Vigeland Sculpture Park inside Frogner Park lived up to the hype and recommendations (and then some). Everything about the place is amazing. The clouds put on a show while we there as well. The only thing that detracted from the magic of Frognerparken and Vigelandsparken within it were the number of tourists. If you are spending the night in Oslo I recommend visiting this place before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. when all the cruise ship tourists are gone.

To best enjoy these photographs, click on the image until you get a new page with a larger version of it. Then click on it again to get the full size picture. Maximize your browser first. Enjoy!

Posted on July 27th, 2008 under Denmark. Tags: clouds, frogner park, Holmenkollbakken, norway, oslo, pictures. Comments Off on Frognerparken / Vigeland Sculpture Park (Oslo part 3 of 4)

We didn’t have much of a plan for Oslo. It looked like it would start pouring rain any second and we only had 6 or 7 hours. Since it hadn’t started raining yet, museums were expensive (at $15+ per person), and public transportation was also pricey, we decided to start walking through the city center with the eventual goal of reaching Oslo’s famous park, Frogner Park (in tomorrow’s blog entry).

The city center was nice. It was a Saturday morning before 10 a.m. so there were few people to be seen. Although I enjoy the architecture of Copenhagen, it was nice to see something different. Oslo’s buildings aren’t radically different (having been under Danish rule for large parts of their history), but they are unique nonetheless.

We went by the parliament (Storting), down Karl Johans gate, by the royal palace, and through the Slottsparken. Along the way we saw the National Theater, above, and many other sights including the King’s Ceremonial Guards. Later we went through the Akershus Slott grounds (although the views were mostly blocked by cruise ships), Aker-Brygge, and by Oslo City Hall.

Once back in more residential neighborhoods I noticed more similarities in the housing to San Francisco, California than to Copenhagen. Some streets had what looked like Victorians that you’d see in The City. Some places looked similar to Copenhagen but were made out of materials other than brick.

The kids were getting tired of walking so we stopped at a park with a play area near a flea market. The above kids aren’t mine, just some Norwegian kids that were happily playing. Everything was very green in Norway. If I were to become a billionaire the first thing I would do is go on an extended vacation in Norway, exploring every bit of it. 

I went to check out the flea market. The prices weren’t what you normally find at a flea market. Of course, this is Oslo, Norway, the most expensive city in the most expensive country on the planet.

Plates, trinkets, and other items you might find in grandma’s attic that you find at garage sales or flea markets in America usually go for 50 cents or a dollar each. Here in Oslo the prices seemed to start at about $5 and quickly go up from there. I’d pick something up and think, “I would possibly buy this for a dollar at a garage sale in the U.S.” Then I’d flip it over to see that they were asking $50 or $100 for it.

We actually didn’t spend a dime in Oslo or convert any of our money to Norwegian Kroners. We had a big breakfast and dinner on the ship and took snacks to eat. We did go into a McDonalds to use the restroom. A McDonalds salad will set you back US$16 in Norway. A hamburger, fries, and drink discount deal? US$19. You can’t pay me to eat at McDonalds anywhere so there was no temptation to eat at McDonalds in Oslo.

Our friend from Australia ate lunch in Oslo. She had a salad, a beer, and a coffee. The bill for lunch? AUS$50.

We went in one clothing store. T-shirts were “on sale” for only US$100. I saw a baby’s bib going for US$35 and a nice onesie that may fetch up to $15 in the U.S. available for just US$60. The wages in Oslo must be incredible.

While we did see some nice, Nordic-style buildings, I wanted to see a Stave church. Unfortunately, there aren’t any in Oslo except one at the Norse Folk Museum. The Norsk Folkemuseum was too far of a walk and the high admission cost was another reason we didn’t venture there.

The library had a most unusual fountain in front of it. I’ve never seen one like it. The fountain disappears when trams come down the street and cross over it.

We didn’t get hit by a drop of rain so we were feeling most fortunate by the end of our Oslo adventures. As we headed back to the cruise ship there was even some blue sky. The temperature was also much higher than the promised 62. I’m guessing it may have hit 72 or more. The views of the bay and fjords were spectacular as you can see from the above picture.

Posted on July 26th, 2008 under Denmark. Tags: clouds, norway, oslo, pictures. Comments Off on Oslo, Norway (part 2 of 4)

We were so looking forward to our trip to Oslo, Norway. But as the time for departure approached I almost wished we hadn’t booked it. First, the weather forecast was horrible. We were only going to be in Oslo for one day and the prediction was for a high of only 62 degrees. Worse was that it was supposed to be raining all day long.

Then my daughter got a migraine headache the morning of the day we were going to leave. This was her first of the trip. She has had migraines in the past but not in the last few months. They tend to come in bunches for her which meant that she’d probably be getting them on the ship and in Norway. The thought of these potential migraines meant that she wouldn’t have any fun and we probably wouldn’t either. Plus, she tends to vomit with her migraines and we were going to be packed like sardines in a little cruise ship cabin.

My daughter took a nap as we weren’t going to be leaving until afternoon. After she woke up we road our bikes to the dock on the north end of Copenhagen; by the time we got to the ship her migraine was gone. Luckily, for all of us, she didn’t have any more.

The views from the top of the cruise ship were spectacular. We had some interesting vantage points of Sweden, Denmark and everything in between including the wind turbines. The cruise begins in the late afternoon from Copenhagen. It arrives in Oslo, Norway at about 9:30 the following morning. The first and last couple hours are the most interesting in terms of views as you can see Denmark and Sweden at the outset. You can see Norway and the fjords for the last few hours.

The passengers were an interesting mix. There were about 140 students from all over the world from Copenhagen Business School. I’m guessing that the rest of the 1,000+ people on board were about 55% Danish, 30% Japanese tourists, 10% Norwegian, and 5% from other places.

We had a nice dinner and then the kids went to the cinema to see Indiana Jones (in between checking out all of the other activities like foosball, Legos, disco dancing, etc.). My wife and I socialized with the two other faculty members who were on board. One is from Maine and his wife is Danish. The other is from Australia.

As far as I could tell the sky never completely darkened, although I suppose it did for a few hours after midnight. When I turned in at 11:30 there was a beautiful reddish, orange glow (not really a sunset) in the north. I didn’t have my camera with me at the time.

I woke up early, after not having slept much with all of the college students “sleeping” in nearby cabins, and went up top to see the Norwegian Fjords. It wasn’t raining, like the forecast said it would be, but there were only occasional breaks in the total cloud cover. The views were amazing.

You could spot scenes like the above of fishermen in the fjords. There were loads of little islands, some with cute houses or other buildings on them. In the distance you could also see a couple of cruise ships trailing us.

The next two days I’ll post some pictures and discussion of Oslo; the fourth entry on Oslo will be our journey back to Copenhagen.

Posted on July 25th, 2008 under Denmark. Tags: clouds, norway, pictures, Travel. Comments Off on Cruise to Norway (part 1 of 4)

The train ride from Copenhagen to Helsingor was pleasant enough. This was our first real glimpse of the Danish countryside. We were also offered views of the sea between Denmark and Sweden. This body of water is called the Oresund and links the North Sea to the Baltic.

The castle was more impressive than I was anticipating. You can cross the moat and have access to the interior courtyard without having to pay. I understand they also perform Hamlet (which is what this castle is most famous for) a few times each year on the interior courtyard.

Kronborg Castle is flanked by ancient canon which makes for an impressive sight.

Sweden is easily viewable from Kronborg. In fact, Helsingor is the closest point to Sweden from Denmark (and Kronborg Castle is right on the water’s edge of the town). Sailors were boating between the two and we caught sight of a pirate or two as well. 😉

The views with the boats in the straight and the exterior of the castle grounds were very beautiful. The weather was outstanding and the clouds were, once again, amazing.

People and cars were being constantly ferried back and forth from Sweden to Denmark at this point. Here you can see the canon ready to make a few Swedes swim back home. 😉

Actually there is some interesting history about the canon at this place. The canon was not defensive as much as it was an offensive threat to ships that came through the straight without stopping to pay tax. When the ship landed and the tax inspectors went on board, the captain had to declare a value for his cargo. The tax was based on the value of the cargo. If the captain undervalued his cargo to avoid paying tax the inspector had the right to purchase the cargo at the claimed value. Those were some tricky Danes! The tax for passing through was done away with long ago when the nations of the world paid Denmark a huge lump sum.

On our way back to the train station we went through town instead of following the same shortcut road that we took to the castle. Some of the buildings looked like they were out of a fairy tale. A few looked similar to those in Copenhagen on a much smaller scale, but most had a completely different and fun, Danish style.

Posted on July 21st, 2008 under Denmark. Tags: castle, clouds, pictures. Comments Off on Kronborg Castle

Some museums in Copenhagen offer free admission on Wednesday. The New (NY) Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum offers free admission on Sunday. With the weak U.S. dollar, admission can be up to US$20 each at some of these places so we try to take advantage of the free days. We headed over to the Glyptotek this past Sunday. It is located right across the street from Tivoli. Needless to say, the kids would have much rather been involved in the screaming we could hear coming from riders across the street.

(Sorry for more pictures of Copenhagen clouds, but they can hardly be missed. Notice the reflections of clouds in the front door pane as well.) 

We made no preparations in terms of research as to what one can see at the Glyptotek beforehand. They have a large selection of ancient works and pieces you normally don’t see in quantity outside of Italy. It reminded me of Italian museums I visited three years ago.

Just as we were about to leave (as the kids were really tired of the place) I noticed a room off to the left that we hadn’t gone into. I took a quick peak in to find a large collection of Auguste Rodin’s pieces including The Thinker and The Kiss. I thought we’d see both in Paris next month, not Copenhagen now, so this was a surprise that seemed somehow wrong. It turns out that there are over 20 casts or copies of The Thinker that Rodin made and Copenhagen has one of them.

The Kiss is a bit more rare as there are only three, large marble versions that Rodin made. The Glyptotek has one of the three. There are many bronze casts of The Kiss.

Later in the day, we were sitting on a bench eating ice cream near a large church. We decided to look inside. After entering the church (Church of Our Lady or Vor Frue Kirke) we found statues of the apostles and a statue of the “Mormon Jesus.”

After returning “home” to our apartment in Frederiksberg and doing a bit of research online I found that the statue I had just photographed is the original Christus carved in 1821 by the famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (whose work we have seen many times in Copenhagen now). The version in the Salt Lake City Visitors Center on Temple Square is a copy made more than a hundred years later. Now there are countless copies in Mormon churches and homes (much smaller versions of course) around the world.

Posted on July 17th, 2008 under Denmark. Tags: bertel thorvaldsen, clouds, copenhagen, living in copenhagen, museums, pictures. Comments Off on Famous, original statues and their copies