Oslo, Norway - Day 16
Last night was a repeat of our first night in Iceland. Loud music coming from somewhere other than our non-air conditioned room, which means opened windows are now closed and the iphone is set to loop my Zen-rain sounds. Even with the artificial rain coming down in our room, and the little USB fan on high, there was still thumping. Not sure how long it took me to fall asleep (even after searching - and not finding - the one earplug I have...lost the other one on the flight over), but eventually I did. We got a pretty restful night otherwise.
Breakfast did not disappoint. I forgot to take a photo of my plate, but took several of the different food areas. Guy had his “best egg of the trip” along with some bacon, a roll with strawberry jam and some potatoes. I had a tiny taste of berry flavored cold oats, yogurt with granola, toast with homemade jelly and some honeydew melon. All very good. We sat at the breakfast table and read for a bit as it was still early and we weren’t ready to head out for the day. There are signs on the tables that say “take as much as you want, but eat everything you take”. I could see why they say that. There are SO many options! It’s easy for your eyes to make the decisions.
Our first place to visit, and my favorite of the day, was the Edvard Munch museum!! Yes! I got to see “The Scream” in person. SO EXCITED! Edvard with a “V” and Munch is pronounced “Moan-k” (mo like mowing the yard). Easy to slip into saying monk, but that’s not quite right (or from what we heard). He was an interesting fella and his early paintings from the late 1800’s were very “normal” looking, like paintings you’d expect to see from that time. But as the years past, his work became somewhat more abstract and his paintings reflected something deep and disturbing, yet sad and weird all at the same time. I Wiki’d him when I got back. It seems he had quite a sad life. He lost his mom as a child, then his favorite sister. He was sick a lot and his father was religious to the point of cult-ish and it sounded like Edvard became a bit of a hypochondriac about mental illness. Sounds like a perfect storm of life events to create someone who saw the world through a completely different lens.
I went through the museum once, but ducked back in for another look. I did take a lot of pictures, including the most famous two paintings. I photographed “The Scream” of course, but went back again just to stare at it and look at the details (no one was in front of it at the time). Edvard had it nailed to a wall in his studio which created a hole at the top. We saw several of his works with pinholes at the top as well. Guy read where Munch had said “a good painting with 10 nail holes was better than 10 bad paintings with no nail holes” :). I’d have thought he would have come up with a better way to display them!!
Munch created 4 versions of “The Scream”. Two in pastels (1893 and 1895) and two in paint (1893 and 1910). The version in the Oslo museum we saw today was his last version done in 1910. One of the pastel versions sold in 2012 for $120 million dollars! He often did the same piece of art in a couple of different mediums. Colored pencils, pastels, oils, etc. So today I was surprised to see the same scene in a couple of versions. That’s interesting. In 2004 The Scream and Madonna (the ones I saw today) were both stolen from the museum in broad daylight at gunpoint. The shattered glass and broken frames still lay on display in the museum. Two years later they were recovered. Once returned to the museum, they had both of the paintings on display for the public to see for 5 or 6 days before they were taken away to be restored, as both had damage to them (if you look closely, which I did, the scars are visible - tears and water damage). I took a lot of pictures today and if you have time, peruse them and some of the details about him and his artwork. Really interesting stuff. One of his other versions of “The Scream” had been stolen and recovered as well. When he died he willed his work to the city of Oslo. Over 28,000 paintings were found in his home, studios and storage.
We had taken the subway to the Munch museum, then the subway again to our next stop, the Viking museum. (Side note: we missed our stop and had to jump back on the train going the opposite direction because we were in a deep discussion about souvenir socks - don’t ask). Anyway, the advertisements for the museum say “See the ONLY Viking helmet in existence”. Well, inside the claim is a little more truthful, as it is supposedly the “best preserved” helmet. Even with that, it is pieced together and not the full thing. Still, the museum was nice and interesting to see some of the old swords, coins, and other items that date back over 1,000 years.
From the Viking Museum we decided to get a pizza for lunch. Our original plan was to grab one togo and eat it outside, as we are having spectacular weather again today. However, when we came to the Pizza Crudo, it was such a lovely place and we had to watch our pizza being made in their lovely wood-burning oven (by a guy in a big curled up mustache!). It was nice to sit down and we hatched a plan for the rest of the day. Guy chatted with the server about wages and she said she made nearly $22 per hour as a server (which is minimum wage for everyone including servers unlike the US). They do accept tips, but it isn’t expected like in the US. Some of the laws have changed recently and many servers are taking other jobs and making the same amount of money...easier jobs like being a cashier in a store. But back to the food...our pizza was ham, mushroom and onion. It was delish and took about 2 minutes to cook in their fabulous oven. That and a cold soda hit the spot.
Two things we saw before lunch were photo-worthy. One was a father/son playing dueling accordions. They were very good, but the best part is they were smiling up a storm and their faces said it all. They were so stinking cute and apparently having a great time! The second was we saw a lady with a Saluki! To be honest, I thought it was a greyhound and I was going to take a picture to send to Geory (for Jerry to see), but when I asked her what kind of dog it was she said “A Saluki” in a voice like I wouldn’t have any idea what that was!!! So after telling her where we were from, she of course had heard of SIU because when you google “saluki” it pops right up! So we had a nice conversation and she said her dog was more like a cat because he had a mind of his own. She wanted another one, but this fella was a lot of work, so he is her only baby.
