Tuesday 31st May

A full day in Oslo. 


Headed off into the city to be at the Munch Museum when it opened. When we here a few years ago a Munch had just been stolen so any museum that had one was closed and I didn't get to see one! This time I am in luck and saw very many and no, I have not been depressed by the experience. They are full of emotion and passion and I loved it.


On to the Museum of Architecture which had models and photos of some very interesting buildings and other structures.

Yes, they did build that one.

This one was good, they were to house refugee children in Burma and were made from cheap local materials.

From there to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, a bit of an eye opener with a large collection of strange but usually fascinating installations.

I am hoping that a copy of this one will be appearing in my garden in the next few years.

A gentle wander around and then I took the Metro to the Oslo outskirts where I was told a book shop had a copy of a Norwegian map book I wanted, their central branch had told me so not done on the off chance. With the Oslo card I could hop on and off the buses, trams and Metro as I wished so I then went back to the camper to offload the shopping then back into the middle.


I love the City Hall, I wouldn't want a city made all in the same way but it is impressive. It is here that the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held and it is open during the day. Last time we were here I was allowed to wander all over the building, if the door was open I was allowed through so saw the main area where the ceremony is held, various gifts that have been officially given, the council chambers and much more. The one door that was shut that time was to the Munch Room! This time the whole building was shut due to the official visit of the Duke of Luxembourg.

Wonderful series of wooden painted carvings along the outside walls.

The Oslo Card also allows unlimited travel on the ferries so I had a relaxed trip over to the Bygdøy museum area and back, not getting off but just enjoying the views.

Before heading back to the camper I had a good walk up to the Vigeland Sculpture Park that Sarah and I had walked through before and loved. Hundreds of sculptures, some fun, some sad and all wonderful. (I think I'm running out of positive adjectives, should have brought the thesaurus!)

Almost forgot, there was another series of sculptures temporarily sited in the middle of Oslo. They were sponsored by the Salvation Army to highlight the plight of the thousands of Norwegian homeless, like all other cities around the world they have this problem and I was surprised to see quite a few beggars whilst there.

I love this city and hope that I can return for a third time to see the very many things I have missed.