June 29, 2016 Oslo first impressions
The flight from Rochester
to Oslo went uneventfully, and we arrived at the Oslo airport at 8:30 AM. Our bags arrived quickly, and we walked the
short distance to the train station within the main terminal building, caught
one of the trains which leave every ten minutes, and we were whisked smoothly
to downtown where we exited the train station at the first stop after the main
station and across the street from our hotel.
It was efficient, clean and inexpensive.
Norwegians are tall! I don’t stand out here; lots of men are as
tall as I am and taller. The urinals in
the men’s room at the airport were mounted so high that I don’t think anyone
shorter than 5’ 10” would be able to use them easily! The hotel is wonderfully located, just across
the street from the National Theater. We
checked in, our room was ready, and went to sleep until mid-afternoon. Then, showered and rested, we went out for a
bite and a walk around. Oslo is a city
of 600,000 people, and at this time of year everyone is outdoors. Many of the streets in our area are closed
off for pedestrians and cafes:
Oslo is clearly a summer
biking city as there are lots of folks on them, and many are using the system
of short-term rental bikes which are located conveniently:
The Parliament Building is
undergoing renovations after 150 years of use:
There are beautiful
fountains, and despite temperatures in the low 60’s, children are playing in
the water:
Our hotel is across the
street from the National Theater, with the names of Ibsen, Holberg and Bjornson
on the façade:
There is a prominent
statue of Ibsen in front:
There are lovely
gardens. This one is behind the Theater,
and we couldn’t figure out who this woman is:
And here is a statue of
Ludwig Holberg:
We came across a lovely
large gazebo where a brass band was playing all sorts of music, but much was
from Broadway shows!!
So we’re tired despite our
nap. Off to an early bedtime and more
tomorrow.
You didn't recognize Wenche Foss?
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenche_Foss
Interesting how some writers become famous world-wide (Ibsen), and others are merely local heroes. I know Holberg only because Grieg wrote a work for string orchestra in quasi-18th-century style and entitled it "From Holberg's Time" (1888, for the 200th anniversary of H's birth). Bjornson is even more obscure to me. This makes me wonder which American writers and composers that we think of as important (Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Lillian Hellman, William Carlos Williams...) are known at all well elsewhere. Do we really live in one world, or in a loose conglomeration of different lands and cultures? Of course, the outdoor band playing Broadway tunes suggests that the most commercially successful American music is known quite well elsewhere!
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Grieg's piece is from 1884, not 1888. (It's sometimes known for short as the Holberg Suite.)
ReplyDelete