After lunch we caught the above-ground train and took it a few blocks where we then walked to the Armed Forces Museum. It was really well done, but was mostly in Norwegian. So I let Guy explore to his hearts content, then when he had his fill (and had visited with the Old Norwegian guy at the desk) we started walking back toward the center of town. All photos today from the Armed Forces Museum are courtesy of Guy Alongi, budding photographer. We stopped to pop into two different bakeries for free smells and then to the shopping mall across from the train station to grab my Norway Starbucks mug. We saw it yesterday, but I figured there would be Starbucks locations all over the city. But alas! There are not! So just to check that off my list, we got that taken care of.
Feeling the need to get off our feet we headed back to the hotel after walking over 5 miles today around the city! Guy did purchase the 48 hour “Oslo Pass” from our hotel and with that you can ride any subway, bus, trolly, and boat. It also included admittance into all the museums. So I think today we’ve already broken even and we still have 2 or 3 museums tomorrow and will be using the ferry boat, too. So the Oslo Pass is a WIN!
Dinner tonight was again at the hotel as we were pooped and not all that hungry. We had vegetable soup with “sausage”... a.k.a. Norwegian hotdog. It was tasty! Then of course all their fresh bread (with homemade strawberry jelly for me) and Guy had some veggies and fruit as well. Not a bad deal here at the Thon Hotel Terminus (a Norwegian chain - the one next to the train station). It was rated #8 in Oslo. My personal review is that it is clean and the food is great. The staff is all very nice and the room is small but sufficient. Gotta admit I do occasionally do a bed bug check, which I did here, and the underneath mattress was a bit gross, but the topper was fine and I just asked for an extra set of flat sheets and spread out our individual heavy sheet-covered comforters (which we wouldn’t use because the room wasn’t going to be cold) and covered the entire thing in a clean sheet and used the other clean sheet to cover up with. So sometimes you just gotta jump in and block out the little germ on your shoulder that is whispering in your ear. With that said, today they gathered the staff after breakfast to tell them that they had a “Secret Shopper” earlier this week and the report she gave for her stay here was a “94”. They all clapped and the supervisor was going on and on about it. I overheard them as I was still in the room reading. So I think this only happens once a year and is probably like our health department checks in a way. Good for them!
Tomorrow promises another great breakfast and the opportunity to get all my steps in!
Breakfast did not disappoint. I forgot to take a photo of my plate, but took several of the different food areas. Guy had his “best egg of the trip” along with some bacon, a roll with strawberry jam and some potatoes. I had a tiny taste of berry flavored cold oats, yogurt with granola, toast with homemade jelly and some honeydew melon. All very good. We sat at the breakfast table and read for a bit as it was still early and we weren’t ready to head out for the day. There are signs on the tables that say “take as much as you want, but eat everything you take”. I could see why they say that. There are SO many options! It’s easy for your eyes to make the decisions.
Our first place to visit, and my favorite of the day, was the Edvard Munch museum!! Yes! I got to see “The Scream” in person. SO EXCITED! Edvard with a “V” and Munch is pronounced “Moan-k” (mo like mowing the yard). Easy to slip into saying monk, but that’s not quite right (or from what we heard). He was an interesting fella and his early paintings from the late 1800’s were very “normal” looking, like paintings you’d expect to see from that time. But as the years past, his work became somewhat more abstract and his paintings reflected something deep and disturbing, yet sad and weird all at the same time. I Wiki’d him when I got back. It seems he had quite a sad life. He lost his mom as a child, then his favorite sister. He was sick a lot and his father was religious to the point of cult-ish and it sounded like Edvard became a bit of a hypochondriac about mental illness. Sounds like a perfect storm of life events to create someone who saw the world through a completely different lens.
I went through the museum once, but ducked back in for another look. I did take a lot of pictures, including the most famous two paintings. I photographed “The Scream” of course, but went back again just to stare at it and look at the details (no one was in front of it at the time). Edvard had it nailed to a wall in his studio which created a hole at the top. We saw several of his works with pinholes at the top as well. Guy read where Munch had said “a good painting with 10 nail holes was better than 10 bad paintings with no nail holes” :). I’d have thought he would have come up with a better way to display them!!
Munch created 4 versions of “The Scream”. Two in pastels (1893 and 1895) and two in paint (1893 and 1910). The version in the Oslo museum we saw today was his last version done in 1910. One of the pastel versions sold in 2012 for $120 million dollars! He often did the same piece of art in a couple of different mediums. Colored pencils, pastels, oils, etc. So today I was surprised to see the same scene in a couple of versions. That’s interesting. In 2004 The Scream and Madonna (the ones I saw today) were both stolen from the museum in broad daylight at gunpoint. The shattered glass and broken frames still lay on display in the museum. Two years later they were recovered. Once returned to the museum, they had both of the paintings on display for the public to see for 5 or 6 days before they were taken away to be restored, as both had damage to them (if you look closely, which I did, the scars are visible - tears and water damage). I took a lot of pictures today and if you have time, peruse them and some of the details about him and his artwork. Really interesting stuff. One of his other versions of “The Scream” had been stolen and recovered as well. When he died he willed his work to the city of Oslo. Over 28,000 paintings were found in his home, studios and storage.
