Let the Sunshine In

July 2, 2012

Literally and figuratively! We woke up to a clear blue sky and lovely sunshine. Ron said he had a whole new appreciation for Oslo. We had a leisurely breakfast followed by a walk to a nearby shopping area that was not productive since we arrived before the shops open. That is usually 10 A.M. and they are all closed by 7 P.M.

We did go by the Government Center to see the damage done last year by the man who decided that the country was wrong to allow in Muslim immigrants and that he should kill as many people as possible from the liberal side of the government. After blowing up the building and killing several people, he went to a youth camp and continued his rampage, killing over 60 more (many young people) before he was stopped. Norwegian law allows for a maximum imprisonment of 21 years if he is declared sane and there is no capitol punishment. His sentencing is next month. It remains a terrible tragedy for the Norwegian people and is very sobering and sad. Windows were blown out in buildings all over near the Government Center which remains under repair. The largest publishing company in the country is nearby and they've left their display as it was after the blast with shattered glass. Our hearts go out.

We were back in time to board the bus with our group to drive to the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History - the Folk Museum - on the Bygdoy peninsula. (The "o" in Bygdoy has a line through it but no can do on this keyboard.) There, a stave church built in 1200 had been reassembled from its original home in the north. There are no nails inside from what I could understand but rather a series of roofs made to insure that the building is structurally sound. I especially enjoyed the section on the indigenous Sami - formerly called Laplanders - since I've always thought that my paternal grandma was ethnically part of that heritage. Her high pronounced cheekbones, slightly almond eyes, darker hair and skin and fine straight nose = what else? Today, the Sami don't always have such a distinct look and appear to be more assimilated into the national culture although they now have their own flag and parliament.

From here, we joined the hoards at the Viking Ship Museum which, in spite of the crowds, was well-worth seeing. These huge ships, restored and with so many artifacts, were pretty amazing. When sister Laura and I were clearing out 50 years of possessions from our parents' home, we'd square our shoulders and say, "We can do it. We're Vikings!" As we are.

We had a very rich and delicious fish chowder for lunch and then took the ferry back to the city hall area where we met dear Anne-Katrine, a former exchange student of Jackie and Larry's with whom they've remained friends for the past 20 years. She is a tall and beautiful woman with blond hair and blue eyes. Even more important, she has a warm and sunny disposition and showed us such kindness and warmth. She took the day off work and left her little girls home for her husband to take care of so that she could be with us.

Our only regret was that we did not have enough time for her to take us out to her house to meet the rest of the family. We are hoping that when she next comes to the US she will visit us in California. Of course we can't tempt her too much with Disneyland because she has Disney World near her American mom and dad in Jacksonville. So we had a private guide for our afternoon at the Kon-Tiki and Fram Museums but we cleverly saved enough time for coffee and a treat back near our hotel. This was a new little place with sidewalk seating where we ordered coffee and ice cream. When time came for payment, they could not accept any of our US credit cards and we had no Norwegian kroner so our friend had to pay for it all. We felt terrible. I pressed the coins I had onto her to at least offset the parking. She said she'd give them to her children so I concluded it couldn't be much. (My method of cash payment on this trip has been to lay money in my palm and let them take what is needed. I think it works well and I am spared trying to figure it out as we move from country to country.) We can only hope to repay Anne Katrine's hospitality when next we meet.

We had a farewell dinner near the hotel and hastened back to start assembling our luggage in order to be on time for breakfast at 5:45 A.M. Good bye Norge.

 

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