Norway Fjords/Sweden - Day 2 - Oslo 2

 I am still in Oslo for another day of touring. Today is the day of museums and using my Oslo card.

Got up a little late (8:20am) because I did not sleep at sometime during the night. Was worried of missing the breakfast, so got ready and went to eat in under 20 mins :-) Its a large spread of things to eat - breads, fruits, crackers, cake, salad, and some hot stuff (beans, scrambled eggs etc.) and of course the drinks. It was a large breakfast area and many people were there. I did find a place to sit and enjoy my breakfast. It was okay. Maybe tomorrow will be different menu.

My luggage had arrived so picked that up. Great. Sometimes I feel there are small blessings in all this. I did not have to run with my carry on in Amsterdam airport, or in the rain to the hotel...and got it delivered right to me. Nice....Thank you God for taking care of me.

The first museum opens at 10 am so not in quite a rush to get out but since its a 15 min walk, I got going just before 10 am. The streets were empty and the sun was out...lovely day. There were nice buildings on the way and some gardens. The only sad thing is there is so much construction going on that the view kind of gets messy. In any case reached the National Museum after 10 am. Used my Oslo card to get in. The museum required that we leave our backpacks and jackets in a locker in the basement. (thank you ecoterrorists!). The first wing of the museum was the modern art, which I don't really care for, then slowly it got better. Lovely paintings and collections of things. Not much stood out to me as a city museum is just like any other. It did take more than 2 hrs to see everything, and I did like some of the paintings and items. Actually, if I was not just visiting Oslo, I would spend a lot more time here.

Nobel Peace Museum

Next up was the Nobel Peace museum. This was kind of a waste of time. It gave the history of Alfred Nobel. They make him out to be someone great, when really he created dynamite, one of the most destructive things in the world and made great amount of money doing it. Since the Nobel Peace prize is given in Oslo, the museum seems natural fit here. It was a like walking Wikipedia :-) 

The next stop was going to be the Astrup Fearnly museum of contemporary art. This was at the end of the Aker Brygge, which is an area just filled with eateries. Its a nice walking area. On the right are the restaurants and on the left is the bay full of boats, yachts and saunas, so basically just a big parking lot for boats (LOL). In any case, the walk was nice, I was in no rush and enjoyed the view of fortress and apartment buildings. 

Astrup Fernly Museum

The museum seemed like it was on the edge of jetty but there was more pathway there. The museum itself was again a waste of time. I just could not understand the contemporary art there. Maybe I am too traditional. It was still worth the walk since the building is quite impressive and view of the water and city was also nice. The apartment buildings are amazing. I am sure it is expensive to live there.

Made my way back to Aker Brygge to go to the Akershus fort. It was a bit uphill and by now my feet are getting tired since it is 3 pm now and I have not sat down for more than 10 mins total since 10 am. The fort was strange, there was no guideline as to where and how to visit. The visitor center was not very helpful. I could not figure out how to get inside. Maybe I will come back here tomorrow. (Note: I never did!)

The Akershus Fort

Mother with Sick Child

I wanted to make sure that I visited the Munch museum. Any artist who has a whole museum to himself is worth visiting. Since my feet were tired, I took the tram (blue one - #81) to Bjorvika. Munch museum is 11 floors high with 6 floors of exhibits. I really enjoyed this museum. Munch, of "The Scream" fame, has many more creations. One the most emotional for me was the Mother and Sick Child (picture on left). He had really a vast range of creativity.

These painters like Munch and Dali, are just amazing in their creativity and presentations. Really prolific too. Went all the way to the top of the museum to enjoy the view of the Opera House and nearby buildings. Everything in the museum shop was crazy expensive, so just bought a couple magnets of the "Scream". 

Took the #81 tram to the Central Station and walked to the hotel. Picked up a coffee on the way, It's about 5:30 pm now and I am done! Came home and relaxed a bit. I want to go see the Tullinioka Street lights later at night. Around 7:30 pm, it is dark now and took 18 (can take 17, 18 or 19 blue tram) to the Tullinioka stop. The lights start just there in the middle of the building, and go around in the middle of the buildings. It seems like it was a University. It was fun to watch the lights...it was not a super highlighted tourist spot, so only one other couple was there. 

The Tullinioka Street lights in motion

That was it, that was my day. Very busy and a bit tiring.