One Day in Oslo

It only takes about 2 hours to drive to Oslo from where we live in Sweden. Even though we've been here for almost 5 months, I still hadn't been to Oslo. Until today.

Oslo is the capital of Norway. In a country of just 5 million people, about a million of them live in the Oslo urban area. And the city is almost a thousand years old: Oslo will celebrate its millennial anniversary in 2048.

Entertaining ourselves with selfies

There are dozens of things to do in Oslo, but many of them seemed familiar. The museums boasted Bronze Age relics, Viking ships, and an open-air collection of old buildings. Sounds an awful lot like things we've already seen in Sweden.

But Oslo has one thing unlike anything we've seen so far in Sweden. It has The Scream.

There's a rule that you have to do this when you pose here.

A crowd already filled the stairs leading up to the National Gallery's entrance when we arrived ten minutes before opening time. Because I'd looked up the museum at home, I knew which gallery the famous painting was in (thanks, Trip Advisor!). While the rest of the tourists milled around and wandered aimlessly, we made a beeline for the Munch. 

Another Munch: Melancholy

We found it before the crowds got too thick. The painting hangs in a gallery with several of Munch's other works. I'd never known about any of them before, so I was interested to take a look. The girls? Not so much. 

They are only pretending to be interested for the photo op

After the Munch-fest, I dragged them through several of the other galleries as well, calling their attention to Picassos, Manets, and Monets. Nothing interested them in the slightest. Remind me not to take these people to Italy until they're in college. At least.

Finally, we stumbled upon the drawing room. A large statue of a women hugging a young boy (mother consoling son?) occupied the center of the room. The walls were covered with sketches, and in one corner, we found sketching supplies. I made a drawing of the sculpture, while Chelsea drew from her imagination and Savannah watched us both.

Sculpture and sketches

A few of the many interpretations

We took a break from the museum and walked down the street for a bakery stop. 

Posing with pastries

I didn't try one, but the girls said they were delish

We returned to the museum for a kids' workshop. The art room was set up with several stations. A large piece of paper taped to the wall with black chalk attached to long sticks for drawing. On the opposite wall, a chalkboard and sticks holding white chalk. 

Is it a house? A robot head?

Another table held a black, waxy material for sculpting. It also had a box of blindfolds and instructions to sculpt something without looking. I tried to make a dala horse and it came out looking like a stubby dinosaur. 

Non-approved use of cheese slicer

The drawing table held paintbrushes and nib pens to dip in black ink, thick and thin pencils, and oil pastels. And lots of paper.

So many supplies!

My self-portrait, drawn without looking at the paper

After the museum, we walked a few blocks to the Oslo Public Library (Norway's first and largest library). I dropped the girls off in the beautiful children's area and went to scope out the rest of the place.

Exterior, Oslo Public Library

View from the 3rd floor

Even story time is stylish

#dreamclassroom

Savannah found the craft table

Chelsea's happy place

After months in Tjärnö, Oslo seemed overwhelmingly big and busy. I'm glad I took the chance to spend a day there, I would have regretted it if I hadn't. But I don't feel the need to go back again.