Day 9: Historic & Artistic Oslo
- The Day Distilled: Bold architecture and design! From the bright murals in its city hall to the exciting new architecture rising around its harbor, Oslo is fun to look at.
- Women of the Day: Oslo’s mayor, Norway’s prime minister, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Norway are women, and the national government has a whole ministry (akin to a US federal department) devoted to gender equality.
- Ship’s Log: You have to sail up a 60-mile-long fjord to reach the bustling port of Oslo and its revitalized waterfront.
The cafeteria a-fjords a beautiful view
Today started with the most scenic breakfast of the trip—we scored a window seat in the ferry’s cafeteria, and then enjoyed the view as the ship glided up the fjord on its way to Oslo. Ylva had given us strict instructions on when to depart the ship, and she was so right that it was best to be last!
After the ship docked, the scrum in the stairways, halls, and intersections was ridiculous. It was much more pleasant to take refuge in our cabin and read a book, or find a TV channel with a beautiful documentary about Scandinavian wildlife, than put up with that nonsense! At the prearranged time, we strolled off the boat, found our tour buddies, and then boarded the bus when Pinge pulled up to the exit. |
Oslo's city hall is a riot of color!
Our local guide joined us on the bus and gave a brief introduction to Oslo as we drove to the hotel, and then he took us on a walking tour of the harbor, City Hall, and the wonderful park-like pedestrian boulevard that connected the Royal Palace and Parliament. City halls in Scandinavia are bold and colorful! Oslo’s was even brighter than Stockholm’s, with murals on nearly every surface showing ancient and recent historical events, as well as allegorical scenes celebrating freedom, democracy, etc.
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Oslo is meant for walking
Mom and I spent our free time exploring on foot, essentially doing the Oslo Walk described in the guide book, visiting places our local guide hadn’t covered and re-visiting particularly interesting and lovely spots to linger and take photos. Like Copenhagen and Stockholm, Oslo was pedestrian-friendly and beautifully designed. Even the security measures were lovely! Instead of steel or cement barriers, they had enormous planters with bright flowers surrounding parliament and lining the pedestrian thoroughfare.
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Powerful sculptures in Frogner park
In the late afternoon, we joined the group again to explore the huge green and gray Frogner Sculpture Park, designed and decorated with hundreds of bronze, granite, and wrought iron nude figures by Gustav Vigeland. It was monumental and quite powerful, the sort of experience that builds and builds as you move further into the park and encounter more and more of his primal figures and groupings.
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We climbed a building!
Dinner was in a neighborhood on the waterfront that boasted exciting architecture at every turn. Mom tried the reindeer (verdict: very tasty) and several intrepid tour group members had the lutefisk (verdict: not bad, certainly nothing like the infamous American version).
After dinner, we followed Ylva around to the other side of the harbor to climb the opera house. Yes, you can walk up the building, which is essentially a series of broad white ramps that connect the waterline to the roof, offering wonderful views of the bold Norwegian capital. For more photos of Day 9, check out the slideshow below. |
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