Trip Notes, Chapter#12, Oslo

So, we arrived back to beginning point of our Norway in a Nutshell. In another word, completed a round trip in Norway.  Experience the essence of Norwegian fjords, mountains and valleys, all summed up in this round trip that was  so nice, peaceful and all worked smoothly. 

Oslo welcomed us with a thunder storm and heavy rain shower.

Our room was at 24th floor of the Radison Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo   with panoramic view covering from harbor, fjords,  New Opera Building, train station and the city and mountains.  Its great location  and most probably, one of the best views in Oslo. 

The city center of Oslo is situated at the end of the Oslofjord, which is home to 40 islands from where the city sprawls out both to the north and to the south on both sides of the fjord, giving the city area more or less the shape of a U.  The other half of the city is covered by forests and parks, making Oslo a truly green city. Its history goes back 1000 years, to the time when the first settlements were built at the inlet of the Oslo fjord. 

The capital is the seat of the Norwegian Government and the Norwegian Parliament, and the home of Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja,The Royal Palace , is located at the end of Oslo's main street, Karl Johans gate.

In Norway to climbing mountains feels like the most natural thing to do, so, why you shouldn’t apply this to buildings, the Norwegian nature is free for everyone to walk in and The Oslo Opera House, which opened in 2008, was built as an extension to this idea. This new building, in the very epicenter of the capital of Norway and its a totally new structure with the other new buildings, 

 the area is still under the construction. Access to Sorenga is, at present, via the Opera footbridge, from the central train station. A planned new avenue, Dronning Eufemias gate, will link Sørenga directly with the Barcode buildings to create a large pedestrian landscape. The Sorenga peninsula is part of the harbor area, and falls within the larger Bjorvika development area. This is a new and central neighbourhood complex with parks and a pier that floats on the Oslo Fjord, designed to make full use of the fjord.

The sculpture which called "She Lies", created by Monica Bonvicini, who is an Italian artist. It seems to float on the waters of the Oslo Fjord, next to the Opera House  but actually stands on a concrete platform an can turn on its axis, moved by the winds and the tides. 

The whole concept of the new Opera House is so wonderful but I must admit that the costumes&accessories section was my favorite...I hope, nobody blame me for my admittance, LOL!!!!

Now, I want to share some info and photos related with Vigeland Park  as I've indicated before.

Gustav Vigeland was born in Mandal, Norway, 1869, the son of a master carpenter. As a boy he showed exceptional ability as a woodcarver and got an apprenticeship in Oslo when he is 15 years old  and he soon realized that he was destined to be a sculptor. Many of the works produced by Vigeland during these years reveal the deep despair which he experienced intensely. Conceptions of death recur in a number of his works, and his portrayals range from melancholy and desolation to deep affection and ecstasy of the embrace.

In 1902 Oslo municipal authorities lent Vigeland a run-down studio in which to work. When the building was torn down to make room for a library in 1921, Vigeland entered into an agreement with the Oslo City Council in which the city would furnish him with a new studio in return for Vigeland donating all his future sculptures, drawings and woodcuts to the city. One of the results of this agreement was the wealth of statuary in Vigeland Park. The studio was his home until his death in 1943; it is now the home of the Vigeland Museum.

The Vigeland Park is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist and is one of Norway’s most popular place. The unique scuplture park is Gustav Vigelan’s lifework with more than 200 scupltures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. He was also responsible for the design and architectural  layout of the park, the park was mainly completed 1939 thru 1949. Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850 meter long axis that they are the main gate, the bridge with the children’s playground, the fountain, the monolith plateau and the wheel of life. a monumental artistic creation with a human message that is well worth seeing. 

All the statues are centered on the Human Condition theme of the park, illustrating relationships between men and women, adults and children

The bronze statue of the little "Angry Boy" (Sinnataggen in Norwegian) is among the most famous sculptures, the popular "Angry Boy" sculpture shows a naked little boy crying and about to stamp his foot.

 the Wheel of Life (Livshjulet)

Fountain section

The Monolith (Monolitten), the most popular attraction sits at the highest point in the park. The 46ft high Monolith is made up of 121 human figures rising towards the sky.

The weather condition was so scary, but we never thought to quit our tour!

Finally, I catched a pose that nobody in it!

Everywhere is green, peaceful, clean, quiet!

After visiting several museums our last stop was Vigeland Park, I was so tired but I was so happy to able to visit this amazing once again. In our last trip due to weather conditions I've visited only a small part. But, this time we were so lucky all those dark clouds passed by quickly, we just heard their roars.