Karl Johan's Gate ... in the daytime!

I know that it has been almost forever since I was in Norway, but the holidays got in the way, then when I went to pick out what files I wanted to show y'all - there were 124 - which isn't so bad if some good music is playing and you are mindlessly downloading them to your blog. Can be done in no time at all ...

But, if you happen to be psychotic, have a severe case of OCD and want to show details in what you are displaying on the blog (mainly because the details are why I picked that particular photo in the first place ...) it involves no less than Photoshop editing, 3 plug ins and a wee bit of time. Plus a TON OF PATIENCE. Which I, of course, don't have. I would edit a few some days and just sit there and say to myself that if I had to edit one more ... I would put my fist through one of my very pretty monitors ... so I would (surprising, no?) stop.

Some days I got quite a few done and was having so much fun, I would take an hour on one photo! No good for a blog and a ton of photos - but ever so much fun for me. Those days I didn't stop ... well - until I decided that if I didn't get up and walk around - I might be crawling to my bed ...

There seemed to be no happy medium. Some days I liked using the 'Bleach Bypass' process to pull out the details - makes things look a wee bit like an overblown HDR photo - but shows detail. I used it more than I ought to have and would try to reduce the impact by lowering the opacity of the bleached processed layer - but you can still tell that this month I am infatuated with it.

One of the plug ins has a way of pulling out the detail also - and at high levels, it starts to look the same as a bleach bypass photo - so lots of funky photos this time around - they just look a bit ... off. But - if you look closely - you will find that you can ... look closely! That all the little tiny details of something are all right there just waiting for you to explore them!

OK, enough about the photos - I will pretty much just dump them on the screen and try to keep the nattering down to a minimum.

This first one (I will mention) is the first view of Oslo Cathedral we get as we walked from the Radisson to its location (I say we - since Gary and I walked the same path the night before - I was alone during this photo taking session. There are simply a TON of wires in the sky, along the buildings - part of a trolly system (? I can't remember) or just there to annoy photographers? This photo I tried taking all the wires out since it looks just divine without them - but since it took me hours and there were over 30 wires in this one photo alone - I told myself that y'all were going to have to see the wires and I had to stop wasting time taking them out - so most of the rest of the photos have wires in them unless they were quick to get rid of or bugging me more than usual ...


Beautiful arches into what look like stores in the annex portions of what looks like the Cathedral.


Two beautiful statues above the main door into the chapel - and the door:




Various views of the Cathedral as I walked around it and on to my destination:






One word:


CHICKENS!!!




SERIOUSLY?



WHY, WHY, OH WHY would you make a

STATUE OF CHICKENS???


It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma and all hard boiled ...



A photo that seemed to have wandered out of place ... I thought that I had them all in order. This, as we have mentioned before in earlier posts, is Stortinget - Norway's beautiful parliament building.


AND THIS - is the entry to "Oslo Sweater Shop". Yeah, beautiful, knit woolen Norwegian sweaters.

Let's just say that they really, really liked me there ...

Oh, and it is way before Stortinget - after the Cathedral, but on the way to Stortinget - thus the reason I said Stortinget is lost ... (Cute troll, yes? We have grundles of them at home and LOVE them! Though, ours are a wee bit smaller ...)


You know that part about me shutting up? It WILL HAPPEN - soon I think ...

THIS LOVELY LADY is MAGICAL. I took (no kidding) about 10 photos of her. With my big, sophisticated camera. Each time, I used the auto-focus and each time a tiny red light showed up on the screen - HITTING SOME PORTION OF HER - not the wall, not the sky, not the street - and beeped saying it was in focus. And so each time I snapped a photo. Got back and downloaded my photos AND NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS IN FOCUS. That is a very cool trick ... well, FOR HER, not so much for me. She was an absolutely breath taking sculpture attached to a wall and I really liked her. And I had no time to go back in the light and shoot her again.

So - I did basically the only thing you can do with an out of focus photo - posterized it to make it useable as a bit of 'abstract art' that is fooling no one. Just wanted you to see her.

Still wondering how she did that ...





I have included a lot of details that I find on the buildings. I could probably tell you which building it came from and the building probably has a name - but I don't care enough right now (I want to go lay down) to figure that all out for you - so I hope you can enjoy them anonymously ...




Apotek - A version of the word apothecary (I think) - which in Europe seemed to be the word for Pharmacy - in some sort of spelling of the word - everywhere we went ...










