Oslo :4

  

Of course, this photograph is not taken by me. To have such a type of view, one requires a vantage point, that too situated at a distance and at a higher level. But the one below is definitely taken by me and it too shows the grandeur of Oslo Opera House.

Comparisons are odious but I could not help to compare it with Sydney Opera House. The concept is definitely lifted from the Sydney Opera house. [ My observation was not taken well by the tour guide. Afterwards. Naturally, he was proud of HIS opera house more ! ] Both are on the bays, built-in white marble with copious use of glass. But Sydney Opera house is 8th wonder of the new world while Oslo Opera house represents the architecture of the new era which mostly is in rectangles and is DRAB! It is based on the concept of an iceberg, rising from the water so they have this floating structure in the glass just next to the opera house in Oslo-Fjord. Does it look like an iceberg? I sprained my neck in different positions but hardly saw iceberg in it!

Exteriors are half glass, half marble and white granite. It reflects the light so much if you are on the rooftop ,it makes impossible to laze around without shades! The tiles have dots which initially we thought as inscriptions in Braille script, but it turned out, they represented the punching cards of the workers who worked on the building site. The entrance is far from opulent mostly functional.

View from the top, I always like. Panoramic view of any city gives you a rough idea about how the city is laid out. 

This is the Holmenkollen Ski tower as seen from the rooftops of the opera house.

Sharp at the stipulated time we were let in. The ambience was just wonderful. While exteriors are in marble and glass, interiors are mostly in wood that gave golden hue to the entire foyer. The staircase that led to higher balconies is much talked about and is really a piece of woodcraft. The tour was extensive and the guide well-versed expert on the subject. The first bit of information he gave itself was intriguing.   

Entire staff, the maintenance of the building, overall general management is looked after by the Government, rather its agency and it works with clockwork precision. More than 400 people are employed as permanent workers which include all backstage workers, like set makers, carpenters, dress designers and tailors along with the normal, electricians and plumbers. The more surprising fact was that all the events staged at the opera, including even the commercial ones are sponsored by the agency either partly or fully depending on the product. Part may go up to seventy per cent! I pitied our Marathi theatre, its producers, backstage artists and in general everything! The entire economics of the Marathi theatre in comparison with only this one venture looked like peanuts. But I am still proud of it, as, in spite of these and many other innumerable shortcomings Marathi theatre thrived and is still thriving and is an institution to reckon with! All the figures were really mind-boggling. It has three stages and the main one is big enough to accommodate Shivaji Mandir and Bal Gandharva put together! The sitting capacity too is more than 1300. Interesting to note is, even the royals have to buy the tickets like commoners and are not given any special preference, they have to watch the opera along with the common patrons! Acoustics, Seat arrangements, entrance fees, blah blah blah so much of information, my hard disc refused to store more! We were not allowed to take the snaps of the inside, of course, so I am pasting a one from an official site just to have the idea of how majestic it is.

The tour was really extensive so left me tired and exhausted. But as I have already said before, I had another lease of life after completing the round, around the circle of life, so these momentary interludes were not going to count. Oslo here I come! Again!
The next stops were far from the opera but we had a day pass for Tram so it was not a problem. Oslo Cathedral is just near the station and near the tram stop. Much farther away was Ice Palace. Here I loved being backpackers. Going through the maps, then finding the correct route of Tram, the exact location of the place, chances of missing it, making mistakes, all parts I find extremely interesting and enjoyable! 'Get Down, enjoy the monument, Get back to the Bus' type of conducted tours bore me to the hilt!



The Oslo Cathedral is the official Cathedral of the Norwegian Royal Family and dates back to 1600. It's used by the present Government also, for the official public functions. Rather than what it practices, I have always enjoyed the architecture of the churches. Very high ceilings almost reaching the skies, big organs behind the sanctum sanctorum, huge glass panels with murals, everything is just so good to look at. This too had all those things, nothing less, nothing more!

The Ice palace turned out to be in the hind lanes of the University. We had to search a little, but in the end, after wasting 30 minutes we found it. It was so because it was situated in a very obscure building and it was a nondescript enterprise on a very small scale. But it was an experience far beyond expectations. One has to wear thick Snow coats, caps and gloves before venturing in. A smallish hall was cooled well

below-freezing temperatures for ice sculptures to stay.  It was really beautiful once you go in. All the furniture, compartments are made of ice and there is a smallish exhibition of ice sculptures. They serve you a peg of wine on the house but in a glass made of ice. Wine at that juncture you desire the most, but to take the sip with frozen lips is a different task altogether. It was difficult for me to stay there even for more than a few minutes because though the body was well taken care of, it was extremely chilled air that hampered the breath!

