oslo on a sunny day

we showed you a rainy day in oslo, now let’s talk about a sunny day here!
we really thought this city was great, with lots to do indoor & out..depending on weather.
a local friend told us that when the sun comes out in oslo … the layers
come off and everyone comes out. it’s a little like seattle that way – there aren’t
many sunny warm days, but when they come there is nothing better. the locals know
how to enjoy it! we were lucky to get a dose of sun-soaked oslo for a day outdoors.
i went on a morning run along the sparkly water while chase had some work calls.
the opera house was my favorite building, but i didn’t get a picture while running.
everyone was already out and about enjoying the bright sunshine!
next we hopped on bikes to go see frogner park which is gorgeous, and contains
the famous vigeland installation with the sculptures by gustav vigeland.
the collection of statues is a little bit whimsical / bizarre at first impression,
but it’s a cool theme as the main motive of the park is the life cycle of man and
each statue represents human emotions and experiences through life. so worth seeing!
i call these ones: “lion king moment,” and “polka dancers” haha,
kidding – but they are pretty entertaining and interesting!
we biked back through a local part of town for lunch
and i was so surprised at the classy architecture. i’ve always
wondered what oslo was like, and never imagined such gorgeous
buildings or interesting things. low expectations = pleasant surprises!
we dropped into google – oslo and laughed so hard at this cross country
ski training machine! only in norway, and i think my parents will want
this when they see this picture since they are avid nordic skiers. also,
how about the ceiling lined with old skis? my kind of place. ^^
right near the harbor you can visit the nobel peace center, which is a must.
the nobel museum is in stockholm (which we also visited), but here is oslo
it’s the center for the peace prize only. all of the peace price recipients are
highlighted inside, with a special exhibition on the most recent winner – in
this case, malala yousafzai. it was so sobering and inspiring to tour through here!
we used the oslo pass for our tickets in here, and for all of the museums we
visited the day before in oslo. we work with tourism boards in a lot of cities and try
out different city cards, and this was one of my favorites. 1) it is all done through an
app on your phone so you don’t have to go pick up or carry around actual cards, and
2) it included basically everything we wanted to do in oslo – all of the best museums,
transport through the city, and even ferry rides out on the water! it’s perfect for a visit here.
i think we all know the story of malala who was shot in the head by the taliban
on her school bus and miraculously survived to now fight for the education of girls,
but seeing her story in this context was even more powerful. the exhibit had the
school uniform she was wearing the day she got shot out on display, which was so
chilling but so incredible to see and know that she survived and is only stronger.
what an inspiration who is adding so much good to the world .. it’s unbelievable!
^^ the hope and light that these beautiful faces have brought the world brightened
up our day just as much as any sunshine did outside :) we loved this stop so much.
we ended our busy day at the clarion collection hotel bastion,
where we were welcomed for a stay. it was so classy, so norway,
so comfortable. i wanted to stay a little longer. look how cozy!
not to mention, the beds had reclining features that chase made the most
of … haha, he looks so nerdy here! i walked in and thought it was a hospital
bed! i made fun of him until i tried it and it was so comfortable..we might need these!
this wraps up our time in norway! if you haven’t been able to tell, i’m all kinds
of obsessed with it. i fell hard for norway and we will be back! above is a quick
snapshot of our route through this country, which we loved every part of. you
can see each post from norway here, and a little vlog from oslo below:

see you from sweden!

xo