1st May in Norway is public holiday (the same as in Poland). In the city center there is a special parade, most shops and museums were closed on that day. Because of the parade, the tram was cancelled for a few hours as well. We found out how to get to the other side of the city.
We took tram to get to our next attraction. We bought a 24-hour ticket that was valid in trams, buses and metro. It was a little hard to find a place where we could buy this ticket on a public holiday. Finally we’ve found ticket machine at Jernbanetorget metro station.
We loved how Norway is open for families. We had special discount in Oslo, which allowed children under 16 to travel for free on weekends and public holidays (as long as there is adult guardian who pays the normal ticket fee). That’s the way how Kris was riding along the city for free that day.
We decided to see places which were open on public holidays and also are far away from city center.
The first attraction was Vigeland Park (part of Frognerparken).
This large park is one of the most popular public areas in Oslo. It is nice to walk through, watch monuments and also have some fun time at playground. In the park there is exhibition of modern art. It consists of about 212 monuments made by famous sculptor Gustav Vigeland. Some people think that there is about 600 faces on monuments. We didn’t check that.
In the center there is a tall tower
There is some magic in this place. A lot of tourists come to this park to take photos and to watch Vigeland’s art. Each monument has its own story, there is some deeper meaning covered inside. We can read a story of sculptor’s life, what he discovered, felt, and experienced. Monuments are arranged in chronological order and show us stages of artist life. First he was an infant, then a child, teenager, adult, and finally senior a step before his death. The sculptures are his worldview where we can discover that he didn’t have an easy life.
All the sculptures show naked people. There is a lot of emotions on them, we can see enmity, heroism, anger, joy, the hardships of life. One of most popular monument is the one with little boy that is angry and is stomping his foot. Everyone takes a photo with this sad boy. It is also the most slippery because of all the touching. In front of this sculpture people stand in line to take a photo.
There’s a big fountain in the park that is held by six giants.
There’s also working sundial, but it shows wrong hour. Who knows why?
This park is great for children. There is a section dedicated to them. Next to the main gate there is a big playground where kids of every age can find something for them. Kris liked this place very much.
In front of the park gate there is a monument to the sculptor Gustav Vigeland. His beautiful sculptures located in the park are contrasting with this monument which is covered in pigeon droppings.
Below you can see video from our visit to this park: