This was our last full day in Norway. Christine and I have been guests in the home of Hege and Jan Cato Bjørnstad since the 11th. The home is located in Maura Norway, a pleasant community about 40 miles drive from downtown Oslo. The high speed train from nearby Gardermoen International Airport delivered the two of us into the center of Oslo in a mere 15 minutes.

Christine and I took advantage of the day for a bit of solo touring. The rain dampened but did not deter us from a bit of wandering. We visited the grounds of the Royal Palace, and the National History Museum.

We also enjoyed lunch under an awning near the National Theater.

We are steeling ourselves for the dining “sticker shock” that awaits us in Iceland. In the meantime, Norway isn’t far behind. Our lunch consisting of soup, sandwiches, and beverages for the two of us was over 700 Norwegian Krone, about $90.00. Prices outside of the central city are a bit lower.

The highlight of our visit was the National Gallery.

It was established in 1842, and has been housed in its current location since 1882. It is an art gallery of modest proportions, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in quality. The collection includes works by such international notables as El Greco, Monet, Cezanne, and Picasso. There are also many works by Norwegian masters such as Tidemand, Gude, and of course Munch. Here are some of my favorites:

An entire room was set aside for the works of Edvard Munch, including “The Scream”.

Valued by the Gallery as second only to The Scream is the famous 1848 collaboration work between landscape artist Hans Gude and Adolph Tidemand an artist of the Romantic Nationalism school. This painting, titled “Bridal Procession” attracted quite a crowd.

After our return to Maura we and the Bjørnstad family went out for dinner to celebrate Hege’s birthday. Following that we visited her parents and enjoyed a traditional Norwegian cake, the name of which appropriately translates to “World’s Best Cake”.

We depart tomorrow for a week in Iceland. This would be another sad parting for us except that the Bjørnstad family will be our guests in Kansas City in about 2weeks.

Peace Everyone. Pete

4 thoughts on “June 14th. The National Gallery and Farewell (sort of).

  1. Pauline Schloss says:

    I would be happy with any of the paintings. At least you will enjoy your tapestrys. Nice that your could be there for Hege’s birthday. Did you get your I-Pad restored???

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