Akershus Fortress and Vigelandsparken

Instead of spending another day inside museums, we decided to explore the city and walk around. The good weather seemed to follow us because it was another beautiful day in Oslo, but raining back in Copenhagen. We walked by the National Theater which was the main stop we get off at when coming from the hostel. After walking through the square and along the fountains, we headed to the Royal Palace.

Det Kongelige Slott, or the Royal Palace, was surrounded by beautiful gardens and ponds. We decided against taking a guided tour of the inside and instead explore the palace grounds. The Royal Palace was built in the first half of the 19th century for King Charles III and contains 173 rooms. It was a big building and it was yellow, but that's about all there was too it. There was construction at the front of the building which skewed our perspective of its magnitude and beauty. To me, it just looked like another big building, maybe the inside was more elaborate and elegant. The gardens and parks surrounding the palace were another story. It was nicely shaded from the warm sun, and you could find people reading on park benches, laying in the sun, or children playing in the water.

The next stop on our walking tour of the city was supposed to be the opera house. We headed towards the water and approached what we thought was the opera only to find the modern art museum. It was still a great detour and we sat out by the water like true Norwegians. I'll never get tired of being at the lake, ocean, river, or any body of water. I hope to live by the water one day, wherever that may be.

Akershus Fortress was our next stop. Akershus Fortress contains buildings and structures from the Middle Ages. This fortress is a national monument because of its location in the heart of the capital and it's rich history connected to Crown and State. This history includes dramatic military events, tragedies of prison and occupation, to its present peaceful role as host to military schools and offices, cultural activities, and governmental entertaining. 

After walking in what seemed like circles within the fortress walls, Natalie and I sat on part of the wall overlooking the visitor center and the Carp Pond. This pond was divided into two when the foundations of the northern curtain wall were laid in 1592. 

I really couldn't tell you where we walked and what part of the fortress we saw because of it's magnitude, but everything was so different and unique. 

Natalie and I had a great conversation while laying out in the sun with our feet dangling over the edge of the wall. The majority of our conversation was about guys, typical. It's no shocker that I've been single for two years, and frankly I'm okay with it. Sure it was tough at first, but I'm perfectly content developing and growing as an independent young woman. There are many things I want to do with my life like finish college, go to graduate school, and travel. Starting a family is on the list, but that can wait. For the past two years I was set on experiencing these parts of my life on my own, but I'm starting to realize it is possible to have someone along for the ride. I'm just waiting for a person that is worth my time who wants to experience these things with me. It was refreshing being vulnerable with Natalie and I felt a much deeper connection with her. I'm so lucky to have met her and developed such a great friendship.

Our final stop of the day was at Vigelandsparken, one of Norway's most popular tourist attractions. This unique sculpture park represents the life work of sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite, and forged iron. Vigeland was also responsible for the design and arcitectural outline of the park. There was a great variety of sculptures with every combination of people. There were men, women, boys, girls, children, grandparents in every combination of statues you could think of. Some of he statues didn't have as much detail or specific facial features, but strong emotions were still evident and each piece told a different story. Everywhere I looked took my breath away. After making out way to the other end of the park to see all the statues, we plopped onto the grass and soaked up the sun. 

It's important to leave with a bang, so before leaving the park we stood up, cranked music from Lindsay's iPhone, and line danced to the Watermelon Crawl. We have been practicing this dance at night when we are in Copenhagen, and it was time to perform it in front of an audience. Our audience was confused tourists and annoyed sunbathers, and we sure got a lot od funny looks. But we had a lot of fun line dancing on the side of the hill attempting not to trip and tumble down the steep slope. 

 

We were so tired that I even caught Natalie and Lindsay sleeping on the bus ride back to the hostel. Apparently we were too tired to think as well because we made the same meal as last night with salmon, rice, and vegetables. It was just as delicious as the night before, so I wasn't complaining one bit. We had planned on going out after taking a very short power nap, but something about napping at 10pm just doesn't work. By the time you wake up there is no motivation to move a muscle let alone get dressed, put makeup on, and make it out the door. Not only did I have zero energy, but we heard that bars were more strict with the age limit on Saturdays. This just validated out reasons not to go out. I remember hearing some alarms go off, a loud knock on the door which we didn't answer, and having a half awake conversation about our plans that none of us seem to remember.