Oslo Cruise

This weekend was the big Oslo cruise - specifically arranged for us exchange students by the Copenhagen Business School International Office. I was hesitate to go (its optional cruise) because the unofficial nickname of this cruise is the "booze cruise" and since I don't drink, wasn't sure if I would have any fun; but I was convinced otherwise by hallmates. Above is the ship we sailed on - my first cruise!
Itinerary - Friday the 29th, leave CPH for Oslo, Norway.
Saturday - dock in Oslo, 9:30am, spend all day there, ship leaves at 5pm back for Copenhagen.
Sunday - Back home by 10am.

Lots to do in seven hours for a big European city, but my small group of four (three girls and a guy, shout out to Peter who was so sweet to act as our Oslo tour guide and to hang with three shopping crazy girls), managed to see the Munich Museum, the Norwegian National Art Gallery, The Royal Palace and even stop at TGIFriday's for a bit to eat. This guy in the photo above was standing up high playing the trumpet on the big main avenue leading to the National Gallery. He did a fabulous rendition of Amazing Grace and waved and smiled at me when I took his pic, so sweet.

Here is a photo of the changing of the guards in front of the Royal Palace. It was nice (and short!), but the soldiers looked all the age of 15 - aye! I would have taken a picture of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" but no photography was allowed in the National Gallery and the Munch Museum's "The Scream" is being repaired for damage (so I posted the image from 'net instead). In person I have to say "The Scream" is not that dramatic, and Munch did some other portraits that are MUCH scarier, goodness some of his early work is just pure frightening, lots of horror film material, death, ghosts, there is one he did with this little boy and girl staring at each other, the boys face is this pale green and eyes are black, so creepy! But it was neat to see this famous artist's work.


After a long day, lots and lots of walking around, (man I'm getting so much exercise here, much more than I ever did in the States), we boarded the boat. Oslo was a fun city but it is definitely not Copenhagen and I'm glad I chose Copenhagen to do my exchange. Oslo is very much like the Northwest of America, it reminded me of Alaska, lots of forest with evergreens, snow, dark and overcast, not helped by the propensity of gray buildings in Oslo (ugh if you could have seen the city hall, so communist, it was horrible - as someone in my group pointed out, very socialist). The ride home was very rough, as we encountered a storm and much of the group spent the night sea sick - I danced till midnight in the nightclub to 60's music, with a group of friends, it was fun, despite the ship rolling back and forth and causing us dancers to all shift to one side of the floor and than to the other side (think cartoons, it was that comical).

Oslo is situated in a fjord, and as we sailed away I snapped this shot of a boat going past us, that is the beauty of Norway, its natural beauty, stillness and peacefulness and I'm glad I went on this trip after all.