After arriving in Oslo, I took a two hour nap and ventured out! What a beautiful city. The Akershus Castle is on the hill and is a medieval castle built to protect the harbor.I had dinner at “Elias” and was determined to try everything “Norwegian” This dish was elk carpaccio served with lingonberries. The main course was reindeer stew and for desert I enjoyed cloudberry panna cotta. The next day I met Chris and Natalie at the airport and we flew to Alta. Natalie is walking along the Alta river right outside the Hotel Sorrisniva. We are here to hike and see the Northern Lights. Alta is 1000km north of the Arctic Circle.On our first morning we took at nice hike and saw the lingonberry and cloudberries that are harvested in the hills here.The destination was this beautiful waterfall. In a few weeks, it will be a sheet of ice and ideal for ice climbingThe Northern Lights are something to behold. On our first night of viewing we saw them for a short period of time but the second night they were spectacularThey are constantly coming and going and they might be in front of you one minute and behind you the next.Chris took this photo. Our guide made a fire to keep us warm while we stood and enjoyed the lights. When they were not present, we could see the Milky Way in all its gloryWe visited a small reindeer farm. The Sami people are an indigenous people of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They are reindeer herders and live on the tundra. We learned a little about their culture and family life In Oslo, there was a sit-in and demonstration on the Parliament steps protesting the placement of wind turbines on the Sami reindeer herding lands.A few blocks away this painting by Anders Sunna entitled, ” Blood Red is the New Green” is displayed. It is his commentary on the injustice and violence against the Sami indigenous people.Within the grounds of the Akershus Castle is the Resistance Museum documenting the resistance efforts during the Nazi occupation of 1940-1945.The Edvard Munch Museum is next door to the equally beautiful Oslo Opera House.Edvard Munch has been one of my favorite artists and the permanent collection was impressive. “Love and Pain” was one of many paintings in the permanent collection. ” The Scream” is probably his most famous, but I enjoyed so much more. I also visited the Kon Tiki Museum and the Fram Museum. The Fram was the first ship built in Norway for polar research.The next day I spent at the Gustav Vigeland Museum and Sculpture park. The museum contains many of his early works and plaster originals for his famous monument. This is only one of the plaster molds at the museumI am only showing this photo of one of the amazing structures in the park. I think I took over 25 photos of all the individual and group sculptures that are displayed in the park. This is a place one could visit again and again.I left Oslo for Berlin and was lucky to catch this exhibit at the Alte National Gallery. The “Secessionen” was “an historic break between a group of avant-garde artists and conservative European artists in the late 19th and early 20th century.”The Andrea Bocelli live concert in Berlin was spectacular and was the highlight of the Berlin visit.On to Stockholm and the Nobel Museum. I learned a little more about Alfred Nobel and his legacy. A special exhibit at the Nobel was “Fungi – in Art and Science” This was full of fun facts and pieces like this dress. Caroline picked me up at the museum and we had lunch in a beautiful park near her house. We took a nice walk and then had dinner with her family.The next day I visited one of many royal palaces. I was amazed that all of clocks were keeping the correct time and chimed on the hour. After leaving the castle and grabbing a coffee and Swedish pastry, I hopped on a ferry to a nearby island to visit the Vasa Museum. This massive warship sunk in the harbor right after setting sail on its maiden voyage in 1628. It was salvaged and is almost fully intact. It was amazing to see the intricate wood work and metal work that was used to decorate this ship. The exhibit adds greatly to our appreciation of life in that time. The best part of my trip to Stockholm was getting to meet Caroline’s two daughters, Alicia and Olivia. They staged an adorable dance number for me and their parents. Caroline’s daughters are huge Barbie fans. They are adorable in their Barbie movie dresses ! I did not realize that Barbie is a worldwide phenomena.
