Our Oslo Outing

 

 Monday, August 24, 2026

We have been on the move! This trip has been keeping us very busy.  I've had no trouble getting my 10,000 steps in each day, but haven't had much time for shopping!  (I guess that's not all bad.)  And, we've been so lucky with the weather.  Today was another blue-sky day, which started out chilly, but warmed up to 70 as the day went on.

Today was a tour of Oslo.  Oslo is the capital and most populous city in Norway.  The city is OLD...it was founded in the year 1000!   Because of several fires that destroyed the city in the 1600's, buildings in the city can only be built with brick or stone, and streets have to be a designated width to deter fires. 

Our first stop was the Vigeland Sculpture Garden.  This magnificent place has over 200 sculptures in bronze and granite and wrought iron, all designed by Gustav Vigeland, who gave his life's work to the city in exchange for a studio and living quarters.

There was almost too much to look at, (and not because the sculptures were all nude!)

The center piece at the top of the stairs is a tall monolith carved out of a single piece of granite weighing 320 tons!  There are figures of 131 people incorporated in this impressive tower.  The artist put his image on top.

What a gift this park is in the city.  It is surrounded by green space and is free and open to all.

Another stop was the city center which sits alongside the water.  You can rent floating saunas, which are heated by wood burning stoves.  I guess you go out in the water, sit in the sauna and then jump into the cold fjord afterwards.  We didn't have time to give it a try!

Their famous opera house sits right on the water, and is a beautiful backdrop to the city.

We climbed to the top along the sloped walkway and Jim got this bird's eye view!

They have been rebuilding the city and there is a lot of interesting architecture.  Check out these aptly-named "bar code" buildings.

...and the overhang on the library—it looks like somebody took a bite!  By the way, by registering on an app, you can check in at the library any hour of the day, return books and use the reading room, etc.  Interesting concept!

Iceberg sculpture in the water.

We had a great guide, Daniel that spent the day with us.  He is from Poland, but speaks 6 languages and has been in Norway for 9 years. He explained a lot of interesting things about the country.  It has the longest coastline in Europe and the 2nd in the world (2nd to Canada).  They are very eco-conscious, generating most of the energy from hydropower.   They recycle, and burn refuse to generate heat, so there is very little waste.  Crime is almost non-existent--there is open room in the prisons. Income tax is less than Denmark and Britain.

Also, Edward Munch, the artist who painted Scream is from Oslo.  We didn't have time to tour his museum, but did see one of his paintings in the City Hall.

We visited the Fram Museum, an amazing look at Norway's polar expeditions.  The Fram is a huge wooden ship from the 1900’s that is preserved and on display.

The ship took off in the early 1900’s to explore Antarctica—it took 3 years!  19 men signed on for the journey. The main things they discovered were that the Arctic Ocean is deep (they measured 3850m), there was no land on this side of the North Pole and the Fram could survive the ice pressure. 

It’s fascinating to think the crew was able to accomplish the expedition so long ago, with no GPS!

They had to take all of their food and gear because there was no place to replenish supplies.  They used a windmill to generate power. 

We were able to go through the ship and see the living quarters and storage areas.  No more complaining about our tiny rv!

After lunch of reindeer salad (it was actually very good!) at a local restaurant, we visited City Hall.  It is a gorgeous building.

 The Nobel Peace prize is presented here each year. Can't wait to look for it next year!

There are soaring frescos throughout the building--almost an art museum!

Not too far from City Hall is the  Royal Palace.  The flag flying overhead indicates the king is visiting, so no tourists allowed.

On the way back to the campground, we were able to see in the distance the ski jump from the 1952 Olympics.  It gives an appreciation on how high those jumpers jump!