Today is Constitution Day and the place was mobbed. We headed up the street and ran straight into the parade, which went on forever. Then we hoofed it up to the Telthusbakken and Damstredet historical areas, stopping in at Ibsen’s and Munch’s graves.
The ultimate rafting trip
Post by Grubb. When I was a kid I remember my dad had a copy of “The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By raft across the South Seas.” He also had copies of “Omoo” and “Typee”, but they didn’t interest me because they didn’t have the dramatic photographs that Thor Heyerdahl put in his book describing his raft trip…
The Manifesto gets wet
Post by Grubb. Yesterday, in the morning, it was umbrellas in the rain. Nothing lashing, just a steady patter. We googled our way through busy inner city streets in search of the Intercultural Museum. At one point, as we were cutting through a plaza next to a tiny amusement park (carousel and kiddy rides), I noticed this woman…
The underside and the far side
Post by Ella. We did ramble well off the tourist-beaten path as we made our way to the Intercultural Museum yesterday, a rainy day. But a soft, mellow rain. Rain jackets would suffice but I borrowed the apartment’s umbrella and Grubb, of course, had brought his own. We’re walking along, the streets start getting narrower,…
Practical matters: where’s da wine?
Post by Ella. Yesterday we decided to have our dinner at home. At the end of the day, we stopped at a large Co-op market for supplies. I haven’t been drinking much this trip and Grubb gave it up a few years ago but I was in the mood for some wine. Norway isn’t known…
Utopia Retro Modern
Post by Ella Is the name of a furniture store. Who doesn’t love retro modern utopian furniture? A small shop, two floors packed with furniture stuff. In a building undergoing construction, we had to navigate scaffolding to enter. We paused in front of this beauty (below) thinking it would be the most uncomfortable ever. The…
Our route, Tuesday May 16
From Home to the Intercultural Museum on foot to Utopia Retro Modern by bus to Kon-Tiki Museum by bus to City Hall by Ferry to the Co-op (grocery store) by foot To home by foot
Walk the castle, see the movie
Post by Grubb. The Akershus Fortress Castle is a few blocks up from where we’re staying on a promontory overlooking Oslo Viken (bay). It dates back to the late thirteenth century. Used as a royal residence, it was designed to protect the city from uninvited Swedes and has successfully survived all sieges since then. Since the July 22,…
Sweating it out
Post by Grubb. Alert to Karl Ové knockoffs, yesterday morning Knut kept an eye out for signs of Norwegian toil. No luck. Knut Sēoot cannot see it. Instead, there were people relaxing outside a sauna across the bay from the Munch Museum. However, on further inspection of the sauna guidelines, there was a nice Norwegian touch promising medieval masochistic…
That’s a lot of baggage!
Post by Grubb. What’s a statue in Oslo without struggle? This overburdened fellow is on the path to the Akershus Fortress. Whether those bags are filled with grain or a multitude of sins, he’s grinding his way up the slope with what I imagine is a Protestant sense of purpose. Commemorating my first overpacked trip to Rome.