I got a double shot of culture today at the Operahuset i Oslo, Den Norske Opera & Balletts (Opera House in Oslo, Norway Opera & Ballet.
As above, so below. You are able to walk up to the roof, which provides great views of the city and fjord.
Little red circle is my room at the Radisson Blu Plaza on the 21st floor.
The main show was Swan Lake, Act 2 (a new production). My seat was on the very back row, but still enjoyable.
While on the roof, I enjoyed playing with the reflection off the glass.
Of course, the day would not be complete without the obligatory selfie.
Finally, I came across this question in some of my reading from this morning: “If I had infinite money, already traveled the world, had no fear, and didn’t receive any recognition for what I do, what would I do or what would I create?” My next question was, “Then why aren’t you doing that?”
The next couple of days will probably be pretty quiet here. I’m looking forward to some reading and… yeah…. Reading.
Just a note on the pictures for today: the light was really weird and I had a hard time getting good photos, so I’ve fiddled with most of these trying to pull the details out.
The first stop was a return to St. Olav Church to pray my Rosary, then I made my way to the Royal Palace. The seagull perched upon the rider’s head took center stage.
There is a tour that will allow you entry and I may try and do that next week. For now, the main doors leading in and the very happy security guard (she will smile for the camera, but I’m guessing she can handle the rifle.)
I had hoped to be invited in by King Harald V for a cup of coffee, but apparently he did not get my memo.
It was at this point that Siri got me good and lost. She said go this way and pointed in another direction. Switched over to Google Maps and got back on track, but put an extra mile on beforehand. FYI: Apple Maps does a fine job in the USA, but it seems Google Maps is the better choice when traveling abroad.
Eventually, I found my destination: Vigelandsparken (The Viegland Park), which is apparently what tourists call it, but known as Frogner Park to the locals.
The Gustav Vigeland statutes and other works—there are 212 of them—take up only a small portion of the park.
If you are offended by nudity, you may want to stop here. Vigeland wanted the pieces to remain timeless, so they are all nudes. It does makes sense. Clothing dates a piece.
Scene from the gate (the monolith is in the distance)…
Further down the lane, you cross the Bridge that has 29 statues on both sides.
For the record, this is not a man drop kicking a baby. The “babies” are actually Genii spirits/demons and he is fighting them off. Think of it as the devil on your shoulder.
And then there is perhaps the most famous of the bridge statues, The Angry Child. For whatever reason, it is believed you can touch his hand for good luck. That is why it is so shiny—the oxidation patina has been rubbed off. They’ve asked people to stop rubbing it as this may damage the statue.
From here, you climb the steps, enter through the iron gates, and make your way to the monolith. There is much going on in these works of granite. The various figures represent different stages of life.
And then there is the monolith. It is a single piece of granite weighing several hundred tons. It took fourteen years to complete, is just over 46 feet tall, and consists of 121 figures.
Further on you come to the Circle of Life.
A view from the top looking back down toward the main gate…
Pope Clement XIII would have a coronary walking through Oslo and seeing all the nudes. He would hire an army of sculptures to create hundreds of fig leaves to cover the nudity. I am no prude, but I confess I am not accustomed to seeing so much. I believe that says more about me than it does the art.
Having done more walking than I should have, I got myself a cab. The driver was a very chatty Pakistani who was delighted to tell me about every building we passed. When we arrived at the hotel, he gave me his phone number, promising to provide me with excellent service during my stay. I do believe he would.
It was on the way to where I was headed, so I returned to St. Olav’s. Several women were praying the Rosary together when I entered. I believe they were Korean, so although I recognized the pattern of their prayers, I did not understand the words. I began to pray silently, then another woman came and sat in front of me. She began to pray quietly in Norwegian. All these languages–a Pentecost of sorts–praising God.
A trip to The Top, which is the restaurant on the 33rd floor of the hotel.
To begin, I had a tasty glass of wine and the oysters. For those who know my palate, the jalapeño is not generally on it, but the seeds had been removed leaving only the flavor. Both were exquisite and the hostess assured me that the wine was an excellent pairing with the main course.
THE TOP OYSTERS Lemon verbena granite, apple, jalapeño
This was followed by the main course. FYI: if it is a foggy night, Christmas Eve Mass will be cancelled, because I ate Rudolph.
I have had some very tender meat in time, but this was ridiculous. When in Norway, do yourself a solid and have a little reindeer.
The side dish was a scalloped potato and amazing. Had I been in the restaurant alone, I would have picked up all the plates and licked them clean, which reminds me…
John visited his 90-year-old grandpa who lived way out in the country. On the first morning of the visit, John’s grandpa prepared a breakfast of bacon and eggs. John noticed a film-like substance on his plate, and asked, “Are these plates clean?”
