Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway is the next stop! Norway is not part of E.U. and has refused entrance twice. They say the reason is that they have been under the rule of Denmark for over 400 years and then Swedes and Nazis, so they don’t want to give their independence up to Brussels too.  Although they are not part of the EU, they still have close ties with most of Europe and especially the other Nordic countries. Some Nordics from different countries can even understand each other’s dialects. The Norwegians say the Danes speak the same language but with a potato in their mouth. As for their politics, their education is totally free as well as their health care. When we asked our guide whether the taxes were high, he said they weren’t “low” J. As a schoolteacher, he says he pays as high as 35% taxes. They seem to negotiate their taxes like the Swiss and some rich pay no taxes at all.

Norway is known for its naval history and especially the Viking age that took place around 800-1050. Vikings traveled all over Europe and plundered, traded and conquered all they could acquire. Vikings are also the direct ancestors of Norwegians, Swedes and Danes. One of their customs was to pack everything in the burial like Egyptians to sail to the next world including food, jewels, and decorations. The Viking era came to an end when Christianity spread through Europe. We also visited the Fram museum where we learned about Norwegian explorers that went to both the north and south poles. Amundsen took his men to the South Pole and brought all of them back, but during his journey, he had to eat his dogs that carried him there. Compared to Robert Falcon Scott, who took tractors and horses on his expedition to the South pole, Amundsen was the first person who successfully went to the South pole. Fridtjof Nansen, on the other hand, was not just an explorer; he also got a Nobel peace prize and basically started cross-country skiing when he skied across Greenland! After the museum, we went to VIgeland Park. It is a masterpiece created by Gustav Vigeland that took basically his whole life. With almost 600 sculptures all made by him and with the help of only three helpers, the part is decorated with statures depicting the different stages and parts of life. Although it was pouring rain, it was a really beautiful place and I got soaking wet! The Nobel peace center was also a great experience because I got to see a very powerful exhibit about Afghanistan and the soldiers and people on both sides of the war. On the flipside, we got to see a gorgeous work of art, which is the Opera House! It looks like an iceburg melting into the sea. You can even climb up onto the roof! The skandivavian cities are really such amazing places full of design!