Europe Trip Day 11 (Oslo, Norway)

It was a dingy, rainy day in Oslo, and the city was quiet... too quiet. I know that sounds campy but it's the truth. The city was emptied out, devoid of people, completely unlike the bustling metropolis that it should have been. Most every shop was locked up tight, only a few bars remained open to service the scant few people who roamed the streets in small bands. It was a deeply creepy scene, like the zombie apocalypse had taken place. Though as it turned out it was only one zombie that was keeping everyone off of the streets. It was Easter, or at least the beginning of four days worth of observance of the holiday.
The good news however was that traffic was a non-issue, and we didn't have to deal with crowds to see the major attractions.

It was also a little early in the spring for Norway, and the flowers had not yet begun to pop. It made our first stop at the Royal Palace a little anticlimactic. The Palace itself was architecturally not much more than a box with windows, and the grounds still had the malaise of winter upon them.

We didn't spend long there before moving walking down the hill toward a really lovely domed building surrounded by statues. We had no idea what it was but knew that we had to check it out. It turned out to be the National Theatre, and at the front of it was the most notable statue of them all, that of Henrik Ibsen. It is interesting that I should come upon a statue of Ibsen so soon after reading one of his plays. I recently finished "An Enemy of the People" the tale of a community turning its back on scientific evidence when it learns a politically inconvenient truth. Making Ibsen as relevant now as he was in 1882.

From there we made our way down to the waterfront where we got some great views of the city and of the immense and imposing Akershus Fortress, which loomed over Oslo's harbor like an ancient gargoyle. Akershus looks altogether different from other fortifications that we've seen, mostly because it is so much older, dating back to the 1290's.
Near the fortress we were fortunate enough to find a place to eat that was still open on Easter weekend, and had a stellar meal at Café Skansen. Then it was back up the hill, in the rain to the hotel, with a quick stop at the Norwegian Parliament for some nighttime pictures.