His grandpa replied, “They’re as clean as cold water can get them. Just go ahead and finish your meal.”
For lunch, Grandpa made hamburgers. Again, John was concerned about the plates, as his appeared to have specks of dried egg on it. “Are you sure these plates are clean?” he asked.
Without looking up, Grandpa said, “I told you before, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them!”
Later, as John was leaving, his grandpa’s dog started to growl and wouldn’t let him pass.
John said, “Grandpa, your dog won’t let me get by!”
Grandpa yelled to the dog, “Cold Water, go lie down!”
After Cold Water got the dishes cleaned, I made my way to desert.
Yeah, beneath the rabbit food is a dark and white chocolate bar. Yummy.
I finished the meal up with an Oban 14 (neat).
I’m not spoiled. I’m glad this was in Kronor because, otherwise, I would be sending out one of those text messages about being broke in a foreign country and needing some financial assistance!
As for the rest of the day… I spent it resting the foot (8 miles yesterday), which is doing really well. Only a little ache today. I also did some reading, writing, and napping. If you can spend a Tuesday doing the same, I highly recommend it! Tomorrow, I’m off to see naked people. Apparently, there are 212 of them. Keep you posted.
I know that I talk about this topic a lot, but it is a problem that I hope to solve. From my early morning thoughts…
If you hate someone, then you do not care what you do to them and you don’t care about what happens to them. If something good happens, you sneer about it and if something bad happens to them, then you say they are getting what they deserve. The same thing it’s true about hating and loving yourself. If you hate yourself, you don’t care what you do to yourself and all the bad that can happen you deserve. If you love yourself–and not in a conceited, self-absorbed way, but in a Godly way–then you will care about who you are, how you treat yourself, and are thankful in knowing when good things come your way.
I figure if you’ve read this far, you deserve more than a restaurant review.
I made my way across the fjord to visit the Folkenmuseum, which is a collection of buildings and artifacts from all across the time and landscape of Norway.
As with most countries, Norway also has a surprisingly violent history. Following the violence was the development of a class system. That also seems to be true for most societies.
About the little girl on the far left: ELEONORE BERG 1814 • Miniature by Charlotte Berg In this miniature portrait, Charlotte Berg, née Schilling, (1786-1866) has painted her daughter Eleonore (1811-1845) standing next to a column which carries the name of her little brother who had died. The picture references many of the well-known symbolic elements found at the time in pictures commemorating people who had passed away: the white dress, the column, the flowers, the cypresses and the weeping willows in the background, all of which denote grief and sorrow. The adult Eleonore married her maternal uncle, Captain Adolph Schilling (1795-1886), who was 16 years her senior.I am guessing that not even the highest priced Barbie set can compare to this. I do not think that Ken could have afforded it. 
I then wandered about the grounds looking at various buildings until I spotted in the distance the one that I had come to see. 
Who knew that you needed a lawnmower in order to repair your roof. 
Did you see it just there?
That is a Stave Church. Stave (I believe) refers to the type of architecture. It has to do with the way that the cross beams are placed on top of the vertical beams. Quite remarkable.
There were a number of reasons that I came to Norway, but this is in the top two. I wanted to see this church. It was actually moved from another location, but it is an excellent example. A wooden church that has survived for 900 years. Imagine. One of the reasons that it has survived has to do with the way that the wood was “cured.”
The primary supporting beams are from old growth forest. To give you an idea as to how old the trees were…
Instead of being cut down, all the limbs are trimmed off of the pines and the sap then saturates the heart of the tree. It is then harvested and the resulting wood is far more impervious to disease, rot, and other natural decaying elements.
At the top of each of the primary pillars was a face. There were three on each side, so 3×4 = 12… I think, Apostles.
In the latter years, the church was Protestant, however, it began its life as a Catholic Church. Much of the ornate beauty would have been removed. (A bit more about that in a minute.)
In the woodwork, you can see much of the Norse Heritage. There is much discussion on whether or not the Viking Compass is a contemporary invention or an historic fact. After looking at this door, which is about 900 years old, I think it’s more historic than recent. 
I made my way further into the museum and came to a section dedicated to the transitions from the Roman Catholic Church to the reformation.
Commentary Warning: Whether intentional or not, I believe they pointed out the biggest problem with the verbiage on this plaque.
ALTARPIECE
HEGGEN CHURCH, BUSKERUD COUNTY.
DATED 1595. THE LEFT WING IS MISSING.
According to the teachings of Luther the only path to salvation was through God’s Word in the Bible. After the Reformation, some clergymen understood this to mean that pictoral renditions in the church could lead to idolatry and divert attention from the Scriptures. In several churches, Catholic altarpieces with depictions of saints were therefore replaced with so-called text altarpieces.