Before anything serious could happen, we left the palace to say adieu to Oslo. Whatever days we spent in Oslo were worth more than a thousand words, here I have tried to capture them in the best way I could. Ta-Da!

Oslo: 3

From our hotel Terminus, New Norway/ Oslo Opera House was just across the road, absolutely walking distance. On inquiring, we got to know that there is a conducted tour which takes you inside the auditoriums with a well-versed guide. It was slated early in the morning and we were already late so kept it for another day. After finishing the breakfast we ventured out for the Oslo Fort. 

Breakfast in Hotel Terminus taught me a lesson which will last me, life long. In Belgium, Antwerp, the crown of one my molars had come off leaving rough metal part still inside the gums. Dental help was tried but it turned out, that it required specialist treatment. Though my health insurance covered accidental dental problem, dental treatment all over the west is extremely expensive, so for dental treatment,'I love my India'! But it so happened that every time I used to chew a morsel, my tongue was getting rubbed against the metal part and in the end, it led to a severe ulcer. It made, for me, impossible to eat or chew anything. So I used to apply chewing gum on the metal part and eat the softest possible food. The point is, in Hotel Terminus they were serving cold cuts of fish and red meat. Fish was salmon and it was served raw as paper-thin fillets. The pork was served as bacon strips. And I overcame my inhibition of eating anything raw and that too non-veg and I taught myself to eat RAW Fish and shallow fried Bacon. Let me tell you, for someone brought up in Brahmani house with indoctrination in Non-veg world rather late in life,it was the triumph of the first order! The lesson is ' Eating habits can be changed if you are inclined.' The world eats so many damn things, so in reality, food taboos are strictly 'No No !'
The Oslo Fort is known as Akershus Fortress and is situated again on the Oslofjord near the Oslo port. We walked down to the castle and reached within few minutes Nobody knows when it was built but it seemed that it was renovated many times. 

After entering the fort it was obvious that it was used for Military purposes once. There were barracks and barracks lined one after another. Once you enter the inner gate you see the actual castle. And it was robust, rustic, brawny and not at all like any other palaces or castles we had seen so far. Here me with barracks behind me and me brawny too, though one arm broken, but as they say, with 'Never say Die' Spirit. Exteriors, as well as interiors, amply make it clear that it was built in traditional fashion with a rampart and round observation towers at the corners. Still being under the control of military one is not allowed to venture inside the main buildings. Did not understand the logic but during many war times in the past, it was used as a prison. From Castle directly to Prison? Quite a journey! 

Spring was making way for summer slowly but some trees had their flora still glowing in the tender sun! The View of Oslofjords from one of its gates was picture perfect. 

It was small as compared to many forts but had its own rustic charm that was evident from its layout.







After exploring every nook and corner of the fort for more than 3 to 4 hrs, and collecting junk of information and knowledge that we seldom, were going to use in future, it was time to visit the city square where town hall of Oslo is built. The main entrance is on the Northside with special astronomical clock, that shows positions of Sun, Moon, Planets, Zodiacs and constellations too. Another peculiarity of the hall is, it houses art studios and galleries too. Though the construction started before WW II, it was completed years after the war and was functional only in 1950. It faces the Oslo-fjord on its southern side and has ' Chowpaty ' like a promenade. 

Oslo is full of sculptures all over. This Chowpaty too adorned them in large numbers. Maybe because Scandinavia is in short supply of Sun, nudity is never considered puritanical, on the contrary, it is embraced with open arms. So not only all the sculptures are devoid of clothes mostly, the clothes on the peoples' bodies too start coming off even with a rumour of sunshine!  Even parks Like Shivaji park are full with sunbathers in birthday suits, in broad sunlight, just YOU have to avert your eyes! 

This is the backside of the city hall and it faces  Oslo-Fjords. And this sculpture though is having cloth lying on her lap, she is more bothered about her hair and not the nudity!

