Vacation

Vigeland Museum and Frogner Park

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Vigeland Museum-8After we finish exploring Akershus Fortress we take the T-Bane over to the Vigeland Museum. This museum was the workplace and home to Gustav Vigeland, a Norwegian artist who negotiated free rent on this space for the future rights to his work with the government. This building houses his sculptures, woodcarvings, models, drawings, sketches and photographs of the artist through his years of work. His interesting sculptures are very modern and surreal which made for an interesting and thought provoking visit.

Vigeland was born in 1869 to a family of craftsmen and also designed the Nobel Peace Prize Medal. Vigeland moved to his new studio in Frogner Borough during 1924. His studio was located in the vicinity of Frogner Park, which he had chosen as the definitive location for his fountain. Over the following twenty years, Vigeland was devoted to the project of an open exhibition of his works, which later turned into the Vigeland Sculpture Arrangement in Frogner Park.  

Looking to the the Main Gate from the Plateau at Frogner Park

Looking to the the Main Gate from the Plateau

Right across the street from the museum is Frogner Park with the Vigeland Outdoor Sculpture Area.  We first stop at a corner 7-11 and pickup hot dogs, chips and drinks for a lunch in the park as not much else was open during the holiday. We join the thousands of other people enjoying the sunny holiday in the park while eating our picnic lunch. Frogner Park is the largest park in Oslo occupying a former manor house grounds of 80 acres. The park includes the Manor House and Vigeland Sculptural Exhibition area which houses 212 of his bronze and granite sculptures. There is no way we would be able to walk the entire park so we concentrate on the area between the museum, the Monolith Plateau, the Fountain and the Bridge which showcases Vigeland’s sculptures. What an enjoyable time exploring these sculptures and the park grounds. We cross the bridge, head to the T-Bane stop at the Main Gate on Kirkeveien and head back to our apartment after a glorious afternoon of walking.  This was the most crowded we saw the T-Bane during our time here and we had to wait for 2 trolleys before we were able board. Everyone was outside enjoying the weather and visiting with family and friends.

Such a wonderful day, Vigeland sculptures belong in a park. They are larger than life and make your mind explore the meaning behind them. A park for an afternoon stroll and picnic lunch in the beautiful sunshine.

Fram Museum; Oslo, Norway. A Tale of a Norwegian Polar Expedition

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Leaving the apartment early we jump on the T-Bane for the harbor to catch the ferry to Bygdoy for our Norwegian maritime history lesson for the day.  After a delightful ride we exit the ferry right at our destination, 3 separate Norwegian Maritime Museums.

Maritime Museums from the water

Maritime Museums from the water

Fram Arctic Expedition Map

Fram Expedition Map

First up is the Fram Museum, which tells the story of a Norwegian Polar Expedition taken between 1893 and 1896. The ship, the Fram, was commissioned by explorer Fridtjf Nansen and built in 1891 by Colin Archer to reach the north pole by using the shifting ice flows. The museum was built in 1936 to house the ship and explain the 5-year polar exploration of the 12 brave men. The 36’x128’ double ended ship was built with a shallow draft, a 24”-28” thick hull, 3 masts, and a rounded hull to ride up on the ice flow. It was also supplied with a wind generator to supply electricity to power the experiments and men’s needs. It was amazing these men survived the trip frozen in the ice flow for so long with no means of resupply. The map attached shows the extent of their voyage.

The expedition never reached the pole due to the shifting ice current and Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen decided to head out by dog sledges to reach the pole. That proved unsuccessful due to the ice flows and the 2 made their way south to Franz Josef Land where they made camp for the winter.

The Fram meanwhile continued west then made a southerly course swing on the ice flow to emerge into open waters and make it’s way back to Oslo. Nansen and Johansen were picked up by a British explorer who took them back to civilization at the same time the Fram emerged from the ice.

It was very interesting to walk the decks, inside and outside, and see how these men lived and survived during that voyage. These were brave men who risked their lives for adventure and discovery with no means of support, communication or rescue. The exploration was not a failure as the crew brought back a lot of information previously not known. Here are some photos of the ship and museum.  

