This was our first day on our own since arriving in Europe. Pam and Geoff departed this morning for Copenhagen and the rest of their adventure in England and Ireland and Lisbon. We will miss their enjoyable company. It always amazes me that we don’t see them for a year or sometimes years, and yet we pick up right where we left off in our 27 year friendship! We may see them again in the next year or two, as Nicole and Jay are keen to come to Canada for a visit.
In my research of things to see and do in Oslo, what popped up right away was the Vigeland Sculpture Park and Museum, so knowing how much I love sculptures, that was where I chose for us to head today. I had purchased Oslo Passes for us which entitles you to free admission into most of the museums as well as free transportation, so our tram ride out to the park and back was gratis.
The Vigeland Sculpture park is absolutely incredible to see. Gustave Vigeland was a sculptor who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and to say he was a prolific artist is tantamount to saying the Pope is a Catholic! He spent time abroad honing his craft in Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris and Florence, then returned to Oslo to continue his remarkable career as a sculptor. His works, some 212 bronze and granite sculptures, are located in a beautiful park in the Frogner area of Oslo. This includes his famous fountain and monolith, two monumental creations within the park. It has to be seen to be believed! We also availed ourselves of the free entry with our Oslo Passes for us to visit the Vigeland Museum, which houses more of his works, including the plaster casts of many of the sculptures in the park. When the city of Oslo decided to demolish Vigeland’s home/studio, he came to an agreement that the city would build him a new home and studio, which would revert back to the city upon his death. It is an incredible collection of his works which fills the entire first floor of the building with nothing but his own oeuvres. Vigeland’s works are primarily human figures which represent the relationships between men and women and with their children, but also works that depict man’s struggle with his own humanity. His figures are all unclothed, so as to render them timeless. Vigeland’s Park and Museum were high on my Oslo bucket list and definitely exceeded my expectations!
Returning to the harbour area, we grabbed a quick bite then headed over to the Nobel Peace Prize Centre. This is a museum dedicated to Alfred Nobel’s legacy of awards to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the world in bringing about peace. It houses displays about Nobel’s life, as an industrialist, inventor and armaments manufacturer who left in his will the legacy of the Nobel Prizes, awarded in a number of different disciplines, including the Peace Prize. The Peace Centre contains a great interactive display of all the past recipients, many of which are well-known. Think Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Malala Yousafzai, Barak Obama to name but a few. There is another display about the 2024 recipient, an organization in Japan called Nihon Hidankyo formed by a group of survivors from the nuclear bomb attack on Hiroshimi and Nagasaki. Their aim is to eradicate nuclear weapons from the world. Also on display is an example of the actual medal presented to the winner, designed by none other than Gustave Vigeland of sculpture fame.
Next we sauntered over to the Oslo City Hall, which we have passed by several times, but hadn’t yet explored. Unfortunately it was close to closing time, so we didn’t get much more than a peek at the inside. But it is open on the weekend so we will try to get there later. What we did see was very impressive with a grand main hall containing huge murals on all four walls. We did get to witness two bride and grooms who had just gotten married inside.
For dinner we decided to be a little more adventurous, so hopped the tram to a neighbourhood we had passed on our earlier trip. Found a funky restaurant with street-side table seating called Forest and Brown - the Friendly Bar. I tried a dish called Skagensmørbrød. This is peeled shrimp from Greenland cooked in a traditional Danish way with a kind of dill sauce served on a slice of bread. It was quite yummy.
Ended the day with a walk down by the harbour, an ice cream treat and so ends another day in Oslo.