Anyway, the past week has been full of small excursions and a lovely visit from Sarah Marshall, a fellow student of Jack's from the UW College of Built Environments, who is also a Valle Scholar enjoying her Scandinavian cultural exchange in Copenhagen.
As usual, Samuel led the way much of the time. He's even getting the tram schedules memorized as you can see here. But it seems to be the buses that he's fixated on. Whenever we see one (which is frequently) he points very specifically and says "bu. bu. bu."
One of the walks in Oslo that we have enjoyed a number of times is along the Aker River, which flows right through the center of the city. Many cities have rivers flowing through them...but the difference here seems to be that the Aker remains quite un-tamed. It is very exposed and alive. It hasn't been straightened. It hasn't been covered up with concrete. It still runs strongly, as illustrated by this waterfall along our walking route. And it has a park alongside it for much of its path.
Another marvel of Oslo is the neighborhood of Aker Brygge, which was developed in the 1980s and 1990s from industrial waterfront. It is now a planned labyrinth of high rise (well, as high as Oslo gets - maybe 10 floors) apartment buildings with shopping malls at the ground level. It is oddly pleasant though as it has a boardwalk along the water and a vibrant cafe life. And, of course, because Norwegians are weird, T.G.I. Friday's is one of the most popular restaurants along the strip. We had to indulge last weekend. More frequently, however, we have enjoyed a stroll on the boardwalk and ice cream from the Movenpick stand (ice cream from Switzerland!).
In Olso there are hundreds of pre-schools and kindergartens throughout the parks. Each of them has a small playground. And when we first arrived and were strolling around the city, we were thrilled to have so many options for places where Samuel could play. We didn't yet realize that they are off limits to those kids not enrolled in the school. That became clear when we were told we couldn't play in one particular spot because the school was in session (but with just 2 kids...very odd). So, it was very exciting to find a BIG playground in the Grunerlokka neighborhood that is open to all. We also met a half American / half Norwegian couple with a little girl just a few months older than Samuel and had a nice chat.
When Sarah arrived on Monday we made a bee-line for the Opera, which is apparently quite an ARCHITECTURAL marvel. I have to admit. It's pretty cool. And you'd absolutely NEVER see such a building in the United States given the completely open access to the very steeply sloping roof that is riddled with changing textures, angles and levels. A complete safety hazard...but a delightful spot for a luncheon picnic.
Again, Samuel leading the way.
On Tuesday we ventured outside the city to Hamar, which is an hour and a half north of the city by train. It is situated at the end of an extremely long lake (Lake Mjosa), and was one of the sites for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. The reason for our trip was to visit the Hedmark Museum, which is really just a regional museum showcasing the ruins of a cathedral and its compound. However, it is worth the trip because of the modern structures that have been built around the ruins to preserve them and show them off. Norway's most famous architect, Sverre Fehn, designed most of the structures that protect the ruins of the cathedral compound (and they are VERY cool). But what really stands out at the Hedmark Museum is the glass enclosure (designed by Lund & Slotto) built to embrace the cathedral itself. This is not a fantastic photograph so I strongly recommend clicking here to see a better view.
One of the highlights of the day's excursion was the 1.5 kilometer walk back to the center of Hamar from the museum. It was along the lake front and the sun actually came out. The hills on the other side of the lake looked like the Shire...and we got to see this lovely model of a Viking ship.
And climb on this bronze deer.
On Wednesday afternoon, before Sarah departed, we went back to Vigeland Park to enjoy some more sculpture. Samuel, dressed by his mother, stood out in his clashing patterns amongst the other tourists.
I found that by actually venturing beyond the bridge of bronzes, towards the area around the obelisk, which features exclusively stone sculpture, I better appreciated Vigeland's work. This is a slightly smudgy view from near the obelisk looking back at the length of the park and the extent of work that Vigeland installed in this park.
And now - to talk about the best loaf of bread ever. Our apartment in Oslo was about two blocks from the Apent Bakeri, which we'd enjoyed previously. But during Sarah's visit I was inspired to order a loaf of muesli bread, which turns out to be the most delicious thing ever. It contains those things that one would expect given its name - pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, whole grains, etc. But it also contains (as you can see below) moist apricots and apples and orange peel - all of which create such wonderful parties in your mouth. This bread can hold up as is - not even toasted. Or with cheese and definitely with butter. I'm on a mission to translate the recipe.
We're in Bergen now (on the west coast of Norway). We took the train over this morning, which was stunning. A route and a city (from what I've seen thus far) that I will recommend to everyone. We'll share more once we're back in Oslo next week. Happy Labor Day Weekend!
My grandfather, Fritz Drees was a waiter on, and came over on the last trip of the Kronprinzessin Cecilie when it was heard war was declared. He helped unload the silver and gold and took the cutter to Baltimore. Amazing these people leave these precious things around!
ReplyDelete