 It was around 4 PM and we were roaming all over City square as backpackers forgetting about the lunchtime. We selected a footpath cafe for our lunch as it gives the 'Road Side' view of the world passing by. Nordic food is not entirely different than the rest of Europe but the use of Potatoes is in large amounts. We ordered for baked Potato dish, which was supposed to be the 'Dish' of Norway. While waiting for the food, we saw the life passing by and like 'Cat amongst the Pigeons ' there stood this peculiar statue on the other side of the road. This naked statue of half-man, half-beast obviously in an excited state, is on the main road where families come with children for an evening stroll. While having the food in the footpath cafe' it was extremely amusing to see the reactions and responses of the tourists passing by. From wonder-struck boy on the threshold of puberty to an experienced girl in her early twenties getting herself photographed holding his manhood, was hilarious to watch. And our reaction as typical Indians........ What a shame! [? Disgusting .... Ha Ha Ha !] 

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Oslo: 2

The old railway station absolutely deceives you as the main building looks like any office building, but in fact, hundreds of trains ply from below the 1st level. The yellow building next to the station is Hotel Terminus where we were staying.

In Nordic countries in summer, daylight lingers till late in the evening, even up to 8 to 9 PM. as the sun sets very late. After having a nap of a few hours, by 7 PM, we were fresh again. So decided to venture out to have a dekko at nearby places.   And it turned out that they were plenty.

 This is the main road of Oslo starting from square opposite the station and after going for many miles, culminates just opposite the Royal Palace. It has these flower beds in the middle, that too well maintained unthinkable, and is banned for heavy vehicles thus you can have a leisurely walk, unbothered. As you stroll along, there are many gardens lining the road on either side, completely giving you a feel that you are having a stroll in a big garden and not on the main road of Oslo. There are sculptures all along the road, some so peculiar that, maybe indigestible for Indian appetite, about that, later.  

Christian Krohg was instrumental in throwing out the monarchy from Norway and paving the way for people's democracy of elected representatives along with few learned scholars from the university. So the entire street and gate is named after him.

 Few steps ahead and you see Norwegian parliament in its old grandeur. Smallish but regal and dignified, no show of opulence or neo rich arrogance. Planning of the building started in 1857 but the actual design was selected by holding a competition. The building got completed in 1860, but parliament moved in the new building only by 1866. Unfortunately, like other parliaments in Canberra or Ottawa we could not manage to get inside glimpse.

On Left is old opera house known as National Theatre, still stages performances though the lustre has been taken away by the new opera house built on the seaside bay. Opened way back in 1899 and mainly staged plays by famous Norwegian play-write Ibsen. It manages 4 stages and is practically monument for Ibsen, who wrote very famous plays like 'Doll's House, An Enemy of the people and so many others way back in 19th century! They have been translated in Indian languages too. 
Opposite the national theatre, there is a magnificent building

 of Oslo University All the institutions in Northern Europe, as they were not much affected by the war, are still in better condition, mostly in original and though years show, these are the years of well-earned maturity. It's the oldest and the largest university in Norway. It was surprising to note that it is modelled on the University of Copenhagen which was established in 1811. What were we doing then, probably deep in the caste wars, which have not abetted even today?

Something peculiar happened when we were passing by the university. There was some sort of commotion on the street. An upper bracket, the ultra-posh car was being followed by hoards of girls, in hundreds probably,  mostly in their teens, many of them shouting, giggling, laughing, some may be crying, waving their hands at the car. Did not quite get what was happening. It turned out that, a teenage heartthrob pop singer was travelling in that car and girls had gone hysterical by his mere being in that car! Had heard about western teenagers going mad after Elvis Presley or Micheal Jackson but this was in real, 100% happening in front of our eyes. It was beyond our comprehension, so just by the chuckling, we headed towards Royal Place. The Royal Palace! 

 As it is still occupied by the royal family of Norway, only a part of it is on display. At this age of ours we had seen so many palaces, that did not have any desire to see the obscene opulence gathered by yet another royal family at the cost of poor common man, conveniently labelling it as the love of people !. As it is built on a hillock and Oslo roads are mechanically straight with lot many ups and downs it is clearly visible even from the Parliament square, a distance, not less than 5 to 8 kilometres. It has more than 175 rooms, blah blah blah! But all the palaces are a treat to the eyes. This one has such a beautiful garden behind which was more attractive than the palace itself!

















I like ornamental lamps and lamp posts erected in such palaces, this one has many and I could not resist myself from taking a snap of it! It was well past 8.30 or 9 but could not make out as the twilight was still illuminating the town. But feet said 'No' so left the other things for the day after, caught a tram and returned to our apartment after having light dinner on the way! It was time to call it a day.

Oslo :1

Oslo, the capital of Norway and most populated city of Norway, is on the land that forms an arc around the northernmost tip of Oslofjord. Again the islands. City limit has more than 30 islands and has around 340 lakes. So nature abounds around Oslo and so it is never ever dull, always lush green. Plus the city has so many gardens and parks spread over vast areas that you hardly find a road without an attached garden!