A total of 78 are known in Norway, mainly from 1580-1625.
With Luther, the practice of worshiping the “text” as God became popular. When will we begin to worship GOD?…. Thus endeth the commentary.
Another mile on the feet and I came to the Fram Museum which was the celebration of the Norwegian exploration of the polar regions.
An amazing boat…
I thought it would be something about the Vikings, but… interesting.
As I made my way back to the ferry, I came across this statue. They are remembered in Norway and I know that there were many across the world who are remembered for this time as well.
The plaque speaks of the 4,500 Norwegian sailors who lost their during WWII.
Having crossed the fjord, I went in search of a church that was open. At first, I was very discouraged, but then I found the church of Saint Olaf. It seemed to be closed, but after following a few young men who appeared to know where they were going, I came to a door that allowed me in.
I was tired, so my first three decades were basically wasted, but then I was able to focus for a while.
I embraced the foot of the cross. It was then that Jesus said to me, “Look at me. I did not endure this so that you would carry your sins forever. Look at me. You only see my death. See my humanity. See the life I lived for you. Will you waste yours? Look at me! I love you. Look at me. See all that I have given you.”
I was very disappointed when I arrived, because I couldn’t find a door that was open. Then I followed some people around who knew the way and found a backdoor where you were allowed entry.
The Roman Catholic community is very small in this primarily protestant country.
Please comment below. When I return, we’ll combine some of your journal entries with mine and produce a printed journal of our adventure.
WEEK FIVE PROMPT
If I say, “Blue,” each person will have their own understanding of what color of blue I’m referring to.
In the same way, language is an interpretation of God and, therefore, each person’s understanding is different. If I say, “God,” everyone will have a nuanced understanding of what I am saying (don’t believe me, try it amongst your friends.) However, there is a TRUTH to God that is beyond the limits of language. Beyond the words, how and where do you experience God?
I had in mind the service in Norwegian today. I did not understand a word, but I walked away smiling and feeling blessed.
Today, I attended Mass at the Oslo Domkirke (Cathedral), built between 1694-97, restored in 2010. As you approach from the front, you encounter the massive bronze doors depicting the Beatitudes. Across the top reads “Salice er,” “Blessed are….” Just to the right of the doors is “The Devil of Oslo,” a sculpture showing a man being consumed by evil, represented by a lion and a dragon. It was created in the 12th century and found in the ruins of St. Hallvard’s Cathedra.
Entering the sanctuary, I was bit surprised. I had anticipated it would be much more austere, and although not as ornate as many of the churches I’ve seen, it was still quite ornate and beautiful.
I wanted to get up there and preach a bit, but I didn’t think they would appreciate me doing so.The box on the left is reserved for the Royal Family.
The service was in Norwegian, so I again did not understand a word of it; even so, it was very edifying, and I found myself feeling immensely blessed as I left. I took a minute to visit with the Pastor who was delighted to learn that I was a priest. He stated that much of their liturgy is based on the Anglican tradition. Even though I did not understand it all, I knew parts and definitely the rhythm. It was a well-ordered service and “polite”—that was the impression for me.
I intentionally arrived an hour early so that I could pray my Rosary. I did not expect there to be a statue of Mary, but…
This was by far the most meaningful of all the Rosaries I’ve prayed on this journey. I was finally able to experience His presence more deeply. Perhaps I’m finally feeling rested and at peace instead of being rushed and pushed.
Outside the cathedral is a memorial to the 77 people who were murdered on July 22, 2011, by a domestic terrorist. The marker reads,
On 22 July 2011, an act of terrorism ended the lives of 77 persons in Norway. In a spontaneous act of solidarity, thousands of people laid down roses in front of Oslo Cathedral. Inspired by this sea of roses, artists Tobbe Malm and Tone Karlsrud initiated a project in which smiths from all over the world, survivors and others affected by the attack were invited to forge roses from iron. Iron Roses is a memorial from the people, for the people.
Iron Roses created by Tobbe Malm and MDH Arkitekter 2019
I saw this part by accident. Haunting.
The city is quiet today, with the exception of many tourists pulling suitcases to the train station, so I plan to open the windows of my room, read a little and continue writing on the new novel. Did I mention I was working on a new project? It’ll be quite different than what I’ve done before. The first chapter is only three sentences long: “No one claimed responsibility, and the nuclear blast left no evidence. Those who died in the initial blast and from the fallout were the fortunate ones. Those who survived lived and died in great horror.” The working title is Triskelion.
Perhaps I also forgot to mention that I have a new book coming out early fall. It is not a Father Anthony, but maybe you’ll enjoy. I think I’ve got the cover about right…
Candle in a Cave 