HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR SCANDINAVIA TOUR: NORWAY DAY1, OSLO

G'day my dear readers.  Hope you are well

If you follow my Scandinavian narrative, you would recall that after spending two and a bit days in Copenhagen, our tour group boarded the ship that would take us to the Norwegian capital of Oslo.  If you are just joining in, you can catch up with my story here .

 

Once we located our cabin and dropped the luggage, we went outside to explore the boat.  It was a warm sunny day to be outside so we bought ourselves a couple of drinks and settled on the deck to watch the world go by.

The dinner was a traditional Scandinavian smorgasbord that was enjoyable as always and then retired back to the deck to watch the sunset.

When we woke up the in the morning, the ship was sailing into the Oslo Fjord and then into the city port which was unfolding around us while we were enjoying our breakfast.  Oslo is surrounded by rolling hills and mountain peaks and is often called one of the world's greenest cities.

After disembarking, we rolled our suitcases to a nearby parked guided bus that took us on a tour of the Norwegian capital.  The first stop - Akershus Fortress, a medieval castle, that was built to protect a provide a royal residence for the city. 

While the bus was zigzagging across the city, it was interesting to see different parts of Oslo where the old was mixed with the new.

Out next stop was Vigealnd Sculpture Park, featuring over 200 sculptures by the famous artist Gustav Vigeland.   The construction of the park began in 1940 and it took forty years to complete it.  As we entered the Park, we found ourselves on the wide pedestrian path stretching as far as we could see and visually divided the park in two halves.  There were the bronze, granite and wrought iron works lining up on each side all along the path and in the distance you could see the tranquil green spaces rolling down the hills.

The core theme of the Park is the circle of human life.  Through these statues, the artist captured the human experience from the cradle to the grave, illustrating our relationships, dreams, hopes and our internal longings.

All the statues are depicted in nude, Vigeland believed that their clothes would tie them to any particular era or culture whereas the nudity makes them universal and timeless.  Each figure strikes strong meaningful pose and makes you stop and think of what it represents to you.

Walking along the patch, we This fountain is surrounded by 20 trees and bronze reliefs that represents the different stages of life and the burdens of humanity.  

This sculpture is called Monolith, it is carved from the single piece of granite and is comprised of 121 intertwined human figures climbing towards the sky symbolising resurrection and our longing for a spiritual connection.

After the tour we were taken to our hotel with the rest of the day left at our disposal.  Oslo has a wonderfully walkable urban centre so we were able to discover its gems at a leisurely pace.  

Our first destination was a visit to the Munch Museum to see his most famous work "Scream" but we were pleasantly surprised by the impressive collection of his other works of paintings, prints and drawings donated by Edvard Munch himself to the city.  

There are four versions of Scream created by Munch using different mediums - two of them could be seen at Munch Museum, the third is in private collection and the original painting is on display at the National Museum of Norway.

Our next stop - Oslo Opera House with its grand angular facade and white marble walls can be seen from the distance.  The roof of the building angles to ground level creating a vast plaza that invites visitors to walk up and enjoy the panoramic view of Oslo.

I couldn't miss the opportunity to take a photo of this amazing sculpture called Scapning fra Lddefjord (Creature from Iddefjord) not far from the Oslo Opera House.  The 7-metre high sculpture is constructed from stacked granite stone blocks and is design for physical interaction. 

We walked a bit more around the city and then came to a funky inviting place called Barcode, a big open space filled with tables, chairs and benches grouped around fire pits and all along the perimeter the multitude of small shops serving street food of various cuisines all the time overlooking the Oslo Opera House and surrounding landmarks.  It was a perfect spot to have dinner, a couple of cocktails and hang our with the locals.

Afterwards we slowly made our way back to the hotel to get ready to travel the next morning to Flam.  We were slightly disappointed that we didn't stay in Oslo for at least one more day but there was nothing we could do about.  On the plus side we were going to spend few more days in a different part of Norway and we were looking forward to it.  Till my next post...

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR SCANDINAVIAN TOUR: COPENHAGEN, DAYS 2 & 3

G'day my dear readers.  Hope you are doing well.

Once again, my Scandinavian narrative has been put on hold but this time for a very good reason.  My husband's auntie, who lives in Melbourne, was turning 90 and the whole family together with her multitude of friends were invited to celebrate such a milestone.  There was no way that we would miss it.  Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city after Sydney (where we live).  Both cities are very different for a number of reasons and although we hands down know that Sydney is the best, we like going to Melbourne and there is always something new to do.  This time, it was a visit to National Gallery of Victoria to the Cartier exhibition.  It was absolutely stunning, over 400 pieces some of them worn by royalty and Hollywood stars, were put on display together with design drawing, sketches and photographs showcasing the craftsmanship, imagination and some eye blinding jewelry.  If you haven't seen it and it is coming your way, don't miss it.

