One of the first things I did after orienting myself in Oslo, Norway was head to the Vigeland Museum. I had been told by my parents that there was a park full of sculptures they remembered from their visit to Oslo some 25 years ago that I must see. A quick search on my phone lead me to the Vigeland Museum.
The Vigeland Museum is open from 10am-5pm. I arrived at 4:30pm to large imposing doors that looked less than inviting. I let myself in and found a grumpy lady at the admissions desk. “Is the museum still open?” “Yes, for 10 minutes.” (Norwegians aren’t great at telling time) “Ok, I’ll just come back tomorrow.” “No, you have time.”
She was not the friendliest, but she gave me a student discount, so I can’t complain. Also, she was right. 10 minutes was plenty. the museum had only a few rooms and contained mainly, (as I found out later) sculptures you could see for free in the park surrounding the museum.
The museum wasn’t uninteresting, but I definitely feel like there would have been better uses of money, especially in Oslo. The museum cost nok 60- (about $10) and half that for seniors and students. So, it didn’t break the bank, and cost less than a meal at McDonalds but It still housed smaller versions of sculptures that could be seen outside for free.
So, check out Vigelandsparken sculture park for some unique and classically Norwegian art (no one does chubby naked people totems quite like Oslo) and maybe skip the museum. Save your money for outrageously priced water later.
[…] and free, was that it was mostly whimsical and existed to add beauty to the surroundings. Vigeland is the most notable of the Norwegian sculptors and is art occupies Vigeland park and Vigeland […]
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