 

Norsk Folkemueum; Oslo, Norway

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After our 2-3 hour exploration of the Viking Ships we board the bus for the short trip to the Norsk Folkemueum (link) just down the road.

Norsk Folkemuseum Map

Norsk Folkemuseum Map

Arriving at the museum we gain access using the Oslo Pass (link) again without an admission fee. Founded in 1894 the Outdoor museum is Norway’s largest Cultural History museum that includes 160 buildings from around the country and 230,000 artifacts from the 1500’s to the present. The grounds include architecture and artifacts from towns, country farms and estates and all social classes. It is interesting to see the folk art, costumes, toys, exhibits, artifacts and life from the areas these buildings were brought from. They have costumed actors in some of the buildings providing insights into the daily life and crafts during the time period of that building, the actors are so happy to discuss how life was during that time period with any guest entering. The Stave Church is one of 5 medieval buildings from the 1200’s and is very impressive both inside and out. It was deconstructed and moved to the museum when the congregation needed a larger church. Our bodies need refueling so we stop in for a very good quick lunch of sandwiches, desert and drinks in the museum café and head back out to continue our exploration of the grounds. (Text continues below gallery)

After a full day of walking at 5 PM we jump back on the bus, transfer to the T-Bane and arrive at our apartment for dinner and then off to the store to pick a few snacks for tomorrows adventures.

During all the vacations Jodi (a graphic artist) and I (architect) take you will notice a pattern, we love history, art, architecture and the culture of the country we visit. Both our families have members that have immigrated to the USA from Europe since the early 1600’s and we have visited places that just feel comfortable to us, only later to find out that our forefathers came from that area 100’s or 1,000’s of years ago.

Going to museums, art galleries, walking the streets and alleys of a destination, eating where locals dine and talking with people are the best ways to understand the similarities and differences of our countries. Never ask where to go to eat always ask where they would go to eat. It is pleasant to learn by seeing and actively participating in the ways of other cultures. We have met very wonderful and colorful individuals in our travels and would not change the way we travel for anything. We have discussed governments with the owner of a Laundromat outside of Amsterdam while we did laundry, and discussed local sites to visit during breakfast with the family of a B&B in Southern France, during all these encounters we have had wonderful conversations with so many people. Getting on the ground, staying and eating with locals rather than other tourists is amazing (better and inexpensive). Going to a café or restaurant and not being able to read a menu can bring unexpected delights, very seldom not so much, but that is the adventure. We have never been treated with disrespect and it seems a majority are willing to do their best to converse and help us with our travels.

Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum) Oslo, Norway

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We are staying in the Schous Plass area of Oslo and head to the Schous Plass T-Bane stop to catch the trolley to the downtown area where we’ll need a transfer to a bus to Bygdoy for our visit to the Vikingskipshuset and the Norsk Folkemuseum, our adventures for today’s Norwegian history lesson. Continue reading →

Royal Palace and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm

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Stockholm Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Our first visit after wandering around the streets in morning was Kungliga Slottet (link), the Royal Palace, a magnificent baroque style building by the Architect Nicodemus Tessin. This is the King of Sweden’s residence with over 600 rooms on seven floors with a state apartment. The Royal Palace of Stockholm is His Majesty The King’s official residence and is also the setting for most of the monarchy’s official receptions. The palace is a daily place of work for The King and Queen as well as for the various departments that make up the Royal Court.

This combination of royal residence, workplace and culture-historical monument open year round to visitors makes the Royal Palace of Stockholm unique amongst Europe’s royal residences.

The palace contains many interesting things to see. In addition to the Royal Apartments there are three museums steeped in regal history: the Treasury with the regalia, the Tre Kronor Museum that portrays the palaces medieval history and Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities.

Before entering this residence we must first put all our bags and cameras (yes even phones) in a locker and don little bootees over our shoes to protect the floors and carpets. As with all European palaces this one does not disappoint in its opulence. What a shame we could not take any pictures inside to share but as with any of these palaces you must experience them in person to understand the grandness of the spaces.

