Oslo, Norway. Death metal capital of the world. Under its former name Kristiania it was the setting for Hunger, Knut Hamsen's tale of artistic madness. Home to playwright Henrik Ibsen. The paintings of Edvard Munch. The compositions of Edvard Grieg. Vikings, Arctic explorers, and Nazi resistance movements. Here's a look.
Sailing into the Oslo harbor.
Akershus Fortress, which overlooks the harbor.
Oslo City Hall.
Eidsvoll Square.
A statue of Henrik Ibsen in front of the Nationaltheatret.
Palace Park.
The Oslo trolley.
It's been said that a gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't.
The Nobel Peace Center.
Approaching the Bygdøy peninsula by ferry.
Inside a stave church.
At the Norsk Folkemuseum, an open air museum of historic Norwegian houses.
The Viking Ship Museum.
The Fram ship, which took Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen to the Arctic in 1893.
The Kon-Tiki raft, which carried Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Polynesia in 1947.
An Easter Island-style moai head.
A visit to the Resistance Museum, commemorating Norway's struggle against the Nazis.
The fjords of Norway.
The tiny figure in yellow is pining.
29 July 2012
Oslo
25 July 2012
Copenhagen
Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, is a bemusing blend of past and present, of the historic and modern, at once gloomy and colorful. Gothic church spires share the skyline with glass cubes, the streetplan dissected by canals and bicycle lanes. Its literary heritage includes the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and the proto-existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard. All these components add up to some seductive targets to point a camera at.
The picturesque Nyhavn canal, of which the guidebook I followed admitted, "sure, it's tourist-infested, but I dare you not to take a photo."
The Slotsholmen canal.
Looking down the Strøget pedestrian mall which runs through the center of town.
Examples of the modern architecture which lines the harbor.
Inside Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world.
A glass tube fountain designed by Danish physicist Niels Bohr.
Office building on Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard.
Vor Frelsers Kirke, the Church of Our Saviour. There is an urban legend that the architect leaped to his death from the top of his creation after realizing he had designed the spire counterclockwise.
View from the spire.
Christiania, a hippie commune formed in 1971 on the site of some old military barracks. Photography is prohibited inside, likely due to the open sale of pot on the streets.
A guard at Amalienborg Palace.
St Alban's Anglican Church, near the Kastellet citadel.
The Little Mermaid statue, based on the tale by Hans Christian Anderson.
A marionette show in King's Garden that for my money rivaled anything by Pixar.
Rosenborg Castle.
There is a turnstile in the gate of Assistens cemetery so those locked inside at night can get out.
The grave of Søren Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard's death mask on display at the City Museum of Copenhagen.
Bicycles are the main mode of transportation in Copenhagen. Disregard the heavily-trafficked bike lanes at your own peril.
The Rundetårn, or Round Tower, a former astronomical observatory.
Peter the Great once rode his horse up this ramp to the top.
View of Copenhagen from the Tower.