A Little Bit More Sightseeing

While I really don't feel any shame in acknowledging that I am a tourist, doing touristy things, I am also both a student and a researcher here, and as those responsibilities grow, I figure that the amount of touristing I can do will shrink. But that time has not yet come, and so this past weekend I gathered up some friends and we checked a few more things-to-see off our to do lists. First we stopped at the apartment where Henrik Ibsen spent his last days, which has now been turned into a museum. Now, If I were to list who I thought were the two most famous Norwegians among Americans, Ibsen would probably be tied for first (the man he'd be tied with, Edvard Grieg, is best known in America for his composition "In the Hall of the Mountain King", which coincidentally was written for the staging of Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt). Ibsen was a playwright and a poet, A Doll's House probably being his most read play outside of Norway. The museum was small and mainly consisted of many of Ibsen's personal effects, among them his shaving kit, watches and top hat. Perhaps more interesting were the cartoons that the museum had collected from newspapers; Ibsen was one of the favorite targets of Norwegian and Continental satirists.

With muttonchops like those, how can Ibsen help but scowl?

After Ibsen, we wandered over and took a look at the Royal Palace. They're surprisingly easy-going concerning the security around it. Although the palace is patrolled by a palace guard, there are no fences and folks can walk up to and around the palace without any trouble. They're doing construction on the roof at the moment, so it looks a little less impressive with scaffolding on it. Also, the king and queen have moved out to their summer home, and so when I find the time, I hope to take a tour of the inside.

Our last stop for the day took us to the other side of town and the museums of the University of Oslo. Admission is free for university students, and so we took the time to visit the Geological and Zoological branches. The Geological branch consisted of rocks and fossils, and while I can stare at rocks all day, my friends were not of the same mind, so we didn't spend all that much time there. Perhaps I'll go back by myself to peruse it further some time.

Most people find this guy a tad bit more interesting than the rest of the rocks.

Finally, we ended the day at the Zoological museum, where we observed displays of the wildlife in Norway, as well as a special exhibit of game animal trophies (I don't know if you've ever seen a full size moose head up close, but that is one large animal). The Zoological museum is actually a charming little museum, and one of the attractions is a wing where the people who construct the museum displays have built made-up, scary creatures for the children, among them a half-squirrel, half-pineapple, and a fox-snake. It's another place where if I find myself with a free afternoon, I'd consider going back and spending more time.

The Fishes of Norway.
It makes me grimace a little that I won't get to do any fishing
while I'm here.