Day 12: Oslo - A Castle, A Scream, A Damstreet, and more Screaming

The weather appeared to be rather cloudy this morning, but at least it wasn't raining. My first stop for the day was the Akershus Fortress and Castle. From the map, there seems to be several entry points to Akershus and I wasn't sure which was the best approach, so I settled on the one nearest to the hotel. The good thing about Oslo (and in all the cities I have visited thus far) is that the city is compact and you can get to anywhere on foot, as long as you are up for walking with good walking shoes (can't stress this enough).

As with so many other castles and fortresses, the medieval Akershus castle and fortress was also built to protect the city from external threats. I had an enjoyable time walking the grounds, and the view over Oslo harbour was just great in the morning. A number of art installations could also be found within the grounds.

From Akershus, it was an easy stroll to Radhus where the City Hall stands. The imposing building is difficult to miss. I did not find it especially interesting, but it is certainly a recognisable Oslo landmark. It is also where the Nobel Peace prize is awarded on 10 December every year.

Close by City Hall is the Nobel Peace Center which is a museum for the Noble Peace prize. I skipped this as the Nobel Museum in Stockholm was rather disappointing.

A visit to Oslo would not be complete without seeing Edvard Munch's "Scream" and I took the Royal Palace approach to the National Gallery just off Karl Johans Gate.

Some random photos as I ambled down Karl Johans Gate...

As with any respectable National Gallery elsewhere, the one in Oslo was no less impressive with treasured works dating from Antiquity to Baroque, Romanticism, from Impressionism to Munch, and from Modernism to the 1950s. I especially enjoyed works from Impressionism and Munch. The highlight was of course Munch's "Scream" (photos were not allowed). This work was made famous when it was stolen and was eventually recovered and returned to Norway.

I spent some time scrutinizing the work. Munch painted a man who appeared to be screaming. However, the scream seems muted. Firstly, he used warmer colours that immediately brings to mind words such as intensity, high pressure points, insanity. However, the colours were muted. They were dull warm tones. Secondly, the screaming man was at the right corner in the painting, which suggests that he was screaming away from the crowd, away from the world. He was trying to suppress his scream, an inner scream that only he can hear. Thirdly, the brushes were  mostly continuous, which again suggest length, continuity, and intensity, and the brush lines all seemed intertwined, emitting from within the screaming man.

Anyway, I am no art critique! I'm just a layman pretending to know how to appreciate art. :)    

I headed northwards to Van Freslers Gravlund next, where Edvard Munch was buried, as well as many other notable figures in Norway.

Next to Van Freslers is Damstredet. This is a row of wooden houses from the 18th century. It is a pretty street with colourful wooden houses, and in some ways, reminds me of Kyoto's most picturesque alley - Ishibe-koji. Damstredet could well be Olso's answer to Ishibe-koji.

Taking the Akersgata approach back to the hotel, I passed by St Olav church and Trefoldighetskirken church.

Back at the hotel, I had a most hair-raising time for the rest of the day. I decided to take out all the Hard Rock Cafe shot glasses that I had bought thus far for a photo to send to the friend who wanted the shot glasses. So I took them out of their boxes one by one. When I took out the Stockholm classic shot glass, I thought something was amiss. There seemed to be some extra design on it. So I peered at it and saw that there was a spider 'design'. And it was a large one, about the size of a marble. It was reddish brown with rather pinkish legs. But something didn't seem right. Was it a real spider?! I clinked the glass, shook the glass, but it didn't move. Then I peered at the glass again, and this time I was sure it was REAL. There were cobwebs inside!

As someone who has phobia of the spider, it was literally a hair-raising moment for me. Needless to say, one certain friend owes me BIG time, and Hard Rock Cafe Stockholm, if you are reading this, how bad were your classic shot glass sales for the last 10 years?!