We had taken the subway to the Munch museum, then the subway again to our next stop, the Viking museum. (Side note: we missed our stop and had to jump back on the train going the opposite direction because we were in a deep discussion about souvenir socks - don’t ask). Anyway, the advertisements for the museum say “See the ONLY Viking helmet in existence”. Well, inside the claim is a little more truthful, as it is supposedly the “best preserved” helmet. Even with that, it is pieced together and not the full thing. Still, the museum was nice and interesting to see some of the old swords, coins, and other items that date back over 1,000 years.
From the Viking Museum we decided to get a pizza for lunch. Our original plan was to grab one togo and eat it outside, as we are having spectacular weather again today. However, when we came to the Pizza Crudo, it was such a lovely place and we had to watch our pizza being made in their lovely wood-burning oven (by a guy in a big curled up mustache!). It was nice to sit down and we hatched a plan for the rest of the day. Guy chatted with the server about wages and she said she made nearly $22 per hour as a server (which is minimum wage for everyone including servers unlike the US). They do accept tips, but it isn’t expected like in the US. Some of the laws have changed recently and many servers are taking other jobs and making the same amount of money...easier jobs like being a cashier in a store. But back to the food...our pizza was ham, mushroom and onion. It was delish and took about 2 minutes to cook in their fabulous oven. That and a cold soda hit the spot.
Two things we saw before lunch were photo-worthy. One was a father/son playing dueling accordions. They were very good, but the best part is they were smiling up a storm and their faces said it all. They were so stinking cute and apparently having a great time! The second was we saw a lady with a Saluki! To be honest, I thought it was a greyhound and I was going to take a picture to send to Geory (for Jerry to see), but when I asked her what kind of dog it was she said “A Saluki” in a voice like I wouldn’t have any idea what that was!!! So after telling her where we were from, she of course had heard of SIU because when you google “saluki” it pops right up! So we had a nice conversation and she said her dog was more like a cat because he had a mind of his own. She wanted another one, but this fella was a lot of work, so he is her only baby.
After lunch we caught the above-ground train and took it a few blocks where we then walked to the Armed Forces Museum. It was really well done, but was mostly in Norwegian. So I let Guy explore to his hearts content, then when he had his fill (and had visited with the Old Norwegian guy at the desk) we started walking back toward the center of town. All photos today from the Armed Forces Museum are courtesy of Guy Alongi, budding photographer. We stopped to pop into two different bakeries for free smells and then to the shopping mall across from the train station to grab my Norway Starbucks mug. We saw it yesterday, but I figured there would be Starbucks locations all over the city. But alas! There are not! So just to check that off my list, we got that taken care of.
Feeling the need to get off our feet we headed back to the hotel after walking over 5 miles today around the city! Guy did purchase the 48 hour “Oslo Pass” from our hotel and with that you can ride any subway, bus, trolly, and boat. It also included admittance into all the museums. So I think today we’ve already broken even and we still have 2 or 3 museums tomorrow and will be using the ferry boat, too. So the Oslo Pass is a WIN!
Dinner tonight was again at the hotel as we were pooped and not all that hungry. We had vegetable soup with “sausage”... a.k.a. Norwegian hotdog. It was tasty! Then of course all their fresh bread (with homemade strawberry jelly for me) and Guy had some veggies and fruit as well. Not a bad deal here at the Thon Hotel Terminus (a Norwegian chain - the one next to the train station). It was rated #8 in Oslo. My personal review is that it is clean and the food is great. The staff is all very nice and the room is small but sufficient. Gotta admit I do occasionally do a bed bug check, which I did here, and the underneath mattress was a bit gross, but the topper was fine and I just asked for an extra set of flat sheets and spread out our individual heavy sheet-covered comforters (which we wouldn’t use because the room wasn’t going to be cold) and covered the entire thing in a clean sheet and used the other clean sheet to cover up with. So sometimes you just gotta jump in and block out the little germ on your shoulder that is whispering in your ear. With that said, today they gathered the staff after breakfast to tell them that they had a “Secret Shopper” earlier this week and the report she gave for her stay here was a “94”. They all clapped and the supervisor was going on and on about it. I overheard them as I was still in the room reading. So I think this only happens once a year and is probably like our health department checks in a way. Good for them!
Tomorrow promises another great breakfast and the opportunity to get all my steps in!
Definitely googled Edvard to dig in to his past a little and now I fear I also have anxiety. He was anxious about his anxiousness... poor fella. He just needed maybe to take a nice walk around town and listen to some dueling accordions and pet a Saluki (GO DAWGS!!). Totes impressed by the Best Preserved Viking Helmet!! Didn't get entirely bashed in by some other Viking--that fella was a WINNER.
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