$1 = 5.64 NOK

On Friday night, I experienced a not-so-gentle touchdown, landing on a dark, icy runway. Exiting the plane, my immediate thought was, “Oh god, what have I gotten myself into!?” On the bus ride from Rygge airport to Oslo, we were crammed in like sardines. However, I took our coincidental placement beside two college musicians from Finland, who even the male members of my travel group admitted were the most beautiful people they’d ever seen, as a good omen. By the time we got to our hostel, we went right to bed, prepared to pack in as much sightseeing as humanly possible, beginning bright and early in the morning.

We woke up and walked through the city to the tourist office to pick up our Oslo Passes, so insure our free transportation and admission to museums all day. We started at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. There were three buildings of indoor exhibits, of which the most striking was the Bastøy Boys’ Home portion. I saw the film, “King of Devil’s Island”, not too long ago and it fascinated me, so I was thrilled to see more information on the same material. The museum also included an outdoor portion, in which you “walk through history” and see how Oslo has evolved. All of the buildings have been transferred and rebuilt there or are still standing in their original places. For example:

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire museum experience, possibly more than everyone else, because it reminded me so much of Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum, which I hold near and dear to my heart.

Next we went to the Viking Ship Museum, which I was the most excited for. (Lies. I was most excited for The Munch Museum, but that is closed in February). The condition in which these ships and other artifacts are displayed is absolutely breathtaking.

 

After that, we went to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. All of my friends considered this park both exceedingly bizarre and humorous. However, I found it to be absolutely stunning and inspirational. These sculptures all conveyed a powerful sense of movement. To me, every one of them was dancing, and my head filled with vivid choreography based only on these sculptures, no music necessary. I adored this park.

 

Next, we went to see the Royal Palace. We expected the guards to be as rigid as Buckingham palace guards, but they turned out to be fairly laid back. One of them had a child approach him and he smiled and talked to him, and even posed for the boy’s father to take a picture. 

We walked around and saw some other sites, like the Oslo Cathedral and Oslo City Hall, and it became very apparent that there was an event going on in the city, which happened to be a ski jump competition. There were festivities and tents set up around town, and lots of tourists, which made it a great weekend to visit, since we blended right in. I was very excited to pass by a stage and get to watch a Norwegian dance performance.

The next stop was Akershus Castle. I normally hate headset walking tours, but this one was actually great. The castle was fun to see, because it’s still used today for official events.

After that, we walked around the city a bit more and decided it was time to try some traditional Norwegian cuisine. I opted for lobster bisque with an open-face scrambled egg and smoked salmon sandwich. Like any breakfast-for-dinner, it was completely satisfying. 

There are many more sites in Oslo that I would have loved to see: The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Museum, Holmenkollen, The Museum of Architecture, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, and The Nobel Peace Center. However, I doubt I would have been able to afford staying longer than I did. Oslo is widely considered the most expensive city in the world, and now I absolutely believe that is true. But, I feel like I crammed as much into the time I was there as possible. 

Oslo provides a remarkable juxtaposition of old and new architecture. If you would like to see more photos, click this link: Norway Holiday

What was the best part of this trip? It completely validated my tortuous efforts in Nordic Mythology class last semester.