16th Century ModelAfter our long walk inside the Royal Palace we head over to the underground Stockholm Medeltidmuseum (link) (Museum of Medieval Stockholm). This museum is the largest excavation in Stockholm under the Riksdagshuset (Parliament House) and on Riksplan Plaza, this museum houses 55 feet of the original 16th century fortified wall, a 1520’s war ship, the Riddarholmsskeppetand, reconstructed buildings and artifacts from the time period. The exhibits tell of Stockholm’s emergence and the town’s development in the Middle Ages. The exhibition inside describes with compassion how the people lived and made a livelihood. It was very interesting to see the life and history of the people of Stockholm during the 16th century.

Strombron Bridge

Strombron Bridge

 

Vasa Museet, the colossal ship that sank shortly on it’s maiden voyage.

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After a brief rest at Skansen Outdoor Museum (link) off we go to finish our tour of the 75 acre museum then grab the T-Bana back to the Vasa Museet (link). Going 2 stops we get off the T-Bana cross the street and walk the short distance to the museum. Inside we are greeted by a massive wooden ship that was built between 1626 to 1628 and sank only 1,400 yards into her maiden voyage. It sat on the bottom of the bay until it was raised in 1961 and placed in the museum.

Vasa Sailing Ship

Vasa Sailing Ship

A colossal ship that was to hold 450 men of whom 300 were soldiers, 48 – 24 # cannon, 8 – 5# cannon and 2 – 1# cannon on 2 decks. It sank as the tall, top heavy ship caught a crosswind in its sails and capsized very quickly as the gun ports were open to show how mighty the ship was to the citizens of Stockholm. 100 crew including wives and children were lost in the sinking as the citizens of Stockholm watch in horror.

Grona Land Amusement Park

Grona Land Amusement Park

After walking all 4 floors of the Vasa  Museet we decided to walk over and visit Grona Lund (link), an amusement park with roller coasters, thrill rides, games, concerts and restaurants, that is also located on the Island. Being part of the Stockholm Card with free admission was a plus for us so we were able to walk through and see what the park has to offer. We walked most of the park and it looks like a fun place to spend some time at as it is along the same lines as the old pier amusement parks in America in the 50’s and 60’s, Blackpool (link) in England and Prater Park (link) in Vienna, Austria. We had a great time seeing the park but we are tired from our day’s walking and the 9 hour time change is starting to take it’s toll so we head back to our room for a stop at the market for more goodies and drinks, stop by a restaurant for something to eat and to rest for the next days adventure.

Oradour-sur-Glane, a town lost in WW II

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Written by Jodi Pickens

So traveling on an equal mix of small country roads and highways we make our way to the town of Oradour-sur-Glane. Driving into the new town of Oradour we buy a sandwich and eat outside the entrance in a park area before touring WW II martyred town of Oradour-sur-Glane.

Continue reading →

Completed Trips and Bucket List

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Morning Pano

COMPLETED TRIPS and VISITED SITES

  • Monterey, CA / Santa Cruz, CA
  • Sequoia – Kings Canyon NP
  • Yosemite NP
  • Lassen NP
  • Death Valley NP
  • Grand Canyon NP
  • Crater Lake NP
  • CA redwoods
  • Joshua Tree NP
  • Mesa Verde NP
  • Hawaii Volcanoes NP
  • 9-days backpacking into Kings Canyon NP
  • Ride the Mojave Road – Barstow CA to Laughlin NV
  • Mammoth Mountain, CA skiing, camping, hiking
  • Telluride CO skiing
  • Winter Park CO skiing
  • Park City UT skiing
  • Lake Tahoe skiing
  • Whistler BC Canada skiing
  • 10-day Alaskan cruise vacation with a land add-on to Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks.
  • 7-day Alaska cruise round trip from Seattle,WA
  • 18-day cruise to Mexico, Costa Rica, and through the Panama Canal to Cartagena, Columbia; Aruba; St Thomas and Puerto Rico.
  • 4-week trip to England, Scotland and Wales with a Chunnel trip for the final 4 days in Paris and an additional day at Disney Paris.
  • Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, Florida, Disneyland CA, Disney Paris France
  • 4-week car adventure exploring Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Eastern France and Switzerland.
  • New York City
  • Washington DC
  • Boston, Lexington, Concord, Plymouth, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Gettysburg and many other historic cities.
  • Hawaii
  • Visited 36 States of the USA
  • Route 66 the Mother Road (original)
  • 4-week car trip across America. Seeing many historical sites on the east coast.
  • 3-week train trip to see London, Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome, ending in the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy.
  • 3-week driving vacation thru France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Coastal road Highway 1 in CA and Oregon
  • 3 week adventure to Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; an 8 day Norwegian Fjords Cruise on Royal Caribbean and ending in Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Many other short weekend trips to numerous to mention

