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Published: November 21st 2022
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Runestone from Dyne in Oppland - mid 1000s
testament to Norway's transition from paganism to Christianity - courtesy The Historical Museum This was turning out to be a long day. We were back on highway E6, in the direction of Oslo. The sun was still up in the sky and didn’t go down until after we reached our destination. Sunset was at 11:14 pm that evening and families with little kids and young adults were out on the street. The birds were still flying in the sky and mothers walking their babies in strollers, restaurants were open for business. It was amazing to see the energy around me, did Mr. Sun really do that?!! It sure did as it energized us too, a microcosm of its floating population! Even though we had had such a long day we put our bags away in the Airbnb and headed out to check out the excitement. Once again we were centrally located and all major tourist attractions were within walking distance. The topography of Oslo was different though, from the other Nordic cities visited. Here the roads were undulating and after night fall the distant gleam of light shimmering on the surface of the ocean made for a special visual treat. We walked down to the beautiful Storting building on Karl Johans street(not Karan Johar!!),
a pictorial layout of the 'Smiling Peace Bench'
- the best weapon( named after Nelson Mandela's famous quote - "the best weapon is to sit down and talk") also known as the Parliament House. It was closed to the public while we were there and was to open June 27th. Nonetheless, it’s elevation looked enchanting, the accent lighting adding to its majesty - like a full moon in a star-less sky! The next day, June 23 rd was special for us and the city of Oslo seemed decked up and ready to celebrate! Large flower planters adorned both sides of cobblestone roads with vibrant spring flowers beckoning the onlooker to capture their beauty and preserve it for posterity. It did feel like spring in Oslo and I couldn’t help but notice how so many girls and ladies were wearing spring dresses in beautiful pastel colors too! We started out at the Historical Museum for a tour of the ‘Vikingr’ exhibit - the term Vikingr refers to anyone with Norse ( Norway-Scandanavian) origins who lived during the Viking period. These were explorers/ warriors, who chose the road less travelled and came back with treasures from distant lands. Yes and that did make a lot of difference, as in changing the course of destiny! The exhibit was very well presented and the accompanying guide book in English self explanatory. The
museum was stately like so many of the buildings we’d seen in the past few days that it was beginning to look routine! Next stop was Akershus Slott by Oslo harbor. Originally built in the 1300s, it was rebuilt during the reign of King Christian IV, the Danish Norwegian monarch ( with whom we were by now so familiar with, perhaps we could call him just Christian
) in early 1600s, in Renaissance style as a bastion fortress. Today the castle has been restored and refurbished and houses the representation rooms of the Norwegian government and its Royal Church functions as the Head Church of the Norwegian military. The castle had a vantage position on a hill overlooking the harbor which must have been strategically selected to keep an eye out for the enemy. Today, the view of the harbor below was breathtaking. There were many restaurants by the pier and the social scene quite busy. The great Norwegian Cruise ship was in dock when we went on the Oslo fjord cruise boat into the ocean. However this was a little disappointing as we didn’t see much of the fjords and it was just another boat ride! In retrospect we
Storting building on Karl Johans street
not Karan Johar's - our Bollywood entrenched minds did a double take!! should have taken the ‘evening’ cruise whose route meandered through the many more fjords. What we did see and meet on board, were two friendly fellow American families who shared their experiences sightseeing in Scandinavia! From the boat we could see Oslo’s famous landmarks like the Opera House and the peninsula of Bygdoy which is home to museums such as the Kon-Tiki museum, the Maritime museum and the Fram ( Polar exploration) museum It was surprisingly very warm in Oslo and all indicative of global warming. One of the Americans who was on the boat ride with us said that it was very warm when he was at the Arctic Circle earlier, no reindeers or elk just a lot of mosquitoes. How ominous is that for the world
We were in Oslo for another day and went to the Nobel Peace Center dedicated to Alfred Nobel and the Peace prize. As a teen, I remember being inspired by his legacy to give away his fortune for the cause of peace and the benefit of mankind and it was so heartening for me to be standing in the institution that commemorated him and his ideals. There was so much history
to read and I learnt that it was Nobel’s idea to let a Norwegian committee select and give away the Peace prize while he let his home country Sweden do the honors for the other four Nobel prizes. There was no explanation in his will and is still up to popular conjecture! Read about it at
https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/why-norway What’s ironic is that the gold ore used for making the recipient’s gold medals, is blasted using Nobel’s biggest regret - dynamite. What is also unfathomable is that the icon for peace, Mahatma Gandhi, the most deserving nominee ever; was never awarded the peace prize in spite of being nominated five times. Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel committee in 2006 said, “Gandhi could do without the Nobel, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question” - tragically, a little too late!
We missed going to The Royal Palace of Oslo as it was closed and set to open a few days later. We took pictures and spent some time doing what Oslo locals do often — relax on the vast lawns of the Palace Park that surround the palace on all sides! And that sums up my visit
to Oslo, by far the highest coordinate in the Northern hemisphere I’ve ever visited. I will remember the city as vibrant and full of energy and one that embodied my “one_for_peace_always” philosophy
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