And now I would like to tell you about the rest of our stay in Copenhagen. 

On our second morning, after having yet another delicious breakfast full of yummy food and scrumptious Danish pastries, our group went on a guided walking tour of the centrally located Rosenborg Castle. a Renaissance-era royal residence with 400 years of history behind its walls and its beautifully landscaped gardens.

It was Christian IV's, the legendary king of Denmark and Norway whose reign of 59 years was the longest in Danish history, favourite little castle, idyllically located in the centre of Copenhagen.

Once we passed the gates and said "Hi" to Guards, we stepped inside and found ourselves in the King's Hall, a magnificent centrepiece of the castle.  It was originally designed as a ballroom before becoming a royal reception room.

Following our guide, we arrived in the Throne Room that was styled with famous silver lions and stunning tapestries.

Each hall is so lavishly decorated, the ceilings, supported by marble columns, are richly covered in plaster and oil paintings with biblical scenes depicted on them. the walls richly covered in silk embroidered tapestries, paintings and gilded mirrors.

Our last stop was to the Treasury where we viewed the golden Crown of King Christian IV.  

Once outside, we had a couple of hours of free time at our disposal. I was thinking of doing some shopping but first we wanted to stop somewhere for lunch.  When in Denmark, you must try a smørrebrød, the open-face sandwich also called "butter bread" Danes are famed for.  It didn't take us that long to find a Parisian-style café called l'Alsace with the lovely outdoor garden filled with wrought-iron furniture.  It was not exactly your typical Danish place but the menu, although showing French classics, was largely adapted to the local cuisine.  And most importantly, my open sandwich of goat cheese served on top of the crusty bread and placed on a bed of fresh salad, was delicious.

 

After lunch, we reconvened at a pre-agreed meeting point near Memorial Anchor placed at the base of  Nuhvn canal commemorating the civilian sailors who lost their lives during WWII.  From there it was a short stroll where an open-air tour boat was waiting to take us on a ride along the canals to get a different perspective of Copenhagen.   

The weather was lovely, quite warm and sunny, it was nice to be out.  The sound of water lapping against the hull of the boat, with the fresh air and sunrays on our face, we were having a good time.

We sailed past so many different structures, some of them only visible from the waterside like this big public sauna.

On returning to the harbour, we said goodbye to the boat captain and tour guide and were left on our own.  I thought it is time to do a little shopping.  It was middle of September (autumn in Europe, spring in OZ) and I knew that by this time the summer sales would be over but I just wanted to have a look if I could buy some summer sandals.  Luckily, Magazin Du Nord was just around the corner, so I quickly walked there and as I stepped inside, the first thing I saw was a shoe department where I, believe it or not, did find a pair of tan leather sandals with a substantially reduced price tag and bought them 👍.

There were many options to spend the evening but we chose the most obvious, a visit to Tivoli Gardens Amusement Park.  We couldn't go there during our previous visit due to the bad weather besides the tickets for the entrance were paid by our tour company, Nordic Visitor so it seemed like the most logical choice.

 

Tivoli Gardens is not your typical amusement park with rides and fast food chains everywhere you go.  It is an iconic feature of Copenhagen and people want to tick it off their "To do" list. It was built in the 19th century and the antique roller coaster is still there.  There are quite a few decent restaurants with reasonable prices and we had our dinner at one of them.

We wandered around the park for a while and then found our way back to the hotel.

The following day, around midday, we were leaving Copenhagen but still had a couple of hours of free time at our despoal.  And since I am a huge fan of Danish design whether it is furniture, home decor or jewelry, I wanted to visit Designmuseum Danmark.  I am also a proud owner of those classic wooden animals created by another famous Danish designer, Kay Bojensen, including the most famous wooden monkey with movable arms which became a piece of iconic Danish art.  Isn't it adorable?

Luckily for us, the museum was in the walking distance from our hotel so without any further ado, we set our feet towards it.  As I always say:  "You need to be lucky to be in the right place in the right time", as it happened at the time of our visit, there was an exhibition "A Life in Design" in museum celebrating the legacy of renowned Danish architect and industrial designer Knud Holscher as a part 3daysofdesign.

I was so happy being amongst so many beautiful objects, to have a seat in an Arnie Jacobson chair and get inspired by the creativity flowing through the space, it was the best way to end up our Copenhagen sojourn.  

In a couple of hours we were about to board the ferry and sail off to our next stop - Norway.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo