Day 4 in Norway - 8th September
Well today was not AS happening as the last couple of days have been. Its about 4 in the afternoon, thought I’d just take a break and write for a bit. Woke up around 7.30, had breakfast and all. Turned out this hostel was all booked up for tonight – so couldn’t extend my reservation to tonight, and had to find another hostel. That took a lil bit of time – had to call a couple of places, go to the tourist info center to get numbers for a couple of hostels and all…anyway, got it all sorted out by 9.30-10, and then set out for the day.
I bought a 24 hour transit pass which gives one free use of all public transport – tram, bus, subway etc. That worked well because some of the places I wanted to see where a bit spread out. I walked around a bit, saw the main church in the city – only from the outside though, as it was closed for renovations. Then walked down to the National Theatre, which looks pretty imposing, and past that to the National Gallery. All along there are cool buildings, nice fountains, interesting sculptures….very cultural, very historical….
The national gallery is where a number of works of art – largely Norwegian artists – are housed. Its pretty good, actually – and free entry. They have quite a decent collection – and of course a lot of norway’s most famous painter, Edvard Munch. Their collection includes his most famous painting, The Scream, as well – the textbook example on Expressionism. A lot of norway’s painters were landscape painters, for obvious reasons – but he was one of the first who moved away from that style. His classical depiction of the horror stricken scream of agony, apparently representative of his own feelings on viewing the world in the 20th century, definitely leaves one full of varied thoughts. And unlike many famous paintings, which people say don’t seem as spectacular when you actually see them, this one had a lasting impression on me. The fluid brush strokes, wavy lines, the blending in the background, all combine to give us the picture he intends. Very powerful…
The gallery also houses other stuff, including some of picasso’s, renoir’s, gauguin’s, and monet’s works…and some sculptures as well, by rodin, and norway’s most famous sculptor, vigeland. All in all, quite an interesting couple of hours there.
From there I walked to the royal palace to check that out from the outside – aren’t allowed to go in. Its pretty magnificent, and surrounded by a very nice garden – so walked around for a bit.
Then went to the nearby City Hall, which is pretty imposing – huge hall in side, massive paintings on the walls, and long, sculpted halls on the 2nd floor. Very impressive…..
From there I took the subway, to a place called Holmen Kollen where there’s a pretty well known ski museum, and famous (or should I say infamous?) ski jump, which has been the bane of many. The museum is pretty interesting – has details, and items from the journey of Amundsen to the south pole, and other interesting expeditions – including this one Norwegian dude who went across the Antarctic – 3000kms of it – on his own – just one man, no animals, nothing! Crazy…..
There’s also quite a bit on the history of skiing, and though I myself never got into the sport, it was pretty interesting – must be a haven for skiers….
Then one can journey by elevator and then stairs to the very top of the ski jump. From there you get possibly the best view of all of Oslo, and Oslo fjord. Its pretty magnificent. And with the weather being the way its been, one could just see for miles and miles…totally awesome…
The ski jump itself looks quite scary from the top – quite vertical! Dunno what would prompt people to actually go and do it!! Nuts…..
Anyway, took the subway back from there, and then here I am now, sitting and typing all this out….after this, might go to a pretty big park in the city which is supposed to be really nice, and which also has tons of sculptures by the sculptor Vigeland. So lets see how that is….Tomorrow then I take the train to Stockholm, which a lot of people have told me, is the most awesome city in Scandinavia. So lets see how that is!
I bought a 24 hour transit pass which gives one free use of all public transport – tram, bus, subway etc. That worked well because some of the places I wanted to see where a bit spread out. I walked around a bit, saw the main church in the city – only from the outside though, as it was closed for renovations. Then walked down to the National Theatre, which looks pretty imposing, and past that to the National Gallery. All along there are cool buildings, nice fountains, interesting sculptures….very cultural, very historical….
The national gallery is where a number of works of art – largely Norwegian artists – are housed. Its pretty good, actually – and free entry. They have quite a decent collection – and of course a lot of norway’s most famous painter, Edvard Munch. Their collection includes his most famous painting, The Scream, as well – the textbook example on Expressionism. A lot of norway’s painters were landscape painters, for obvious reasons – but he was one of the first who moved away from that style. His classical depiction of the horror stricken scream of agony, apparently representative of his own feelings on viewing the world in the 20th century, definitely leaves one full of varied thoughts. And unlike many famous paintings, which people say don’t seem as spectacular when you actually see them, this one had a lasting impression on me. The fluid brush strokes, wavy lines, the blending in the background, all combine to give us the picture he intends. Very powerful…
The gallery also houses other stuff, including some of picasso’s, renoir’s, gauguin’s, and monet’s works…and some sculptures as well, by rodin, and norway’s most famous sculptor, vigeland. All in all, quite an interesting couple of hours there.
From there I walked to the royal palace to check that out from the outside – aren’t allowed to go in. Its pretty magnificent, and surrounded by a very nice garden – so walked around for a bit.
Then went to the nearby City Hall, which is pretty imposing – huge hall in side, massive paintings on the walls, and long, sculpted halls on the 2nd floor. Very impressive…..
From there I took the subway, to a place called Holmen Kollen where there’s a pretty well known ski museum, and famous (or should I say infamous?) ski jump, which has been the bane of many. The museum is pretty interesting – has details, and items from the journey of Amundsen to the south pole, and other interesting expeditions – including this one Norwegian dude who went across the Antarctic – 3000kms of it – on his own – just one man, no animals, nothing! Crazy…..
There’s also quite a bit on the history of skiing, and though I myself never got into the sport, it was pretty interesting – must be a haven for skiers….
Then one can journey by elevator and then stairs to the very top of the ski jump. From there you get possibly the best view of all of Oslo, and Oslo fjord. Its pretty magnificent. And with the weather being the way its been, one could just see for miles and miles…totally awesome…
The ski jump itself looks quite scary from the top – quite vertical! Dunno what would prompt people to actually go and do it!! Nuts…..
Anyway, took the subway back from there, and then here I am now, sitting and typing all this out….after this, might go to a pretty big park in the city which is supposed to be really nice, and which also has tons of sculptures by the sculptor Vigeland. So lets see how that is….Tomorrow then I take the train to Stockholm, which a lot of people have told me, is the most awesome city in Scandinavia. So lets see how that is!
posted by Nikhil | 7:42 AM
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