Friday, 24-May-2024


Friday was my rest day. The plan was to relax, get a nice big breakfast, and do some blog posts and write up postcards… and relax. Rest my legs from the walking, and recompose myself as the month of may came to a close.

I did the first part.

Then, of course, I got antsy after having a big breakfast. My legs started jiggling, and my focus started to fray. My hand was tired from filling out cards, so… yeah, I convinced myself. “It would be a good idea to take a quick walk. I wonder if there’s anything nearby? Huh, Vigelandsparken, that’s not too far…”

And off I went.

In total, on my “rest day” I walked about 15km, or 9.3 miles. Almost all of that was exploring the beautiful and expansive Vigeland sculpture garden – supposedly the largest single-artist sculpture garden in the world!

I mean, okay. I did rest a little bit. I stopped at a few picnic tables, spread out postcards, and filled them in. I rested, took LOTS of photos (as you can see here), and appreciated the strange artwork of the garden. Gustav Vigeland was definitely an interesting mind, and I’m particularly fond of “man fighting off a handful of vampire babies”, which is what I assume the title is. I couldn’t say, since there weren’t placards for most of them, so the title was (I assume) left up to the observer. A statement that is probably sending some art historian into conniptions right now, so… sorry.

The key is that I adored it, though, and I fully appreciate gardens and parks like this. Because, see, the art was secondary to the garden itself. The lawns, the shade, the trees and paths and benches… they were full of Norwegians relaxing and appreciating the open air. Children playing, teens lounging and being cool, and young professional types playing random games I couldn’t begin to identify… it all tied into the theme that I’d been seeing of Norway – positivity, movement, and appreciation for the human side of life.

I wandered, and was happy for everyone. Or at least was happily jealous.



**One other sculpture of note was that of Abraham Lincoln, which was gifted to Norway by North Dakota… in reciprocation for a statue of a Viking Chieftain that was gifted to North Dakota by Norway. I looked it up. I have no idea why these gifts started, but… sure! Sounds cool!

Ohh! Lunch! I also stopped at a very fancy cafe in the garden for lunch. It was delicious – a seafood soup, beautifully sweet and savory, with a cup of excellent coffee.

Also a quick footnote – Technically the park is called “Frogner Park”, and “Vigeland” is just the tourist name. In my defense, Google says that it’s Vigeland, and I am not going to disagree with Google because that’s how Skynet targets you first.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogner_Park