Storm Troopers in Oslo

Norwegian Parliament Building

Saturday afternoon the clouds parted, the sun was shining and all of Oslo was outdoors enjoying a warm summer day (an autumn day anywhere else). As a final farewell to Oslo, I thought I should take some snaps of the city.

Hammer Dulcimer player on Karl Johann's Gate (main street of Oslo)

Suddenly an invasion of StormTroopers swarmed the street (don't know why or how), but they behaved themselves well enough - only brandishing their weapons for photos - and even stopped to politely ask directions.

What I'd really like to see is StormTroopers climbing the new Opera House...all that WHITE would be the perfect camoflage!

More fabulous viking artifacts from the Historisk Museum

Just a few more photos from the Historisk Museum...of Viking artifacts including spindle whorls and weaving weights, swords, glass (amazing), keys and a mystery glyph on stone.

St. Hallvard and the Pilgrim

I'll try to wrap up my Oslo posts quickly, then will get on to some Vestfold posts (so that Dave can stop gnashing his teeth!).

Everywhere in Oslo there are these glorious manhole covers (based on Oslo's coat-of-arms) which, as it turns out, depict St Hallvard - the Patron Saint of Oslo - whose story goes something like this...

In the year 1043, a young man named Hallvard Vebjørnson was about to cross the Drammenfjord in a boat, when a young woman ran up to him and begged for his help. She claimed she was being falsely accused of theft by an angry mob who was in hot pursuit of her. Hallvard took her aboard his boat and was about to cast off, when the mob caught up with them. They demanded he give her up, but (perhaps thinking with his little head) he refused saying that the woman swore she was innocent. One of the pursuers shot and killed both Hallvard and the woman (with bow and arrow). To hide their evil deed, the mob tied a millstone to Hallvard's body and threw it into the sea...even so his corpse floated - miracle of miracles - so his body was enshrined at Christ Church in Oslo. St. Hallvard is revered because he died in defense of (ahem) innocence, in the best spirit of chivalry.

For those who are interested in such things (I am) The image depicts St Hallvard holding a millstone and 3 arrows - one for him, one for her and one for the nation (I guess).

Now for good measure, an image entitled "St Hallvard and the pilgrim"

I must say, I get some rather odd looks every time I photograph my shoes!

Norwegian Art

In an antiquarian bookshop in Oslo, I found some engravings from paintings done in the mid-19th century by Adolf Tidemand - one of Norway's most famous artists. I'm not usually keen on such things, but these engravings depict scenes of everyday Norwegian life during the time of Mathias, then Magnus Tolstrup. Somehow, and despite the fact that I am on a strict and tight budget, I just had to have them. (Apologies to my credit card) My purchase inspired me to look deeper for Norwegian Fine Art - unusual for me as I am usually more of an artifacts hound. Unfortunately, I can't show you photos of my engravings yet - they've been wrapped and sealed in a sort of duty-free arrangement which will put $80 back into my pocket if I leave the package unmolested until I leave Norway. ***sigh***

Anyway, on the advice of the man who sold me the engravings (and was very helpful and informative), I went to the National Gallery - Nasjonalgalleriet -in search of the original paintings from which my engravings were made. Unfortunately, none are currently on display at present, but I did encounter some other work I found remarkable. The first are illustrations from the folksong Asmun Froedegjaevar (1902) by Gerhardt Munthe (1849 -1929), who would have been a contemporary of Magnus Tolstrup - the latter being a brass engraver (who, acording to Dave, suffered some kind of poisoning as a result of his occupation.

The next is Vinternatt i Rondane (Winternight in the Mountains 1914) by Harald Sohlberg (1869 - 1935). In the real, the painting is absolutely luminous and the photo doesn't do it justice. This one's for you Kathy because it reminds me of the Nicholas Roerich paintings you showed me.

This one, too, reminds me of Roerich. It's by Nikolai Astrup (1880 -1940) and entitled Jonskobål (midsummernight bonfires) (1962).

And, for now - finally - a more contemporary assemblage piece by Sigurd Winge (1909 - 1970) entitled Adam and Eve escaping from the Northern Arcadia, 1942.

Vikingskiphuset and Historisk Museum

My 1st day in Oslo was spent at the new University of Oslo's Viking Ship and Cultural History Museums. Both were amazing - though the Viking Ship Museum is more of a tourist attraction and was packed by bus loads of tourists and at least half of the 42,000 American cruiseship passengers currently berthed in Oslo harbour. Who knew I could grow irritable at the sound of a mid-western drawl or texas twang in the midst of Bygdøy? A minor blip in the day...easily overcome by visiting the Historisk Museum..where tourists are nowhere to be seen.

These photos are of the famous Oseberg Ship, discovered near Tønsberg, Vestfold in a burial mound that dates from 843AD, though parts of the ship date to around 800AD. The mound contained the remains of 2 women - one of high rank and the other possibly a sacrificed servant - plus numerous artifacts. There is some hotly-contested speculation that the high-ranking woman may have been Queen Åsa of the Ynglinge clan, mother of Halfdan the Black and grandmother of Harald Fairhair. Perhaps this leaves you thinking, "she either is or she isn't".

