A Final Day In Oslo...

Il 20-22 dicembre

Oslo, Norway

We arrived in Oslo in the late afternoon which gave the majority of the group just an evening here as they would be leaving the next day. I always enjoy having some time on my own before and/or after an escorted tour so I had planned an additional day to walk about this lovely capital city.

Oslo, founded in 1000 AD, is the economic and governmental center of Norway and is also a hub for maritime trade and industry. Norway's most populous city, it is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, although, in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report, it was also ranked #1 for quality of life in European large cities. Located near a fjord and surrounded by hills and forests, Oslo, also Norway's cosmopolitan center, is a very easy location to explore on foot. Its architecture is a melange of old and new, there are plenty of museums for learning about Norwegian history and culture, stately theaters for music and dance, and a host of outdoor activities for the more energetic.

The first place I visited was the Royal Palace; surrounded by a large park, it seems very much a palace of the people. Although there are guards near the doors (and I would imagine security that I couldn't see), there are no gates and many of us (plenty of children and baby carriages) walked on the crunchy snow and took in the view below as the palace is up on a small hill.

After strolling the downtown pedestrian streets filled with boutiques and XMAS shoppers, and my photographing other landmarks, I followed my map in search of the Jewish Museum about a 30 minute walk from the “pulse” of the city. Housed in a building that was once a synagogue,  I arrived to find the museum closed, as I hadn't taken into account that it was during the festival of Chanukah; nevertheless, I was grateful to have found it. Out of approximately five million people, Norway currently has a Jewish population of about 1,000. In 1940, the country was home to 2,100 Jews, but, by the end of the war, 1,100 had fled, primarily to Sweden, and 750 had been deported to death camps with 34 survivors. Outside the museum, embedded in the ground, are bronze cobblestones with the names of residents deported to Auschwitz. These “stolpersteine” or “stumbling blocks” also appear in other spots in the city as well as places where Jewish victims once lived. Even though I wasn't able to enter the museum, just being there and praying for those who blocks I touched was humbling and a reminder that life is a precious gift.

By then I was cold (yes, it was about 9 degrees Fahrenheit) and yearning for a comforting and warming drink. How lucky I was to stumble upon a cafe where I was served the perfect cup of hot cocoa, complete with freshly whipped cream and shaved chocolate. It was just the right ending to a grand adventure in Norway...