Cruise Chronicles – Day 16 – Last Day in Oslo

This would be our last full day in Norway. In a wonderful coincidence of travel plans, our good Wisconsin friends, Tom and Kathy would arrive and spend the day with us before joining Tom’s brother in Oslo. They’ve been here before and offered to share some of their favorite sights.

Before meeting them, we walked through our Barcode neighborhood to the new Opera House.

Completed in 2007, it is quite striking…all white granite and marble with a roof that slants all the way to ground level so anyone can walk up and see elevated views of the waterfront and city.

Oslo Opera House by Raphael Konieczny (from the Wikipedia page)

From the Top of the Opera House, Oslo (23 May 2019)

With the cloudy skies, there was no color in the scene. This encourages one to make the image all black and white and concentrate instead on the lines and shadows.

Dressed for the Opera House, Oslo (23 May 2019)

Some might say that Beck should have worn something colorful this day. Draped in red, she certainly would stand out. On the other hand, I think she fits into the monochrome scene quite well.

Oslo Opera House Interior (23 May 2019)

Between the materials, lines and angles, I found the Opera House, inside and out, to be a fascinating playground for image-hunting.

After Tom and Cathy arrived, we set out for Frogner Park. The park, Oslo’s largest, was a private estate in the 18th century. By the 20th century, the manor had become a public park with its central feature being the Vigeland Installation, an 80-acre showcase in the center of the park where 212 bronze and granite sculptures designed by Gustav Vigeland are displayed.

Man Under Attack From Genii Spirits

By Gustav Vigeland, Frogner Park, Oslo (23 May 2019)

The Park and its sculptures are the most popular tourist attraction in Norway. Bad news - visitors come by the busloads and between the selfie addicts and children who want to climb all over the art, it’s not easy to get clean shots. Good news – a shower came and drove the tourists away. Bad news – the overcast skies cast a dull tone on my images.

The Monolith by Gustav Vigeland

Frogner Park, Oslo (23 May 2019)

Perched on a hill that is the highest point in the park is The Monolith. Carved into a single piece of granite by three workers over 14 years, 121 human figures comprise Vigeland’s crowning achievement.

One of the Figures Around the Monolith

By Gustav Vigeland, Frogner Park, Oslo (23 May 2019)

A circular arrangement of 36 figure studies surround the Monolith. While little bald naked babies are common, a full range of human expression is also present…male and female, from young to old, and from happy to sad.

After the park, Tom and Kathy took us to the end of the Metro line where there is a restaurant perched high on a mountainside. There we savored hot soup and apple cake.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Oslo (23 May 2019)

The last stop of the day was on that same Metro line a couple of stations down the mountain. Here was the famous Holmenkollen ski jumping venue. Not as impressive in the off season, one of the world’s premier ski jumping hills would look much more interesting with snow, 70,000 spectators, and some fool Finn soaring above it all. Sorry but it’s May and this is what you get.

We bid Tom and Kathy farewell with our thanks for a great day and returned to the apartment to pack for the trip home. The following day, we flew back to Newark where the gratitude of homecoming was tempered by the fact we had to drive back to Maryland during rush hour…on a Friday…before the Memorial Day weekend. It took a half hour to cover the quarter-mile to enter the Jersey Turnpike. Welcome Home indeed.