Thursday June 24 OSLO, NORWAY
At 7.30am we arrived at Oslo East Station, now amalgamated into Sentralstasjon, Oslo's Central Station. Here Donna and I sorted out our finances over a cafe breakfast. It was delicious and just what we had both needed after spending overnight on a train.
We then wasted a frustrating hour, or more, trying to find the Tourist Information Centre, finally locating it, a mile from the station, through a maze of city streets. I sincerely hope that it has since been moved to a more convenient location to Oslo's Central Station - one that tourists can find without needing to be language or cypher experts!
By 9.30am, Donna and I were finally armed with pamphlets, and a map of the city and our earlier frustrations soon evaporated in the excitement of a busily culture-laden day of activities.
Full of youthful enthusiasm and confidence, we headed directly for the Munch Museum to Edvard Munch's masterpiece "The Scream"
Edvard Munch
by kind courtesy of
Edvard Munch was never married. But he referred to his paintings as "his children" and could not bear to be parted from them. He lived a solitary life on his estate outside Oslo for the last 27 years of his life. Although his reputations inceased, he chose to remain isolated, surrounding himself with the entire panoply of his lifetime of creations.
When he died in 1944, at the age of 80, the authorities discovered, hidden behind locked doors on the second floor of his house, a collection of 1,008 paintings, 4,443 drawings and 15,391 prints, as well as woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, lithographic stones, woodcut blocks, copperplates and photographs.
The final irony of Munch's life is that today, he is famous as the creator of a single image that has all but obscured his lifelong influence and achievements as a pioneer painter and printmaker.
The Scream is the artist's most famous image. He reproduced it many times, and in different media: painting, drawings and prints. In his diary, in an entry headed, Nice 22 January 1892, Munch described his inspiration for the image:
One evening, I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord - the sun was setting and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The colour shrieked. This became The Scream.
the above excerpt taken from:
www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Munch/resource/171
THE SCREAM (press link)
by kind courtesy of http://www.edvard-munch.com/Paintings/anxiety/scream_3.jpg
by kind courtesy of http://www.edvard-munch.com/Paintings/anxiety/scream_3.jpg
Donna's tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality, reminding me that it was time for us to leave the Munch Gallery, and walk back to the centre of Oslo to see the famous City Hall.
photo by kind courtesy of www.ardenwebsales.com
Every year, on December 10, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded during a ceremony at Oslo's impressive City Hall, a modern structure that captures the history and culture of Norway.photo by kind courtesy of www.mayang.com
The brick facade of Oslo City Hall is decorated with historical themes. Two tall towers and an enormous clock echo the design of traditional northern-European town halls.
the above excerpt taken from
http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ss/OsloCityHall.htmThe warm sunshine beckoned us both outdoors. So after taking in the glorious interior of the Oslo City Hall, we took the tram to
by kind courtesy of http://oslo-norway.ca/attractions/frognerparken.html
This beautiful urban park in Oslo is where the world-famous Vigelandsparken is situated. The park contains 200 amazing fountains and sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland, that are integrated into the beautiful setting.
Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) worked on the sculpture park from 1924 until his death in 1943. Frogner Park is a "must-see" for all visitors to Oslo.
As I had done many times in the parks of central London, I shed my shoes and walked barefoot through the soft, cool grass. For the few minutes it took to reach Vigeland's Sculptures, my feet were cool, relaxed and happy. Then it was back to concrete walkways which necessitated sneakers. But seeing Vigeland's epic outdoor exhibit close up was worth all the effort involved in getting there.
VIGELAND SCULPTURES
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181601&Vigeland-Sculpture-Park
photo by kind courtesy of www.activistchat.com
The Vigeland Sculptures depicts human experience, and expresses through bronze, granite and cast iron, the joys and sorrows, frailty, hardship, hopes and humour of everyday life. Each figure, or group of figures, evocatively depicts human emotion to convey how friendships and family connections create meaning in the Circle of Life.
Vigelandsparken is one of Norway's most visited attractions. The unique sculpture park is the life work of sculptor Gustav Vigeland, who also designed the Nobel Peace Prize Medal. With more than 200 sculptures, in three different media, Vigeland was also responsible for the design and architectural outline of the park: a monumental artistic creation with a human message that is well worth seeing.above excerpt taken from
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181601&Vigeland-Sculpture-Park
photo by kind courtesy of www.activistchat.com
Press here to see more photos of the inspirational Vigeland Sculptures
Frognor Park is so extensive that it took several hours for us to properly appreciate the sculptures. Indeed, we became so engrossed with the massive exhibit that we'd completely missed having lunch. So we decided to take the tram to the town centre, where we enjoyed an early smorbrod supper.
by kind courtesy of scandikitchen.typepad.com
Suitably fortified, Donna and I decided to spend the rest of that afternoon and evening in separate pursuits and meet at the train later. I then caught the ferry to the
home of the Kon-tiki, the raft used by Thor Heyerdhal to sail across the Pacific Ocean.
by kind courtesy ofhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bygd%C3%B8y_lovely.jpg
by kind courtesy of www.kon-tiki.no
Reluctantly leaving the museum at 6.30pm, I rambled along the coastline to the
Norsk Folkemuseum
which is part of the Norsk Museum of Cultural History
by kind courtesy of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Norsk_folkemuseum_0.jpg
by kind courtesy of
http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/7382/Norwegian-Museum-of-Cultural-History_Folk-dances_11484.jpg
Upon arriving at the top of that 'cliff', I inadvertently entered private property and, worse, gate-crashed someone's grand garden party.
by kind courtesy of
Couples and small groups of friends were quietly sharing refreshments at large ornate iron tables that perched at the edge of the manicured lawn. Except for the quantity and style of food upon the table, the entire scene felt more English than Norwegian to me!
