May 29 - Oslo

 May 29 - Oslo

Although quite a modern city Oslo still has some ‘Olde Worlde’, and eclectic, architecture, and not all to one’s taste either! 😊  As an example, the Town Hall here has to be the ugliest of its type I’ve ever seen, and yet I normally like brick buildings, yuk!

Top L: What must be the ugliest Town Hall ever!

Off to Bygdøy, the island, again today, and the first stop is to the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, otherwise known as the ‘Folks’ museum.  Containing an extensive collection of artefacts from social and regional groups, it also incorporates a large open-air museum housing more than 150 buildings, all relocated from towns and rural districts across Norway. One particular area of the site has been used to reproduce a facsimile of an old town, using genuine house and business buildings, and little a bit like ‘Sovereign Hill’ in Ballarat.  It’s all very well done as well. Most of the rest of the museum has been dedicated to rural scenarios with mostly a mixture of dwellings and store sheds.  Among the museum's more significant buildings is the medieval Stave Church. Originally from Gol in southern Norway, and built between the 12th and 13th centuries, this really is one magnificent wooden building. 

Our 2nd museum of the day was to the Holocaust Centre, and what a disappointment it turned out to be.  The reason for this is that practically none of the text, and certainly none of the interviews, were in English (all other museums we’ve been to in Oslo have done a fantastic job in providing at least the equivalent text in English, and in some even multiple languages). Given the historical significance of the subject matter, and the fact that we have been to more than a few Holocaust museums previously, we really did expect so much more than this.

Our last stop of the day was to the ‘Nobel Peace Centre’, a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents.  Not at all picturesque, it was all reading and so no photos, I thought the museum did a great job of giving the history behind the actual Nobel prize. However, and our second disappointment of the day, we were hoping for more in-depth biographies on the previous laureates which, unfortunately, were sadly lacking.