Day 15 (with a bit of 14 too!)
Well I took a little licence last week because the day did not end in Lillistrom. Instead we hotfooted it (literally) out of the hotel and across to the railway station for a quick run into Oslo itself to orientate ourselves for the morrow.The Rough Guide suggests that Oslo city centre ‘embodies the urban elegance of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: wide streets, dignified parks and gardens, solid buildings and long, consciously classical vistas combine to lend it a self-satisfied, respectable air. Oslo's biggest single draw is its museums, which cover a hugely varied and stimulating range of topics: the fabulous Viking Ships Museum, the Munch Museum, the park devoted to the bronze and granite sculptures of Gustav Vigeland, and the moving historical documents of the Resistance Museum are enough to keep even the most battle-weary museum-goer busy for a few days’.
We arrived in Oslo central station and from there as we progressed up Karl Johan’s Gate (street), the Rough Guide was again spot on in describing it as beginning unpromisingly with a clutter of tacky shops and hang-around junkies but things soon pick up at the corner of Dronningens gate. That was how we found it and we made our way along until we got to the Hard Rock Café. Outside there were hundreds of bikes all lined up along the pavement in one of the biggest displays of bikes we had ever seen.
Apparently, this congregation of bikes only takes place once a year or so. We took the above photos on a camera phone. We had a meal in the Hard Rock café, spent so long over it that the souvenir shop closed and so we had to made a note to return tomorrow to get the obligatory pin for BP.
A visit to the National Museum to see the Scream by Munch, Norway's best-
known artist who died in 1944, aged 81 was a must. Munch painted a number of variations of this painting and it has had a chequered history. As I mentioned earlier, the National Gallery's Scream was stolen on 12 February 1994. Suggestions that it was taken by a Norwegian anti-abortion group turned out to be false. After three months, the painting was offered back to the Norwegian government for a ransom of $1 million. This ransom was refused, and the painting was recovered in May of the same year following a sting operation. Ten years later, another version of the painting, the Munch Museum's Scream was stolen at gunpoint along with his Madonna. Once the painting were gone, the Munch Museum closed for 10 months for a $6 million security overhaul. A reward of a quarter of a million euro was offered for it's return and ultimately three men were convicted in 2006 for the theft and jailed for between four and eight years. In August of 2006, Norwegian police announced that the two paintings had been recovered. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition with only a minor scratch and two minor holes.
I was intrigued by the pedestrian lights in the city. Each had two red men. Still can't figure why. If you know do leave a comment please. Whatever about red men, what about the Red Sox? Tonight’s game would be described as the Boston Bats Bash Braves (my Dad would have loved that headline) as they hammered the Atlanta team 11:0. Meanwhile the Colorado Rockies were in the process of sweeping the New York Yankees. On 21 June 2007, the Sox had a rest day but were then 46 to 35 games ahead of the NYY. Go Sox! (I bet you don't know whether you are coming or going in time zones at this stage!!)
A rest day for us too. Albeit only from the bikes. We hiked around Oslo taking in the sights and getting the few presents that we could bring back.
A rest day for us too. Albeit only from the bikes. We hiked around Oslo taking in the sights and getting the few presents that we could bring back.
A visit to the National Museum to see the Scream by Munch, Norway's best-
known artist who died in 1944, aged 81 was a must. Munch painted a number of variations of this painting and it has had a chequered history. As I mentioned earlier, the National Gallery's Scream was stolen on 12 February 1994. Suggestions that it was taken by a Norwegian anti-abortion group turned out to be false. After three months, the painting was offered back to the Norwegian government for a ransom of $1 million. This ransom was refused, and the painting was recovered in May of the same year following a sting operation. Ten years later, another version of the painting, the Munch Museum's Scream was stolen at gunpoint along with his Madonna. Once the painting were gone, the Munch Museum closed for 10 months for a $6 million security overhaul. A reward of a quarter of a million euro was offered for it's return and ultimately three men were convicted in 2006 for the theft and jailed for between four and eight years. In August of 2006, Norwegian police announced that the two paintings had been recovered. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition with only a minor scratch and two minor holes. 
Afterwards we visited a modern art exhibition housed in what was, for all intents and purposes, a plastic bubble. See picture above. We though it was HOT. No wait, that was only the heat inside the plastic tube. Otherwise it left us cold. Wonder where AJ gets his appreciation of modern art from??
Meanwhile the Irish Times was reporting that today in London a self-portrait by the Dublin-born artist Francis Bacon was bought (from the heirs of a European collector who acquired it in 1980) by an anonymous telephone bidder for €28.71 million at auction in Sotheby's. Bacon painted Self Portrait while coming out of a severe depression caused by the suicide of his lover George Dyer in 1971. It shows the artist dressed in boots and an unbuttoned shirt in lavender room and is the only full-length Bacon self-portrait ever to go on sale out of the 17 such works Bacon painted after 1956
Like the Dutch the Norwegians have a 'rent it here and leave it there' bike scheme in the city which seems to work very well. You get a card which enables you to release the bike from its stand. You register it again when you leave it back at the stand nearest your destination.
We ‘did’ Oslo that day, including a trip to McDonalds and ended up in Dolly Dimples, where we ordered a half ’n’ half 40cm pizza i.e. two toppings on the one base. The waitress did not note the half ‘n’ half and we were given the full pizzas at no extra cost. Made no difference, as we could not finish them!After a lovely day in Oslo, the weather forecast suggested rain tomorrow.
2 comments:
First on with a comment?! Beating Cecilia to it! Wow! She must be back in work!
Give me modern art, in a bubble building, over that screaming head any day! That picture is of nightmares made.
Oslo done. McDonalds, Oslo, done.
Rain tomorrow? The suspence just never stops!
What can I say Seamus.....I like to let you beat me occasionally to let you think you're still in the race!!
I would imaging the middle red man means dont start crossing and the top man means 'WE MEANT IT - now get run down!' (my kind of lights....when I'm driving!)
For a million euro I would do you any amount of those awful paintings - I would say they were stolen in the name of taste!!
Oslo looks interesting - glad to see B's Hard Rock pin was a priority ..... AJ take note!!
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