REVISED BUCKET LIST  (in no particular order and never complete)

o   Australia and New Zealand

o   Walk the Pacific Crest Trail (Mexico to Canada)

o   Bicycle the Adventure Cycling Association’s Sierra Cascades Trail stopping at Portland, OR then continue back along the Pacific Coast Trail back home

o   Bicycling or motorcycling the Rocky Mountains and the Great Divide Trail

o   Visit Ireland and revisit Wales

o   Back to France to bicycle the areas of Brittany and Normandy, continuing across the Channel following the southern coast of Great Brittan to return to Paris.

o   Iceland

o   Hungry, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece

o   South America; Peru, Chile, Patagonia (cruise or motorcycle?)

o   Revisit Costa Rica and Belize

o   Travel around all 50 USA states

o   Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

o   USA National and State Historic sites and Monuments

o   Cross Canada east to west, explore Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

o   Head to Alaska along the Alaskan Highway to Skagway then to camp/stay at Glacier Bay (Bartlett Cove) and finally take the Alaskan Ferry system to Ketchikan and end in Prince Rupert

o   Revisit Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland area and hike the traverse

o   Bicycle or motorcycle Denmark, Sweden and Norway

o   Disney World with all the family and grand kids

o   Visit all the US National Parks

o   Hike the Pilgrim Trail in northern Spain

o   Tokyo Disney visit Japan

o   Highway 50 across the US

o   Exotic cruise tour of Southeast Asia

o   See a couple of stages of the Tour de France

o   Watch the Isle of Mann TT motorcycle race

Can I do this in the time I have left; I sure am going to try!

June 2016 Alaska – Days 8 and 9

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Today we have a cruise to Victoria and will not dock until 6:00 PM. So after getting up early for breakfast the buffet and aft decks are empty as everyone on the ship sleeps in. It is wonderful to be out here on the last day of breakfast with my son, peaceful, relaxing and enjoying the early morning with pastries and hot chocolate. It is so empty when breakfast finally opens, there must be about only a dozen of us in the buffet area, so I take out my pocket camera and start getting photos of the food service and dining areas while they are empty (these were shared in a previous blog post).

The family trickles in slowly and we enjoy our last full morning together.

Today I am going to take it easy, in the morning while everyone else on the ship are still resting I walk to get photos of the different areas of the ship, watch a documentary on the Alaskan Gold Rush in the Theater then just mosey around enjoying people watching.

Last Day Food-6At lunch they are having a Bavarian BBQ by the pool and that sounds pretty good to me. Everyone else is doing their own thing at lunch so I gorge myself on pulled pork, pork sausage, breads, sides and wonderful Bavarian desert cakes.

 

When we finally dock in Victoria at 6:30 PM I am exhausted, I was going to walk the couple of miles to downtown but just decide to stay on the ship, find a quiet spot to relax to do some reading and writing. Boy am I getting old, but I am missing Jodi so much today. It has been a difficult but very enjoyable trip and a real re-learning experience on how to take a vacation alone.

I decide to go to the room early to pack my bags as we will be docking and leaving the ship early tomorrow morning.

Up early one last morning to grab breakfast and enjoy my last day of sitting on the Aft Deck with my son enjoying the cruise into Seattle. We dock and leave the ship at around 7:30 AM and I say my goodbyes to the family and make my way to the Light Rail Station about ¾’s of a mile away.

