I don’t know what I expected to see today, but snow was not really on the radar. These are a few of the pictures I took while on a seven hour train ride from Oslo to Bergen.
Two shots—in the words of Professor McGonagall—were pure dumb luck.
Through a crack in the rocks (unfortunately, catching part of my reflection on the inside of the window)…
And La Bella La Luna…
After arriving and checking in at the hotel, I went out in search of food. I succeeded! Stefano Restaurant, just a few doors down from my hotel.
For starters, I had the Scamorza alla Brace (Fried smoked cheese, green apple, honey and balsamic vinegar.)
Followed this up with Gnocchi all Sorrentina (Potato-pasta pillows with tomato sauce and mozzarella.) You just cut that little pastry open and all that yummy cheesy gnocchi goodness is inside (sauce was like the best tomato basil soup you’ve ever had.)
I was all in at this point, so added the Tiramisu.
Yeah, that little sprig of mint had to go. With the chocolate… Bleh, but not enough for me to lower my opinion of this restaurant. I’ll be going back to try the pizza, which looked amazing.
Tomorrow is Constitution Day in Norway (think July 4th), and the entire country shuts down. It is celebrated with children’s parades and other events. I’m sure I’ll get out for a bit and see what it is all about.
(or “How I had a Hankering for Ramen and Ended Up at the Munch”
The title says it all. For whatever reason, the appetite wanted Ramen. Typed it in, found a good place, and discovered that it was only a block from the Munch Museum. So I crossed the Akrobaten (‘the acrobat’), a 206-meter long pedestrian bridge…
… and made my way to the museum.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is a local boy, so clearly, they are proud of him here. You’ll know him from The Scream, but he was a very prolific painter, who also worked as a sculptor and photographer.
As I entered, I was not skeptical, but did not have him marked up as one of my favorites. I left thinking quite differently.
A bit about his technique.
ON THE SURFACE: What are we really looking at when we look at a painting? Something that resembles reality, or just colours and shapes arranged on a physical surface? Could it be both? From the start of his artistic career, Munch was interested in everything that lay on the surface of a painting, and he allowed the very process of painting to come to light. The brushstrokes themselves were part of telling the story. This meant that his paintings could also look like unfinished drafts. Munch would scrape and add to the painting many times. Sometimes, he squeezed thick paint directly from the tube, or thinned it out so that it ran down the picture. His pictures were no longer just recognizable motifs, but also told the story of the action behind them – the act of painting.
Warning: a lot of pictures to follow.
The first I saw that caught my eye—why I don’t know—was Attraction, which perhaps spoke of the remainder of my tour.
I had to wonder if Tim Burton (A Nightmare Before Christmas) was influenced by Munch.
Munch was one who would return to certain themes and even images and rework them. So, where Attraction was painted in 1896, Eye in Eye (below) was painted in 1899-1900. Easy to see the similarities.
Another example of various time periods and media is found here / Crying Girl.
And here / The Human Mountain.
And here / Sick Child
18961927
He was fascinated with philosophy, religion, and the natural sciences—how all things worked together—which led to his “belief” in Crystallisation.
‘Crystallisation’ was one of the processes that occupied Munch. This was a pseudo-scientific theory which proposed that life forms and develops from inorganic material. For Munch, this process represented a factual, spiritual and philosophical belief in the life cycle. The divisions between humans and nature, plants and minerals, are wiped out: we are not separate from nature but a part of it.
This cycle can be found in much of his art, from the cycle of relationships to the cycle of nature. I believe these illustrate it as a whole.
Life and Death growing from the other.
Some other pieces that I enjoyed.
The Storm. Imagines the sudden onset of a storm. Painted the same year as The Scream (1893), so notice the hands up around the individual’s faces.The SunThe KissAshesTête-à-Tête
Of his more famous works, Madonna is a close second to The Scream.
And a crowd favorite is affectionately titled, Vampire, although it is only a woman kissing a man’s neck.
I could do this for quite a while longer, so I’ll stop here with my favorite. It was a drawing—Death and the Woman.
Not sure why I like it so much, but it made me smile. Maybe it indicates that a woman will be the death of me.
After all that, I remembered the reason I got out in the first place. I’ll give 4/5 ⭐️s for Koie Ramen.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Oslo and I’ll probably spend most of the day doing laundry and getting ready for the next leg of the journey. Where to next? You’ll just have to stay tuned.
Today’s adventure was to Ekebergparken Sculpture Park (6.9 miles / 13.3 steps / equivalent of 45 flights of stairs… I’m afraid of what the foot will have to say about this tomorrow.) However, when I saw this sign, I decided I was on the right path.
The Norwegians have a love affair with sculptures and parks. Where we might have one sculpture in a park, situated in a central location and easy to access, the Norwegians like to have many which are here and there and sometimes difficult to find. In many cases, you just happen upon them.
Many of the statues in this park were curious or comical or… “Huh?” So, here is a gallery of a few.
This one is called Anatomy of an Angel. I liked it until I got a bit too close.I don’t know.
In case you need to reorient yourself, here is a flower and a duck. “Quack.”
A short walk up the hill and I came across Fideicommissum.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Why, that’s a woman having a little squat.” And it is! Not only is this a statue, but it is also an anatomically correct water fountain (I did not do a close inspection.) I had to know more, so I first did a Google translate of fideicommissum. “Fiddle Commission” didn’t seem quite right. Maybe “piddle commission?” But, no. From Wikipedia…
The title Fideicommissum refers to the former legal institution of the entail, under which estates and other family properties were passed down from one generation to the next, often benefitting the eldest son.
What it all comes down to is marking your territory. By the way, have you read Golden Streams. It was written by I.P. Freely. Moving on.
I saw this woman walking toward me and decided to say, “Hi.” We struck up a nice conversation, but she had places to go, so we parted ways.
After such a long hike, I thought about taking a brief nap, but the bench was taken.
When I first saw these, I thought they were lanterns hanging in the trees, but when I got closer… One man’s dirty underwear are another man’s art installation. (They may kick me out of Norway if I get too snarky.)
Before heading back, I did a bit of self-reflecting. I couldn’t see the forest.
I’ve seen this bridge from my hotel window and wanted to get a closer look at it, so on the way back, I found the way to cross. It is the Nordenga Bridge.
Below and circled: the bridge from my window. The buildings to the right of the bridge are called the “Barcode Project.” Twelve buildings close together of varying height.
The arrow is pointing to where I was in the park when I took this panoramic shot of the fjord and city.
Now it is time for a big drink of water, some sushi, and a good book. Pray you are having a wonderful day.
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.
Candle in a Cave 