My body was living in 1976, yet my mind was witnessing
an idyllic scene from a hundred years earlier.
Was the long Scandinavian summer twilight
playing tricks on my perception of time?
Where was I?
Or more precisely - WHEN was I?
Time seemed to be slipping, slipping....
but into the past, not the future!
an idyllic scene from a hundred years earlier.
Was the long Scandinavian summer twilight
playing tricks on my perception of time?
Where was I?
Or more precisely - WHEN was I?
Time seemed to be slipping, slipping....
but into the past, not the future!
I had had no intention of intruding upon this, or any, gathering. And much as I was curious about what exactly was happening there, time was of the essence. To catch the last ferry of the day back to the city, I had to navigate a path through that garden to the entry gate of the property. I could not return from whence I had come. There simply wasn't enough time!
Moving hurriedly and awkwardly through the throng of polite society, I mumbled abject apologies for my intrusio. Then I walked, as quickly as possible, towards the ornately carved gates of what seemed to be an extensive country estate. Later, when I looked at my map for its name, it seemed not to exist.
With no time to ponder where or 'when' I had visited or what had just happened, I reached the road and thumbed a ride to the 8.20pm ferry. It was the last ferry of the day off that peninsula.
For once in my life, I was at a loss for words, but very happy not to have been asked to explain myself! How could I, when I didn't have any idea what had just happened to me.
by kind courtesy of
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181623
I anticipated using the short ferry journey to centre myself and make sense of my odd experience.
But it was a small boat, and I was the only 'tourist' on board. So when the other three passengers struck up a friendly conversation in English with me, it would have been churlish not to reply.
Dagfin, Ghost and Anna were three English-speaking Norwegians who were working and studying in Oslo.
Dagfin was very playful and amusing, and he was also unabashedly attracted to my dark looks. Announcing to his friends that fate had brought us together 'at sea' so that we could be married, Dagfin tied together our sneaker shoelaces. Once we were both thoroughly immobilized, he jokingly announced that, by Norwegian Maritime Law, we were now officially married! Amazingly, my participation in this event had been totally unnecessary!
In the space of 10 minutes, our brief encounter had precipitated an umpromptu maritime wedding! Very weird indeed! But then my entire evening felt like I'd stepped into an alternate dimension.
The ridiculousness of Dagfin's execution of our brief and highly irregular marriage ceremony made all aboard chuckle, which was the perfect way to break my reverie and end a very busy day of sight-seeing.
Dagfin's antics aside, my three new friends seemed like a level-headed, interesting group of intellectuals with whom to converse for an hour or so that evening. So, when the ferry docked and they invited me for drinks, I happily agreed to accompany them. My only request was that they escort me to Sentralstasjon for my train connection to Copenhagen on time....which they did.
10.40 TO COPENHAGEN
by kind courtesy of http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/scandinavia_map.jpg
As I was retrieving my back pack from the station locker, my travel companion met me with vexing news. Donna had arrived early, intent on reserving our couchettes for that night's journey. But she discovered that there were not enough couchettes for all the passengers travelling first-class. On the contrary, they were at a premium and thus available only on a first-come-first-served basis.by kind courtesy of http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/scandinavia_map.jpg
More practised travellers knew this, so all couchettes on the Oslo to Copenhagen train had sold out that morning, while Donna and I were eating a leisurely breakfast! No wonder the cafe had been so empty!
Donna and I were thus forced to travel in a 2nd class carriage, since all 1st class carriages were made up with couchettes. Instead of a horizontal and restful night's sleep after our busy day of sight-seeing, we had to catch naps whilst sitting upright on the incredibly uncomfortable second class seats. There were no reclining seats in 2nd Class, and not much padding on them either.
I tried to meditate, but in vain. Between crying infants and partying teenagers, there was little peace to be had in our carriage. It was even difficult to ponder the experiences of my busy but interesting day in Oslo. And when I finally did sleep, my dream was downright bizarre!
I was at a lavish outdoor Victorian wedding, set in Frognor Park. Half the guests were in Victorian finery while the rest were dressed like ancient Vikings. The latter somehow managed to sail their full-sized ships through each of the fountains in Frognor Park, whilst simultaneously carousing with tourists amid the Vigeland sculptures. There was more, but you get the gist!Despite the vivid adventures of my technicolor dream world, to say we enjoyed the ride to Copenhagen would be a gross overstatement. But Donna and I did have some amazing memories of our jam-packed day in Oslo to share, during the first part of our journey south above Oslo harbour and Fjord.
Donna had been stunned enough to learn that I had been "married" on a ferry! So I decided not tell her that I gate-crashed a Victorian Garden party. She already thought of me as weird and reckless, and I was in no hurry to confirm her assessment of my character!
The scenery was spectacular and Scandinavia's summer sunshine meant we could actually see the view, even though it was almost midnight.
by kind courtesy of oslo-norway.ca
To pass time, I mentally calculated the distance travelled from London to Copenhagen, our next destination. Discounting the miles we walked around towns and cities, to-from-or-within their exhibits, I estimated we covered a staggering 5395km or 3270 miles of territory by rail, ferry and airplane.
That distance is equivalent to one-eighth of our planet's circumference. And we'd only been travelling for one week.
No wonder we were so tired!
Thankfully, relief was at hand. We were going
to Denmark specifically to relax and play!
to Denmark specifically to relax and play!
At least that was my intention
June 25-26
Denmark
Denmark
Auntie Stine's Cottage
Kronberg (Hamlet's) Castle
Sex on the Beach
Tivoli
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