"My wallet is anorexic:" final thoughts on Oslo

Here are the last of the photos from Norway, all of which were taken by Clem, who, as you will see, is a much more talented photographer than myself. Sorry about all the commas in that last sentence--eek!


Oslo from the plane--but you could probably tell that from the wing.


At the top of Frognerseteren


Adorable Norwegian child on skis. Did I mention how adorable Norwegian children are? Possibly even more adorable than British children because they're all outfitted in snowsuits and walk a lot like penguins. I really wanted to take one home but Clem assured me that customs would pose a serious problem.


Walking around the top of the mountain was difficult, especially because we didn't exactly pack hiking boots and the snow was often much deeper than it looked!


Outside Holmenkollen ski jump


Vigeland Sculpture Park


One of the most beautiful sculptures


In the huddle




Intricate Viking sculpture


Downtown Oslo from the pier


Akershus Castle


Downtown Oslo


Inside the cathedral


Look what else we found!


"The Scream," in the Edvard Munch museum

***

Now that we're back in London and courses have started, things have been fairly crazy, but tomorrow night I have been invited to a Burns dinner, in celebration of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, where I am apparently going to eat haggis (which is NOT a three-legged animal as I previously believed) and recite Scottish poetry. Stay tuned for updates! Hope everyone's having a great week!

Love,
Jess

"I have to stop eating or I will lose my hand:" Oslo continued

The title of this post is a direct reference to how cold it is here. Today Clem was munching on some chips as we walked through the streets of Oslo and had to make the difficult decision to put the chips away or suffer frostbite. However, though it continues to be cold, it continues to be beautiful!

Today we went to Vigeland Sculpture Park, the main reason I wanted to come to Oslo in the first place. Get ready for tons of photos of statues--and apologies if you don't find these as touching and beautiful as I do!


Entrance to the park



























***
After I spazzed out and took a million photos at the sculpture park, we walked around the fjord to the far side of Oslo to visit the Viking ship museum.


Literally walking in a winter wonderland


Giant viking ship


Looks comfortable, no?


Downtown Oslo from across the fjord

***

After walking around nearly the entirety of Oslo we headed to the Nobel Prize Museum, where I also took a ton of pictures. Those of you who know me know this is extremely out of character, so you shouldn't be too worried that I'll bombard you again like this anytime soon.


Exhibit for Liu Xiaobo, this year's Peace Prize Laureate


Photos of Tianenmen Square 1989, where Liu led a hunger strike. When his wife visited him in prison just after he won the Nobel, he told her he wished the prize could go to the mothers who lost their children in the Tianenmen protests.


A poem Liu wrote for his wife


The exhibit was as much about Chinese human rights as it was about Liu.


What I liked most about the museum was its direct approach to the controversy surrounding many laureates. In the Liu exhibit, it seemed like the curator tried to present a balanced view of Chinese freedom of speech (or lack thereof).


Beautiful (and futuristic) room with a video plaque dedicated to each laureate


Interactive room for kids designed to teach them about refugees


The epitome of free speech--a room full of wall-to-wall comments left by visitors to the museum. Some positive, some negative, some powerful and some nonsensical. Clem found a reference to her pseudonym.


More comments--Niall, your country was well represented.




Gore--laureate 2007--no mention of the crazed sex poodle scandal but a nice tribute to climate change


Mandela--laureate 1993

***

After the Nobel museum we had another supermarket dinner in the hostel and then headed out for a drink, but just one because a pint of cider was 10 euros! No bother though, because after all that walking we were both pretty beat. Off to bed now but more adventures before our flight back to London tomorrow. I hope everyone had a great day!

Love,
Jess

"I thought you were asking if I am a virgin:" First days in Oslo

Clem and I are here in Oslo and it is very cold but incredibly gorgeous. In fact, Oslo reminds me of a mountainous Minnesota, except obviously more people speak Norwegian and I haven't heard any Ole and Lena jokes because they're probably not funny here.

Et maintenant (Clem is helping me with my French), photos!


The first thing I saw in an airport store when we got off the plane. Clearly I found this pretty confusing, as Amerika is not a giant nudist colony nor do most of us have tan lines that severe. In fact, I am still confused by this novel so if any of you dear readers speak Norwegian I would love any explanation you can offer!


Lovely skating rink in the Sentrum (city center) where they play a very interesting selection of music. Yesterday they were playing Jay Sean. Today it was "From a Distance." This, combined with hearing "The Rose" in a pub in Dublin, means I have heard more Bette Midler in the past week than I have in the past decade.


Ice Castle!


Petar Tale, a Norwegian painter we met within an hour of setting foot in Oslo. He showed us his gallery complete with his original works and some marvelous pieces by Picasso, Chagall and Miro. He also took us for a lovely Japanese dinner. And as you can see, he has fantastic style.


Camera-happy Clem, who has taken far better photos of this weekend than I could hope to capture. As an avid supporter of my blog, I'm hoping she'll let me steal a few when we get back so you can see what quality photography looks like :)


Oslo as seen from the window of the T-bane (train) on our way up the mountain. This picture is a shadow of just how beautiful the terrain is here. And perhaps it's because it's so cold, but Clem and I agree that the city is refreshingly tranquil. Even in the center, you don't hear the typical traffic and talking and static you might expect. It's positively lovely.


Hiking around Frognerseteren, one of the highest points just outside Oslo. In this area they built a luge course for the 1952 Olympics, and there are cross-country skiing and hiking trails everywhere. Norwegians just hop right off of the train, pop on their skis and go, much the same way we go walking or jogging through a park.


View from the top of Frognerseteren.


Holmenkollen ski jump, also a site of the 1952 Olympics and the host to the 2011 Nordic skiing World Championships.


Sognsvann lake, at the base of the mountain. This was one of the most peaceful and breathtaking places I've visited in a long time, and Clem and I agree that it's our favorite spot in Oslo so far. We took a walk all the way around the lake and it was just gorgeous.


Clem walking on water (albeit frozen water covered in a least a foot of snow)!


A beautiful place to see dusk in Oslo!


We are very cold but extremely happy!


Clem is a wonderful travel partner! The funniest moment of the day came right after this photo, when we made friends with a woman walking her dogs by the lake. Clem asked her if she was Norwegian, and the lady gave us a really strange look. Then she blinked a few times and said "Oh! Yes I am Norwegian!" Turns out that because of Clem's (lovely) French accent, the woman initially thought Clem was asking if she was a virgin. Thankfully she didn't seem offended and the whole thing was cleared up.

Tonight Clem and I popped by a supermarket for some cheap dinner and headed back to the hostel. We're not really going out much at night because it gets pretty chilly and Norway is INCREDIBLY expensive. Just to give you an idea, a bottle of soda costs about $3.50, and a standard meal at McDonald's was $12. This is not a budget-friendly city, but it's definitely been worth it. Tomorrow we're heading to the sculpture park that made me want to visit Oslo in the first place, and I am sooo excited! Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend!

Love,
Jess