Oslo

Oslo is a big city by most standards. Not huge, but for a guy from a county with a population of about 5000 a million and a half is a lot of people. It is an international city with people from many parts of the globe, but since its in Norway it is mostly full of Norwegians. As many northern people they have a strong artistic culture shown in their music, art, and architecture. This year is the celebration of Edvard Munch's 150th birthday, and I thought I was old. Of course, as far as I can tell, I am alive and he isn't. Andie, my cousins, aunt and I went to see the exhibition.

This is probably his best known work of which there are several versions. He was quite prolific and has a museum dedicated to him in Oslo.

There were many more of his works at the National Museum which is in another part of the city.

Both exhibits were busy with visitors from all over. Here are some of our fellow art lovers in front of the National Museum.

The Opera House is a sculpture itself, the outside of which is covered in Italian marble. It is a very geometric building and invites people to walk on its surface so we obliged.

 While there was a little drizzle to wet the surface, it was not slippery and the views from on top were rather nice as the building sits at the edge of the Oslofjord. Here is another child of my cousin's leaping on the marble roof.

Well, maybe not leaping exactly.

In the water anchored next to the opera House is a floating sculpture Hun Ligger (She Lies) of a glass and steel ship on a floating (that's right) concrete platform. It is anchored and moves with the wind and tides. Very cool!

As an engineer with a great appreciation for the arts I think Andie liked this sculpture.

There is also human sculpture in the form of this, which we found to be all over the well traveled parts of the city. Painted people posing as statues were not uncommon, but sometimes a bit weird for some of the viewers.

He just didn't trust it to get any closer. He was sure he saw it move. It did.