Today was a lovely day of sun and fun in the city! We first went to City Hall, a very rich, ornate marble-y place with loads to see. I was first sucked in by the wooden carved art panels along the outside of the building that depict the Norse myths, so I snapped pics of each and every one, including the information panels which listed some interesting differences in the names and details of the myths that I had not heard before. I might have to make a special photo book for myself with those! The interior is really quite incredible, with painted walls, ceilings, massive weavings, and embroidered chairs with certain motifs of historical significance. We spent a long time there, taking some cool snapshots of everything, including the cool views of the fjord right out back.
We then jumped on a ferry to the city of Bygdoy where many of the museums are located. We saw the Kon-Tiki museum and the Maritime museum where the ginormous Fram (a big, honkin' historical ship) is housed. It is astonishing to me that people choose to navigate the deep seas (and I'm a water-lover) but especially considering doing it in a raft or a boat made from reeds! I was so impressed to see a snippet of footage from the trip when a whale shark, about 60 feet long, was shown hovering around the tiny raft that stuck around for over an hour before one of the crew couldn't take it anymore and threw a spear at its head! I was impressed by something that Thor Heyerdahl said in one of the recorded interviews about the Kon-Tiki voyage; he commented on the feeling shared by the whole crew that being out at sea for 101 days, they felt as a part of the universe, a small and insignificant part of the world and simply identified with being human rather than any nationality. Imagine.
Our feet were fried after all the concrete walking, so we jumped on the tram back to Ellingsen's for a nice nap, snacks and freshened ourselves up for the evening's three-hour sailboat jazz cruise! What a flippin' amazing time! The boat was packed like sardines, and our social anxiety peaked when we realized we would actually have to talk to people, but we ended up having such a lovely conversation with the four other people we sat with, it was sad to say goodbye at the end of the night. We learned a lot more about Norwegian culture, thanks to the native Norwegian fellow, Finn, who clued us into a lot of interesting facts about real estate here in this expensive city, different kinds of brown cheese (yes, brown cheese is a thing here) and gave use some great tips on which little islands we should ferry to tomorrow. Two gals from Belgium and Finn's wife kept the evening jovial with their discussions, as well as the cutest 70 year dude who was celebrating his bursdag (birthday) and flirting with the ladies. There was boat load of prawns for supper, though I trust nothing with its eyes and disgestive system still intact, so I just had a piece of buttered bread. The jazz musicians made the tour an absolutely joyous and fun occasion, playing jazz favorites that kept the vessel rocking into the darkness. John, of course, knows and could probably play them all, and the whole group got very excited to learn John is a musician. The views of Oslo as the sun went down were very reminiscent of San Francisco, but there is something more to Norwegian land for us....our roots, part of them, stem from this place. This is one of the places where we are indigenous. That is why Norway sings to my soul, and also why England does. The weave of these lands lives inside my bones.
Here are some fun pix from the day!
Ha det! (See ya!)
Love & hugs,
R&J
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