Last day with our travel buddies Linda & Tony. We had a fabulous breakfast buffet at the Radisson Blu. We had to get our own cappuccino; it’s our new reality. Off to one last Viking Excursion around the city. Our first stop was a beautiful park with over 200 statues by Gustav Vigeland. They were installed in 1940-49 and were the result of 40 years of work. A very interesting man with his interpretation of every day life, emotions, relationships, compassion, sadness, conviction, love, support and even death. Hard to describe, you have to react as you see them and everyone will see it differently…feel differently about what they see & feel.
The Monolith stands at the highest point in Vigeland Park, and measures 17 meters above ground. The sculpture is carved out of a single block of granite. Carving began in 1929 and was completed in 1942.
Our next stop on the tour was the Maritime Museum to hear stories & see how the Vikings lived, traveled and took whatever they wanted if they couldn’t trade for it…they built amazing ships with oak & rivets and traveled the world in the years 900’s – 1400’s.
After learning about ship building we decided a walking tour around the city with a local guide would get us acquainted with Oslos history & architecture. Starting at the palace…and 3 hours, and 17,000 steps later, we had pretty much covered covered this beautiful city.
Our guide Michael, an architect from Romania, is spending a few years working in Oslo
WW2 hit Norway hard as they declared Neutrality, but it was ignored by Nazi Germany; war is hell. Norway was invaded in 1940 and occupied until the end of the war. The King & Queen escaped to the UK and to the USA during the occupation.
The sad part of world history is the tragedy, destruction and loss of lives and freedoms.
Learning Norways WW2 stories tore at my heart. But we must learn and understand history with deep hopes to not repeat it.
Our walking tour group
We ended our day full of Oslo’s history and beauty with tired feet and hungry tummies. We were happy to finish with some yummy pasta and an outdoor cafe to sit and relax on a beautiful summer day.
After, we rubbed the Tigers chin and whispered our names in his ears for security and protection.
A long day, but filled with history, fun, steps and our last day with the vanSons. They’re returning home bright & early tomorrow morning. It’s been a very special time. Elbows Up friends.