All this was exciting enough, but the treasures I found in the Historisk Museum were beyond glorious. First, as I entered were the famous Ringerike Alstad stone and the Dynna stone, both 11th century runic memorial stones (the Dynna stone is dedicated to the fairest maiden in Hadeland).

Stones! and carved ones, at that.

It was enough to make my heart flutter and my blood sing.

Beyond these, are an amazing collection of medieval church doors - more animist than Christian it would seem. They feature highly stylised norse/celtic carvings - some in high relief that are amongst the most beautiful (and fanciful) I've ever seen. It made me proud to think that such highly evolved design skills ad sensibilitites are part of my heritage (whether or not I ever live up to the standard set by these ancient craftsmen).

My favourite door featured three large, ornate ironwork locks and decorations. Stunning!

What followed were rooms filled with artifacts of all sorts - including room after room of Viking weaponry and armour - helmets, chain mail, battle axes, and swords (Max and Nathan take note). I've taken some pictures, but will share them with you later.

Just so you know (and in case you're a stickler for proper timeframes) I arrived in Larvik today..which after all the planning, thinking, waiting, I find quite amazing. I whispered, "I'm here" to Magnus and Mathias as my bus passed lush, rolling fields, farmlands and the turnoffs for Tjølling and Hedrum. Ancestral ground. However, it's seriously cold and beating down a sideways rain, so instead of exploring, I'm looking out my window on old Larvik and drinking some good, strong coffee offered me by my hostess while I catch up with Oslo posts. One more to go...about (of all things) Norwegian art between the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries.

For now, I'll leave you with a photo I've titled "My pilgrimage shoes meet their Viking Heritage".

An extraordinary 3 days in Oslo

My time here has been a blur of walking, exploring and absorbing: I find I am inspired to understand the Norway Gustav Frederik Moller and Emma Lorentzen knew...the one they left. And so, I have gone looking for things they might have seen in Old Oslo (Christiana), that is, the area of the city, near the Akershus Fortress, just east of the main harbour.

Overlooking the harbour is a row of very old trees that I found very touching. They seemed to be sentinals of a sort, perched over the harbour so as to bear witness to all the partings, separations, leavings. I couldn't resist talking to them, laying my hand on their trunks.

My first adventure was to Bygdøy Peninsula to visit the University of Oslo's Viking Ship Museum. Though I could have gone by bus, I opted for the ferry and as we were pulling away from the dock, I was stuck by the sense that this may be the same view my migrating ancestors' had of their homeland - minus the skyscrapers and waterfront shopping centres. Still, the surrounding landscape has probably not changed all that much - certainly, the distant mountains and lay of the land are the same. Imagining their pulling away from Christiana harbour - full of what? excitement, sadness, anticipation, sorrow, hope? - with a long, arduous journey and brand new land ahead made my heart pound.

The MS INNVIK - My Floating Home

Berthed just across the water from the brand new Opera house (and pride of Norway) is my home in Oslo - The MS INNVIK.


Billed as an alternative theatre, a minimalist B&B (for the intrepid) and summer café, the INNVIK is a refitted car ferry and lives up to it's reputation on all accounts.

As I entered on the first evening, a sign outside advertised the night's performance as Hedda Gabler and (silly me) I imagined a sedate and serious play. Instead, Hedda Gabler turned out to be a heavy metal band (who, blissfully, only played til 11pm, but managed to out-shout my industrial strength earplugs until the bitter end). I could have gone to the performance for free as guests are invited in exchange for NOT flushing cabin toilets or taking showers during performances, but opted not to...leaving my imagination to conjur up 2007's Eurovision Song Contest winners - a Norwegian heavy metal dressed as Viking/Orc-types.


My little berth has everything I need - desk, bunkbeds & tiny bathroom - though at 54 and with Tintagel-induced aching muscles hauling myself up into my bed presented an initial challenge. Now, but 3 days later, it's a breeze - to get up, I just step on the bottom bunk, then onto the desk - whilst grasping the hand-hold - and hoist myself up and over. It's cosy, it's all mine, it's affordable (for Oslo) and I find it somehow preferable to sharing a room with a 1/2 dozen 20-somethings on holiday. It's also incredibly well-located: It's less than a 5 minute walk to the central train station/T-bane/busses, downtown shopping areas, numerous museums & historical sites and right on the eastern edge of Old Oslo (Christiana).

I've walked all over the city from here and have watched zillions of Oslo natives and tourists climb the Opera house (Oslo's newest pasttime). You walk up, you walk down...

Though right now, I'm sitting in the INNVIK café looking out across the Oslo Fjord to the Opera House. The water is glistening in a rare bit northern evening sunshine (It's been overcast/raining since I arrived) as gulls swirl over, two white swans glide by and numerous ducks paddle back and forth in front of the Opera house tourists (no doubt) in hopes of a tasty tidbit or two.