A good night’s sleep and we’re raring to go. Stop downstairs in the restaurant and are very pleasantly surprised by the full breakfast buffet. Appropriately fueled, Lance and I head down to the harbor (tram #12) for the ferry over to Bygdoy neighborhood and our first stop: the Norwegian Folk Museum. The harborside is lovely:
Proud of ourselves for walking right onto the imminently departing ferry, the boat quietly pulls out out from its slip, and begins the journey to the other side of the channel. Walking off, we ask the boatman which way to the museum. Wrong ferry! We look at each other and laugh, and enjoy the ride back across the channel and find the correct ferry. A much shorter ride this time!
Disembarkation and a walk through town and we arrive. First stop is the craft museum, which traces the development and disappearance of differing folk arts and I’m falling asleep on my feet because it’s so dang warm in there! Outside in the cool air, the grounds are dotted with original and replicas of traditional houses and buildings from different historical communities throughout Norway (getting ideas for the cabin?).
Every time we follow the sign to the stave church, though, it results in a dead end.
Filled with folk art, the #30 bus takes us around to the Kon Tiki museum. For anyone who doesn’t know (thank you, Edmund, for handing me the book on one of my weekends with you), a Norwegian by the name of Thor Heyerdahl postulated in the 1940’s a solution to the mystery of how the Polynesian islands were populated (and the more basic theory, that ancient civilizations could have crossed oceans with existing technology): South American Indians riding the Humboldt current from the coast on reed boats. To prove his theory, he had reed boats built, first by Middle Eastern boat builders, and when those models fell apart, he found South American builders who got the job done. He also purposely assembled the journey with men from differing cultures to prove that nations could work together in peace. The journey was a success, as the 1951 Oscar-winning documentary showed. A replica of the original, with another intrepid sailor:
The ferry won’t run for another few minutes, so a bit of relaxing by the harbor was in order; watching sailboats and gulls do their thing:
The sun still shining, next stop was Frogner park; a 75-acre playground, with swimming pool, tennis courts, cafes, museum and most importantly, the lifetime of work by Norway’s greatest sculptor: Gustav Vigeland. In 1921, he made a deal with the city. In return for a great studio and state support, he’d spend his creative life beautifying Oslo with this sculpture garden. From 1924 to 1943 he worked on-site, designing 192 bronze and granite stature grouping – 600 figures in all, each nude and unique.
Unfortunately (for Lance), the clock’s hands were pointing to after 2 pm, and the impact of jetlag and so much walking was taking its toll on my mood; Ms. Hyde made an appearance and enjoyed growling until we finally sat down at a cafe and had some lunch. Yikes! But he survived her first visit with aplomb and soon we were having a serious photo session with flowers and bees and the much-acclaimed bridge and statuary. And check out the gorgeous metal work on the gates (oh, yes, definitely need something beautiful for entering the fenced-in garden in Montana!).
The afternoon was transitioning to twilight (not that you can tell from the sun, it doesn’t get dark until about 9 pm) and time for a scheduled rest before the evening begins, so back to the hotel for a quick rest, and then out to Fjord, a well-written-up seafood restaurant. Forgot my camera, but the 5-course tasting menu, service, wine pairings and food were incredibly memorable (OMG, the first course was minke whale slices…very interesting). Conversation and company were as well – and as a result (as has become customary) a glance at my watch and, oh my!, it’s 9:40 and the Jazz Festival show for which we had tickets started 40 minutes ago. We pay the check, walk a whole 3 blocks, and snake our way through the crowd (most of whom were seated at long tables, having eaten their dinner there) and enjoy the 5-piece band. The music is delightful, and the crowd (evidently) typically reserved (easy to spot us as tourists, dancing to the rhythm). It’s incredibly warm, so a break in the fresh air provided me with some interesting people-watching. Concert ends about 11, and we walk up and down streets, checking out clubs and night creatures, until we are back in our room. Unfortunately, it turns out there’s a disco across the plaza from our room, and sleep is difficult until the disco shuts down at about 3 am…