After the 40-minute ride to the airport I exit the train for the long walk to the terminal through the parking garage. Going inside the terminal I head for the announcement board to determine which gate my plane will be in, but my flight is not until 3:15 PM and does not show up yet for the gate location. I see which gates Delta flies out of then head to the crazy long security line. Boy this makes Disneyland’s lines look short but at least it keeps moving and is well organized. About an hour later finally through security I walk the Main Terminal looking for an interesting establishment for lunch. Finding one or two that interest me I find an empty gate to relax and do some more reading until I am hungry.

Early afternoon and I am finally hungry so I head for a gourmet Hot Dog stand and get a dog, fries, candy bar and drink. Not good for you but it sure hit the spot and tasted real good and I have eaten bad all week so what is one more day. I’ll worry about good nutrition next week.

Boarding the plane at 2:30 PM I settle into my seat at the rear of the plane, read, gaze out the window and think about the week I have just had and what to do for my future adventures while just trying to keep my mind busy and not wander.

This would have been a vacation Jodi would have loved but hated at the same time as it would have been very difficult for her to walk and use the wheelchair with all the hilly terrain and crowds in the towns.

Well I am rethinking the BUCKET LIST and will be posting it presently along with a some of the past adventures I have been on.

STAY TUNED THIS RIDE IS NOT OVER YET!

June 2016 Alaska – Day 7

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Well after the fun evening I wake up at 4:30 AM and head to the buffet for another pre-breakfast. Grabbing my goodies I make my way to the aft deck as we are in the channel entering Ketchikan. My son joins me and we eat our breakfast as we dock at 7:00 AM and are able to leave the ship at 7:30.

Ketchikan-7We are the last ship on the far end of the dock and walk along the Waterfront Promenade to town. Heading straight through town we turn away from the water to Creek Street along Ketchikan Creek. This is an interesting area of town as it was the red light district at one time. Once prostitution was banned in Alaska the houses of ill repute relocated themselves to the creek as the law banned this practice on land but not over water. The Madams’ were resourceful and built the new houses over the creek bed to skirt the law.  Now a pedestrian tourist shopping area there is one house left that is a museum to the ladies of the night.

At the end of Creek Street there is the Tongass Historical Museum exhibiting artifacts, text and photos telling the history of this first city that was a Native fish camp, mining hub, salmon-canning capitol, fishing port and timber town.

Further along the creek inland is the Totem Heritage Center with a collecting of unrestored totem poles of the Tingit and Haida villages.

We walk back to town and make our way over to stop for a snack back at the waterfront; I purchased a Mountain Dew and a very large thick piece of Snickers chocolate fudge, YUMMY. We go out side the store to sit on a bench and eat our food while we rest as we wait for the rest of the group to exit their show, “The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show”. Still having some time until the show finishes we walk through several stores to see if I can find anything for my grandson, no luck again.

At 11:00 the show ends and we all decide to go to a little food shack on the dock next to the Visitors Center for some fish and chips. The food was vey good but expensive as it was fresh halibut caught that morning and they catered to the tourist crowds, I must say that I was not disappointed it was that good.

We head out to do some additional shopping but must be back on board by 12:30 PM so walking back down the seaside walkway I stop in one of the shops along the Promenade and there is the gift, a nice baseball style hat for the grandson.

The boat leaves for our final destination Victoria, British Columbia at 1:00 PM. So having an afternoon to rest I notice there is a show in the theater at 3:30 PM on “30,000 Years of Art History” which was fun, educational and very relaxing. I almost fell asleep during one part in the dark theater with comfy seats; I guess an old man needs a nap every so often.

We have a quiet restful dinner with everyone in the Main Dinning Room then my son , daughter-in-law and I head to the theater at 6:00 PM for a musical highlighting 3 Rock Legends; Michael Jackson, Madonna and my favorite of the 3, Elton John. It was a very good, entertaining show, which we all enjoyed.

After walking 20,359 steps in 7.5 miles and climbing 25 stories today I head back to my room after the show to rest and I fall fast asleep very quickly around 10:00 PM.