the evening!

 

 

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Oslo - Day Three

What a busy day! Luckily I slept like the dead last night...took one of mom's sleeping pills and didn't wake until 8AM after I heard my alarm...apparently I fell asleep with the iPad on my chest...mom took it off after trying to wake me with no success :)

I think I'll take another one tonight! These beds are so soft that I wake up with back pain...the sleeping pill allows me to sleep through it...once again we have the black out curtains drawn because it's currently 11:30PM and it looks like this outside:

 

So, our 'sleepy head' travel companions woke up at 10AM!! They turned off their alarm the night before so they wouldn't be woken up too early :) Mom and I headed up to check on them after we'd had our breakfast to discover our knock on the door was now their alarm...they must've really needed the sleep but after all our walking and eating it's understandable!

First up...try out our new bus passes...there is a pick up spot right next to our hotel, super handy, so we were making our way towards the harbour to catch a ferry over to the Viking Museum, the Heritage Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum...

We found lots of gorgeous ships down at the harbour...

 

 

and cruise ships...

 

 

Here's our little water taxi, quick ride to where the museum touring is going to start...my Aunt June and Mom...great shot!

 

 

I took a couple photos of the houses in the area, really stunning places...so well taken care of !!!

 

 

 

 

So the first place we went to was the Folk Museum...on this site over 160 buildings have been moved here from all over Norway. What a great idea to make sure the history is being preserved. Many historic places end up being destroyed if there is no money for restorations or if the property is being re-allocated.

 

 

So you can see so many different buildings from many different eras all in one place here!

 

 

Here's some traditional clothing of the Norwegians...during holidays or special occassions, you will still see locals dressing this way. We have discovered several different stores downtown where you can purchase outfits or have items custom made!

 

 

Roughly cut furniture pieces from the Middle Ages...so well preserved!

 

So many pieces have been painted beautifully...it seems as though some of the wooden pieces lack in finishing in this era so they decorated them through paint...another amazing artifact you come across are the sleds...very necessary for the winters here.

 

 

However, the one thing that is most well regarded here is their weaving and hand embroidering...there is evidence of the talent from the Middle Ages up until present day. In fact, up until 1990 all students in school had mandatory instruction in weaving/sewing/needlework. Which when you think about it, was a very clever thing to have as a mandatory class...how else do you ensure these skills get passed along?!!

 

 

 

Next up is the Stave Church. It is the oldest wooden style churches still standing in the world! There are only a handful of them still left and we got to see one here at the museum. Like I mentioned earlier, over 160 buildings from all over Norway were moved to this location. This is a model of the one we are headed to see...

 

 

 

This is the approach from the back...amazing detail for a building erected in the 1200's...

 

 

a close up of the roof...

 

and of the siding...

 

 

Stunning!

 

 

Check out the intricate carving around the door frame...

 

 

 

I found it remarkable that everything has been so well preserved since the 1200's...you can still make out the colours and images of the original painting...what a lovely alter.

 

 

When you think of this roof design, how environmentally friendly is this! A lively roof...as you can see in the second photo, they layers start with the bark in strips laid down and then layers of earth and eventually grass...

 

 

There were many people dressed in the era and after speaking to one lady, it's like a summer camp/educational volunteer job...the families participate, they stay and work their 'property/jobs' from 8-4 each day, five days a week...many families want to participate as a way to further educate their children on the history of their country. This little fellow was hauling water while his siblings were minding the fire and boiling water...

 

 

Next up, the Viking Museum...amazing that they have been able to display these ships after being discovered and excavated.

 

 

Interesting bit of information I learnt was that the Vikings believed they were to be buried at sea...so they would load these huts (above) onto the ship along with their valuable belongings and send it all over board!

 

 

 

Off to the Kon-Tiki Museum next...the first ship we saw was made of Papyrus leaves. It was very interesting to see how they tie all the reeds together...

 

 

The Kon-Tiki raft was amazing...the fact that they were able to survive and travel so far and long without it falling apart is unbelievable really...

 

 

It was very interesting to see these ships...I guess you'd call them that?!?? Needless to say, we were very tired after all our touring around today :)

 

 

We had a dinner reservation for 7PM at a fabulous Italian restaurant called Ruffino...here's a shot of our meals...

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was delicious...the wine was great and we celebrated Auntie June's birthday in style...the staff came and sang to her and brought her some Tiramisu with a candle for her to blow out :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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