Norway or the Highway - Oslo, Day 2

This day was the most interesting one in Oslo, also the only full day there.  The most notable attractions in Oslo are the boat museums, so I had to go there.  First up was the Kon-Tiki museum.

It was pretty interesting to read all about the Kon-Tiki and Ra expeditions and see the rafts.  The documentary about the expedition won an Oscar in 1951, so that's notable!

That's Brice, my hostelmate who's from France.

Thatsa me! And the guy who spearheaded both expeditions.

I don't remember what this was. A little creepy, I know.

After this museum, we took in the scenery before exploring more museums.

Then we went to the Norsk Maritime Museum, which was not that interesting.  

Then we went to the Fram.  First, I wasn't interested in going because it was very unassuming from the outside.  But the sign touts that it's the best museum in Norway, so I thought that I might as well go, since admission is included in the Oslo Pass anyway.  I'm glad I did because it was a really cool museum. 

They had interactive features like seeing how much weight you could pull to illustrate what the people who were on the Fram had to endure. 

The boat took up 2-3 levels.  One level let you go on the boat.

Obligatory boat selfie

The closest Northern Lights encounter I had.  Every few minutes the lights on the inside of the tent would have the Northern Lights displayed.

Inside of the boat

It's like I'm an explorer too!

Another boat! But we couldn't go on this one.

Next was the Viking Ship Museum, which I'd heard a lot about.  I think it's the most popular museum in Oslo but I don't know why.  It's not that great, especially after going to the Fram.

People dressed in costume.  There's balconies for you to get an overhead view of the viking ships.

It was a short walk to the Norwegian Folk Museum, which is my favorite of all.  I wish I allowed more time because there was so much to see and we were in a hurry to see what we could before it closed.  It was primarily an open air museum with a lot of different buildings from different times.

I liked the random stripes on this building.

I made him climb this to see what's inside.  The answer?  Nothing.

This almost felt like the studio tour at Universal Studios Hollywood.

The bar!

There was also a barn with animals.

Apparently my last name is cattle in Norwegian.

A Ku and a ku!

There were some exhibitions too.  Since it's Norway, of course they have reindeer.

I took another nap at like.. 6pm.  But since it was my only full day in Oslo, I decided that we were going to go out instead of sleeping early.  We met some of Brice's friends and coworkers at a club/bar.  It was pretty cool.. there was a chandelier outside, but I didn't get a picture of it.  Also, before we went in, I saw a rat scurrying by.  That was new.  The band was awesome and we were right at the front of the stage, with a great view. 

I took a video because this song sounded like it was (Norwegian) country.

Norway! For Real? - Oslo, Day 1

These posts are, obviously, not being written every night like with past vacations due to a combo of being so tired and busy.  (The first couple of nights, I took 4pm naps because it was so darn dark outside.)

Although I booked my flights at the end of April and had until early November to plan for this trip, I found myself scrambling at the last minute to figure out my itinerary before ultimately deciding to get multi-day city passes that include admission to plenty of museums and unlimited public transportation.  They might seem pricey, but if you're like me and like getting a lot done and speeding through things, you can easily make the passes pay for themselves.  The only downside was that most museums are closed on Mondays, so there were many that I didn't get to see.

On another note, one (kinda) strategy that worked great for outbound flight was only getting two hours of sleep the night before and then taking an over-the-counter sleeping pill.  Usually, I find long flights unbearable but I slept the majority of the five hour flight from LAX to Newark and the eight-hour flight from Newark to Oslo.  This backfired a bit when I took the pill half an hour before my flight was supposed to depart and then my flight was delayed half an hour.  I was so groggy before boarding, I thought I might pass out like a narcoleptic.  But I digress.

Oslo was a great start and was a bit slower, better easing me into the trip - with less action than Helsinki and Stockholm.  Also, I wasn't able to see everything I wanted to, since many museums were closed on Mondays.

Here's some walking around pictures:

I started at Popsenteret, a pop museum that explored Norwegian pop music.  Although I can't name any Norwegian musicians, it was an interesting, interactive museum.

Super excited when I heard Take on Me and saw the music video playing.  Apparently A-Ha is Norwegian!

When you put your head in the egg-shaped things, it plays music from up and coming Norwegian musicians.

There was this one room that allows you to have the rock star experience. You walk in and are greeted by a cheering crowd. 

This was my favorite part of the museum.  There's a room where you can select different decades and the lights in the room change to give the feel of that decade.  The pictures on the table change (and there's movement), the posters, windows, wallpaper, and the couch all change too.

I think this is the '90s.

After this was a nice, long walk through the park and to the Munch Museum.  Edvard Munch is big in Norway - their international airport is named after him.  If you don't know who he is, you have to know his most famous painting The Scream.

The painting version of The Scream pictured here was at the National Gallery in Oslo, but I didn't have a chance to go there.  There was a poster-like version at the Munch Museum that, according to Wikipedia, was stolen (and recovered) ten years ago.  

At The Munch Museum, you had to go through a metal detector and weren't allowed to have liquids or bags.  But it was a pretty small and I sped through it a couple of times.  I actually exited and thought it was by accident, since it was so small, so I had to go through the metal detector again and took a look but nope.. I'd seen everything.  The current exhibit was comparing Munch's work with Vigeland's.  Vigeland is a famous Norwegian sculptor - a couple of days later, I went to a park that had a bunch of his statues and there was a museum too (but closed when I went).

Took a walk and found my way to the Natural History Museum - it was kinda boring.. they're pretty much all the same.

Looks like Ikea

Since I've always lived in LA, I'm especially enamored by evidence of seasons other than summer, so I heavily admired the foliage in Oslo.

I also saw some interesting street art.

This one is nice but..

.. this one is not.

Took a 4pm nap, woke up and explored the malls.  There's a lot in the area.

I have no idea what the face on these diamonds is.  Also, the first of many, many, many H&Ms I saw on the trip.

Super excited to see a bunch of Christmas decorations being sold.

Interesting chairs

Although it was cold, this didn't stop me from getting ice cream.  The desserts case looked so good.

End of post for the first day.  This was kinda boring, but the next day is more interesting.  Lots of boat museums!