Oslo

Today is my 3rd full day here in Oslo. With my mom on her way to Gothenburg in Sweden to pick up my dad, the weather forecasts saying rain, my phone somehow having deactivated itself, and my inexplicable exhaustion today, I've decided to stay put in my hotel in Drammen (a small, almost ghost-town like suburb outside Oslo) and enjoy a day of reading, relaxing, and resting.

Oslo to me is a charming but generally rather ordinary city. Small by American standards (500,000 and yet the largest city in Norway) but extraordinarily well-serviced by public transportation. Individual stations are so close together that I almost feel like one barely needs to walk, although it certainly isn't difficult seeing the main sights on foot. People here are friendly almost to a fault when you ask for directions or help, and their English is absolutely impeccable. Norwegian is astonishingly easy to read if one knows English and German, despite the split in Germanic languages having taken place thousands and thousands of years ago?

Thus far we've seen quite a number of attractions here in Oslo. My favorite was the Vigeland sculpture park, which is absolutely beautiful and one of the largest public parks I've ever seen.

The picture below was an attempt to capture how far just one path would go in the park. Incredible...

A few samples of some of the sculptures:
The Schlott or Royal Palace was also quite a treat. The royal family still lives there, so unfortunately it was closed to visitors. The park outside though appears to be public and was yet another giant space for people to gather.
Changing of the guard...

I couldn't quite understand the large black tassels on the sides of the caps, but otherwise, a pretty cool procession.

Other highlights included the Holocaust Center, where I was surprised to learn that, unlike some of its other Nordic neighbors, the Norwegians eventually cooperated with the Nazis and even did things on their own accord to sieze Jewish-owned property and to send Jews to concentration camps.

Tomorrow morning we'll be rising bright and early to begin travelling to Flåm in Fjord-territory. Pictures I've seen of it thus far are absolutely gorgeous, so I'm looking forward to it. =)