Friday, March 9, 2007

Oslo!


When I started for Oslo, from India, on a business visit, my image of Oslo was nothing more than a chilly & windy place, with may be northern lights and midnight sun. And yeah nothing much for sightseeing. But being on Oslo now, on Day 4, I know how dead-wrong I was. To say simply, Oslo is the most beautiful city I have seen.
When I landed in Oslo on 6th March, it had snowed here and was pretty cold by Indian standards. However, our arrival day was the last chilly day we encountered. The weather has turned from chilly to cool to pleasant. We did not ask for more!
What was most striking feature for me in Oslo was her love for sculptures. There are so many of them around the city center area, where I frequented during my stay. The beautiful statues are located at very appropriate positions besides being beautiful.


Watching these statues & sculptures was really a feast to eyes and mind. The photo above is of a sculpture of 2 birds at the Oslo City Hall. Incidentally, this is the same hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each year. Another place, which I would rank amongst the most beautiful places I have visited, is Vigeland Sculpture Park. Gustove Vigeland was a great sculpturist who promised to donate all his works to Oslo city in exchange of a place to live and work. Vigeland worked for 20 years, on his sculpture park project, which was intended to be a public display of his works. What resulted from his toil is the Vigeland sculpture park with thought provoking portrayal of common life instances.
What I liked most in the park was an abstract theme which would be open to debate and individual perceptions. It is a like a beautiful poem - each time you will discover a new thing and you will know that there are least chances of perceptions of two persons being the same.
My personal favorites in the park were the following:
The statue of the Young Angry Boy is one of the most famous; My favorite is the last one - of the laughing woman. Also the woman running with her daughter in panic is a masterpiece. Beautiful.
Not included in this post are some more beautiful sculptures including the famous Monolith. More about that later.

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