#norwayday1

Holy price change batman!  Norway is expensive.  I thought that Sweden and Denmark were expensive....they have nothing on Norway.  It is astronomical - I could not believe how much every day items cost.  I was flabbergasted - $8 for a cup of tea.  Tea that has no alcohol in it.  Imagine what the price of a beer is.  And then imagine me not drinking at all for the rest of the trip.  I won't do $30 tap beer.  Under "ridiculous" in Webster's, you will find $30 tap beer.  I can't imagine what all of the oil workers get as a cost of living adjustment.  It must be crazy high.

Anyways, pictures and hash tags:

#representinginOslo - I think I have a team in Oslo.  Cool building right on the harbor.  #geekingout - this was the first building I saw in Oslo.

#Osloharbor - beautiful harbor that looks like arms welcoming the world in.  The city hall is shaped exactly the same.

#moreboats - the boats on the Oslo harbor were really neat looking - many looked pretty old.

#beginningofWWIImonuments - The Norwegians had it tough in WWII.  Due to strategic positions, they were high on the Nazi priority list and low on the Allied list for liberation.  The city has monuments up to both Churchill and Roosevelt to commemorate the liberation of the country.

#boathashtagout - I'm out of hash tags for boats.  Very cool harbor.

#peacesculpture - So Norway loves their sculptures.  I saw this in the morning and thought it was a bit ridiculous.  It was a gift from the US (Jimmy Carter) symbolizing peace.  No idea how that symbolizes peace.  My first thought was that the Norwegians probably received it in the mail and said "ah...shucks Jimmy, you really didn't have to.  No really, you didn't have to".  But then I saw Vigeland sculpture park and thought differently - the Norwegians love a good sculpture that can't be interpreted without a book.  See later in the post for that park.

#moretocomeonthis - This is the castle where the Norwegian Resistance Museum is that I visited on Day 2 in Norway.  Really cool area.

#justformom - a Bernina shop!

#Parliamentnumber3 - third parliament of the trip

#2ndnationaltheatre - second national theatre of the trip

#3rdroyalpalace - third royal palace of the trip

#funnyhat - Royal Guard with a very funny hat

#parkfitforaking - Park behind the Royal Palace that's open to the public - gorgeous.

#cityhallmural - Because Norway is a relatively young country (independence from Sweden in early 1900s), the murals depict medieval times, but the focus is heavily on the last century.  Building is beautiful.

#nakedpeoplestatues - Vigeland park is rated a 3 pyramid in RS.  The park itself is beautiful, but the sculptures are a head scratcher.  They are all fine pieces, but there is only one in the whole park with any clothing on.  I couldn't interpret a lot of the reasoning behind them by just looking at them, which to me is a sign of either my stupidity or art that is too modern for my taste.

I didn't get a whole lot of up close shots, because I didn't want to throw pictures in that I can't readily explain.  It was strange to say the least.

#angrybaby - this is the most famous sculpture in the park.  Apparently the little tike had his lollipop taken away from him right before the artist designed this sculpture.  For good luck, I reenacted the scene.