We touched down in Oslo at 8:30 a.m. local time. My confused body thought it was 11:30 at night. Despite a really comfortable row of seats to myself (I highly recommend going ANYWHERE Scandinavian Air flies), I only got about four hours of sleep the “night” before. I staggered off the plane, breezed through customs, and folks from Linblad expeditions were waiting to whisk me to my hotel in downtown Oslo. My initial impression of this company is that they don’t mess around with anything other than first class.
A bus met us at our hotel to take us on a 3 hour tour of Oslo. Most of it was a “don’t-blink-as-you-go-by-the-parliment” driving tour, which isn’t my favorite way of seeing things. That changed when we spent an hour and a half (not enough time) at Vigeland Park. It is 80 acres and contains close to 200 sculptures of people in every stage of life, and expressing every emotion under the sun. They were all created by Gustav Vigeland, an incredibly hard-working, dedicated Norwegian sculptor. My understanding is that Gustav never gave any explanation to his life’s work. He wanted people to take away their own impressions.
I was only there for an hour and a half, taking pictures, and listening to tales of Gustav’s life. I am no art expert, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a complete artistic expression of the human experience.
Glad you made it safely Greg!! The sculptures are beautiful!! Looking forward to hearing more and seeing more of your trip.
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Thanks for the posts, Greg! Zoe, Willow, and I are enjoying them while on our tour of the American West! I think they envy the cool/cold weather you are experiencing! -Scott
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Imagining the wonder and ah, the new friends and interesting conversations you must be experiences every moment. The pictures of Gusav’s sculptures do a nice job of capturing some of the magic.
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Hi Greg, You rock! This is awesome, thanks for sharing your journey, we are all watching!
Hi Greg it me grace its so cool you are going to do the Arctic plunge you are the coolest teacher so far. I am so excited to go surfing with you i also am happy to study Antarctica! I am the luckiest Girl to be in your class! From Grace, Evan and Beth
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wow!! wow!! wow!!
Everything from Galapagos Islands to Sea Camp to the amazing polar bear photo to the awesome park with all the statues I wish I could see in person….my mind is reeling just reading about your life right now! Thank you for sharing it here. We will be reading your blog often this summer!
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Thanks for the pictures and the blog! Interesting!
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I can’t wait to swap travel stories, Bori!
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