Moving statues

Finally! I'm starting to put photos up from my trip in July-September 2006. And why not start with Norway, which is not the first place I went, but it's as far north as I got...


This is the top of a building on the main street of Kristiansand. We were sitting in a cafe called Herlig Land! on the ground floor of the building, after a long, long night out.

That afternoon, I drove with M. to Oslo. I was meant to be there to help her stay awake, but managed to fall asleep for a good portion of the drive myself. Luckily, she didn't!

One of the features of Oslo that M. told me about to lure me up there were the naked statues in Vigeland Park, quite close to where she lives. I have to admit that I was thinking "whatever, naked statues, aren't they all?" But there is something different about these. They are not the usual classical style, and people are really doing things. Well, they're obviously still really posed, but they gave me much more of an idea of something happening (if not movement) than classical statue does.

Well, this one certainly has movement:


Many of the sculptures also have a parent-child theme:



I would have liked to get a picture of each and every sculpture - they truly were wonderful - but it felt too touristy. Plus, there were so many people around that most of the time when you lined up a shot, someone would walk right in front of your lens.

Anyway, the sculptures line an avenue leading up to a monument on a small hill, and the park stretches for quite some way on either side. It would be quite a nice place to sit and relax for a few hours, but I decided to wander on into the city. I headed towards the Slott (palace) first, and got to see one of my favourite features of European palaces: bored, pointless guards. Such as this one:


As I walked into the Slottsparken at the back of the Slott, I'd seen a changing of the guard ceremony (with a procession of 8 or so guards walking to each position, one changing with the guard on duty at each position, and then moving on). I found it amusing and would have liked to get some good shots, but photos would not have done it justice.

Anyway, I find bored, pointless guards interesting because of all the questions they raise in my mind: what sort of training do these guys (I've never seen a woman - hmph!) receive? would they be any use at all if anything actually happened? are they part of the regular army? is it a good way of getting out of active service if you are in a country where military service is compulsory (like in Norway)? and most importantly: HOW do they deal with the boredom?

Yes, there are photos from some of the fjords. I will post them at some point. But we'll probably visit another country first (virtually speaking).

Stay tuned...