Around noon I left the hostel after making myself lunch, which used all of my culinary skills to construct my salami and cheese sandwich. I snagged a map from the reception office and headed in the direction of the city hall, which I had read in my Rick Steve's Europe book was the location to hop on a ferry for the 10-minute ride to Bygdoy. This small part of Norway holds a cluster of sights the reflects the Norwegian mastery of the sea. My first stop was the Viking Ship Museum, which houses three ships that were excavated nearly a hundred years ago, but built around 900AD. Rape, pillage, and plunder were all the rage 1000 years ago, and its very likely some or all of the ships in the museum were used for those reasons. They were eventually used as burial chambers for a couple rich dudes and a woman and her slave child, but one look at the sleek, time-stained vessels and you can imagine how powerful, and useful, these ships once were for their original purpose.
Next I jumped back on the ferry and went to the Fram museum, which houses the polar ship, the Fram, which on separate occasions, ventured farther north and south than any other ship. What was so cool about this museum, other than the giant ship right in the middle, is that you can actually go onboard and check out how the crew and their dogs lived for up to five years. The only parts you couldn't access, the engine room and individual living quarters, would still be viewable through glass, and you could see things such as the tools/equipment used. Sooo cool. You can really witness how the Viking energy has channeled in more productive directions.
After I headed back to the mainland where I made my way up to the kongressenter, just 100 meters from the ground-zero bombing of that nut job that then killed a total 69 innocent people. There are still roses and other symbols of sorrow and support following such a horrible day. On a happier note though, it was there I met up with my first ever Au Pair, Ingela Pettersson, the woman that helped raise me when I was 4-5 years old. And an added surprise, we were joined by a friend of hers and another Au Pair for a family down the road from me at that time, Nina Birkeland. I hadn't seen either in 17 years, so I'm sure it was weirder for them to see me having grown and changed so much, but it was just so cool to reconnect.
They took me for a tour of the city, first walking past the ground-zero area and looking at a couple memorials that are hauntingly beautiful. We then continued to Oslo's avant-garde City Hall, which I had walked past earlier but didn't truly appreciate until Nina pointed out a few interesting parts to its design, including a woman-of-the-street sneakily sculpted into the side of the building. It is in there that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each December, and a separate Novel building can be seen just across the way. Next we made our way to a wonderful restaurant that Ingela treated me to, no matter how much I begged her to let me pay. I ATE WHALE. And it was awesome, sorry PETA. When in Norway, ya know? Of course, I also tried a Norwegian beer, called Ringnes. Delicious. The entire meal was delicious. OH, LINDA, guess what was served with my whale?? Kantareller!! (The fungus we had been picking in the Swedish forests). And I ate all of it.
After dinner we walked back to Nina's car and drove to Frogner Park, which is the home to thirty years of Gustav Vigeland's creativity, in the form of 192 bronze and granite sculptures. The centerpiece is this massive, 46-foot-tall totem pole of tangled bodies known as the Monolith of Life. Easily the most incredible, beautiful park I have ever been to. Rick Steves had recommended it to all that visit Oslo as a must see, and I completely agree. Finally, we ended the evening with a drive up a small mountain that holds two olympic sized ski jumps, and some incredible views of the city at night.
Thank you thank you thank you again Ingela and Nina. I loved seeing you both and I appreciate all you did for me today. Hope to see you again soon!
I have to head to bed, I have a long day tomorrow starting with a train leaving at 6:31. I'm doing "Norway in a Nutshell", taking the day to tour Sognefjord, Norway's longest and reportedly (according to Steves) best Fjord. More about this later...G'night
- Matt
Location:Oslo, Norway
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