    Oslo in the native language, even in English, is not pronounced the way we pronounce it. In the Norwegian language, it's pronounced as ush-Lu with the last vowel stretched a bit, while in English too it is pronounced as Oz-Loh! Though essentially it's a Roman script, for that matter all the Nordic languages use the same, but the alphabets and their symbols are much modified to suit the local pronunciation that it gives you Deja Vu. You Know it? No, No you don't! So every Nordic language has so many new alphabets [ for Roman script users] that if you don't know the correct pronunciation, you may land up in totally a different soup.

    We were placed in Hotel named The Terminus which is bang next to Central railway station and in the heart of the city, so all the places of interests were easily approachable either by walking or by tram. And here we had Duplex apartment at our disposable. Parlour with bathroom and TV on the level one, while the bedroom on level two with a circular staircase, absolutely in  Bollywood family drama fashion, from where the father of heroine derides hero about the family pride, Khaandaanki Izzat! 
This was the only tour that was below expectations. But we had enough time on our hands so we could fill up the deficit in the next 2 days. I don't know why Sangeeta gave us an only half-day tour but as it covered places far away from the city centre so it did not matter much.

  The first stop was Frogner Park which houses Vigeland Installation. The story behind opening the park is very interesting. There was some altercation between Oslo municipality and the famous sculptor Mr.Gustav Vigeland so he was asked to donate all his work to the municipality. in exchange for land for his studio. He, then over next 20 years carved out these sculptures and donated them to the municipality to start an open exhibition., There are more than 200 sculptures, in number, either in bronze or granite, which end in Monolith at the centre of the park known as the circle of life. Incidentally, he is the one who designed the Nobel Peace Prize.

This is the most popular sculpture in bronze as it shows the emotions on the face of the child most realistically.

All the sculptures are stark naked but are not remotely obscene. On the contrary, the anatomy, the figure and the emotions on the face are so good, almost life-like.

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This central monolith has 121 figures trying to reach to the top. Situated at the centre of park it is encircled by the circle of life. Here the figures are all in granite and show the journey of life from childhood to old age. It is said that if you complete the round around the circle you get new lease of life. Gustav only knows! GOK!
















Did I get a new life after circling around? I must say yes, as we could finish our tour absolutely according to the plan up to last "T" and that too with a broken arm! 

      For want of space, it is well nigh impossible to take you to every nook and corner of the park. Here we wanted to spend more time to imbibe the beauty of all the figures but agenda was saying otherwise, so after a brief visit to park behind the main park with gradually increasing gradient, the fountain of life, the wheel of life, we had to take adieu! Oh so many monuments dedicated to the life, that's always so elusive!

This water fountain known as the fountain of life is far back in the interior parts, has naked human figures, of course, balancing the central plate most deftly and carved out majestically, while the water, the ultimate form of life flowed down, from whichever lacuna it found, so made many beautiful ribbons slowly slipping down. The fountains around, created a veil as if to protect their nudity from prying eyes! 

I could have spent an entire day at the park but as the schedule was tight, I abhor them, tight schedules, so had to rush to catch the bus, that would take us to Hollmenkollen. Ours being hot humid climate snow in any form is miles away from us. All the Scandinavia lies well beyond the tropic of cancer so practically half the year it is covered under snow. And so they have developed sports those can be played when it snows heavily.

The bus ride to Holmenkollen a ski tower is more than picturesque as it is situated in the hilly areas of Oslo. While spiralling up, the Oslofjords whose first impression was drab, made us realize that the book cover may not reveal the actual contents which too could be enchanting. Always accompanied by a small metro line on either side, reminds one of Matheran's toy train ride. They have used the natural slopes of the hill of Holmenkollbakken to build the tower. In fact, the first one built way back in 1901, but the skiing competitions were being held since 1879 on the original slopes of the hill. The present structure that stands today, is after demolishing and reconstructing it for 19 times!   

That's a summertime skier, in the mid-air after taking a giant leap from the top of skiing tower, on right. 








And that's the skiing tower below, with human figures looking like ants. No, they really are, Real humans in person, and not ants! 

After finishing the tour of Holmenkollen we realized, why Sangeeta had arranged for half a day tour on day one. Extremely tired after night's travel and jumping all over Oslo for more than 5 hours had taken its toll and we were just bogged down and so it was time to stretch out on our beds in Duplex...oh it was so inviting!

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