Stortinget IN ORDER (of appearance while I was walking):


And MY FAVORITE building along the walk - I think it is rather beautiful: (lots of photos of it to follow):






A Candle holder. Used everywhere and usually not three feet high like this one. I used them, I HAVE them. Sadly they are shoved in a closet somewhere ....


so pretty ...


"Time For Aftenposten" - the newspaper that I still read sporadically ...




And my second favorite building. This one just boggles my mind that they could add all that work to a building .... what? Just to make it pretty? I am no expert in architecture, but this seems rather inefficient ...

and very thankful for those that deem this beauty more important than efficiency!







Seriously my FAVORITE DUDE on the street (less one - but he can't be called a 'dude') there are a TON of these on the front of the building (you can see them in other photos) ... what are they? The welcoming committee?







Seriously creepy looking statue - only because his eyes look like they have been poked out ...








The ever present gaggle of children. I tend to not take photos of them, because I don't want to alarm the adults that I am taking photos of children - and have had some (humorous) run ins while doing so - so I took one from far away (this being at minimum the 10th group I had passed on my walk - and this is not a 'special' day - you will see this many children's school classes out and about every day). The children in Norway are taught school in a very different manner than the children in the States. They truly believe that every minute sitting at a desk is one more minute the children are NOT learning. They teach by doing, by seeing, by going places and learning about things. They have recess - just sheer play time for at least 3 hours of their day. It was interesting to learn about the school system in Norway - Jessie attended a special education Norwegian school and the teachers there loved to tell me the differences between our schools and theirs and why theirs were so superior ...

looked kinda fun ...





One of our favorite sights as a family when walking around downtown ...





Pretty, pretty lady ...


I cannot BEGIN to tell you how much fun I had with this 'fellow'!!


I kept TELLING HIM, AND TELLING HIM while taking his photo that

"THERE IS NOTHING OVER THERE, REALLY"

and

"I REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD CALM DOWN ... NOTHING THERE (in singsongy voice)"

I am unsure how the Norwegians took to me speaking with him, but he, well - seems so ...


ALARMED


I felt he needed a good talking to ...


Was impressed as I started looking closer at this building (belonging to "Pretty Lady" and "Freaked Out Guy" also) that each of the decorations were different, not just duplicates:





And,

NO


this guy WAS NOT TO THE LEFT OF "FREAKED OUT GUY" ...




In the winter, Norwegians hang out these bundles of straw for the birds to eat the seeds. I thought it was quaint and pretty and I was surprised when we drove up to our old house to see one tied on the entrance onto the property. Not surprised that it was odd that it was there - but it surprised me that we went through two winters there and not once did I think to buy one and hang it anywhere ... I must not have any Norwegian in me.

BUT!

I did have my bird feeder and rather enjoyed the birds COMING TO ME and letting me watch their antics as they ate birdseed outside my desk window ...



A Festival of sorts was set up around what in the summer is a big pond with fountains and in the winter is an ice skating rink.

Be VERY PROUD of me ...


I did not buy anything ...


Here are some of the lovely Nordic sweaters that I loved so much ...



While these fellows look like they are enjoying themselves in the summer - I worry about them freezing off their little naked butts in the winter ...



Again with the freezing naked butts ... (I don't mind the naked - been in Europe too many times and too long for naked to bother me - but the FREEZING ... BRRRRR)



Note the arrow pointing to the water - I GOT THAT CLOSE to the fjord and the Harbour - but my feet were getting sore ...







I know it might come as a shock after reading the big name on the building - but this is the National Theatre ...


















See that taxi down there? I was all taking photos of these three matching buildings (I forget what they are - thus the lack of labels above), with the Palace right to my left and the National Theatre behind me and I was all ...

"Turn around and walk to the Harbour? Take more photos?"

or ...

"The Taxi?"


"Turn around and walk to the Harbour? More photos?"


or ...


"The Taxi?"



"The Harbour? More photos?"


or ...


"The Taxi?"




"The Harbour?"


or ...


"The Taxi?"


And as you can see by the imminent end to this post which one won out!!!




Walked into my hotel room to the prettiest light coming in the window ...


Because of this! It lasted for about 5 minutes ...


Five full minutes of sunshine!!!



Well, I am not promising when my last day of photos from Norway will be posted. Every time I make a promise - "The Fates" intervene and it takes at least 4 times as long as had I not made the promise in the first place (it is my theory ....)



So ...




Later ...