A Day at...The Naked Statue Park?!

Living in a country so far north of the equator has its drawbacks, including long, dark winters and streets covered in ice BUT when summer does eventually peak out its bright little head, you can bet we all jump at the opportunity! One thing I do appreciate about Norwegians is they seem to love being outside and when the sun shines, they don their trendiest clothes and flock to parks with picnics and blankets. Honestly, I felt like I was in a Renoir painting.

We ate a lunch and when it started to get too cloudy to lay on the grass and too windy to play badminton, we walked around. Since we were at the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, AKA the Naked Statue Park, walking around is always interesting. And, considering the abundance of nude statues, I'm always surprised by the large number of parents wandering about with their young, seemingly unfazed, children. Makes me wonder if all this North American shying away from nudity is for protection of children or, more realistically, for adults who don't know how to handle it. Regardless of your opinions on the matter, I should warn you that the next few pictures have some full statue nudity so continue at your own risk ;)

I've been to this park so many times, I feel like I know every statue's story personally, but that doesn't stop me from marveling at the amazing detail in each individual face and all the emotion depicted there. Not to mention that the statues are life sized if not larger, you can almost imagine them walking around at night when nobody's around, Night at the Museum style!

I hope you enjoy these lifestyle type blog posts and they inspire you to explore your own cities and see what they have to offer! I would highly recommend taking a stroll through Vigeland Park if you ever find yourself in this part of Norway.

xo Dani

A Day at...Niagara Falls in Oslo

After the long Norwegian winter spent lying dormant, the sun showed its yellow face and just about the entire city of Oslo came out to play. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, it took a while to re-acclimatize to the unexpected light and I kept fairly close to home. Still, it's amazing what wonderful things you'll find just by revisiting your own neighbourhood.

It seems that you never really miss something until you know you're going to lose it and now that I only have a month left here, I am seeing Oslo in a new light (pun unintended); I can almost see what attracted me to it in the first place. The benefit of keeping a city from becoming too cosmopolitan is the proximity of nature, just a 10 minute walk from a downtown flat is this beautiful waterfall on a river that runs all the way to the center.

Of course, it's still quite cold and I had to layer thoroughly to keep from shivering but I got to break out my sunnies, which is always cause of celebration.

I led the way down the wrong street more than once, but overall I would consider the adventure a success. And at the end of every successful adventure is a feast which took place at a lovely little cafe we found near the top of the waterfall. It had to be fish and chips and beer as a tribute to the city I'll be living in soon: London.

  

xo Dani

Premature Snow