Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Nordic Freeze: Exploring Oslo

 

Nobel Peace Center

“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” - Luke 1:25

 

My elder son Jaffy was feeling sick and decided to just stay in the hotel. In times past, this would have greatly disappointed me, and I would be on whining mode. “Lord, I did pray for not any one of us to get sick, didn’t I! Please let him be well enough when Buddy (my younger son) arrives to pick us up. We need to get our money’s worth for this trip,” would have been my bratty prayer.

 

But this time, I was given the grace not to question His will. I let Jaffy rest and told Buddy all I wanted to do today was go to the money changer, visit the Nobel Peace Center and buy a gift for my friend who helped him when he was fixing his papers to work here. And, more than anything, I appreciated that Buddy and I will get our mother-son time which we haven’t had since he left.

 

So, the two of us headed for Oslo Sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station). We wandered around Østbanestasjonen, the first railway station in Oslo that had been turned into a shopping center, looking for a place to have lunch. Buddy took me to Melt Grilled Cheese in the Østbanehallen Food Court or what used to be the carriage hall.

 

Østbanehallen

After lunch, we took the subway to the Nationaltheatret (National Theater), one of Norway’s largest and most prominent venues for performance and dramatic arts. From there, it was just a short walk to Oslo Harbor where the Nobel Peace Center is located.

 

Nationaltheatret

The Nobel Peace Center is nestled in the heart of Oslo. For me, it is a symbolic site – this heritage museum is all about heart or how far the human heart will go to make the world a better place.

 

The permanent exhibit that impacted me the most was the Nobel Field. It looks like a digital field with screens sprouting amidst a thousand tiny lights flickering like fireflies. Each screen is a tribute to a Nobel laureate bearing his or her image and story. The Nobel Field is considered to be “the heart of the Nobel Peace Center”. Designer David Small describes the concept: “We wanted to create something timeless. Here you can meet all the Peace Prize laureates from today and going back more than a century – all in the same room – and they even speak to each other.”

Nobel Field

 

I also enjoyed reading about the story of Alfred Nobel through an interactive book using state-of-the-art technology.

 

Story of Alfred Nobel

There were many other touching photos and exhibits we beheld on our tour. It was a pleasant experience with Buddy who was also visiting the center for the first time.

 

After leaving the center, we stumbled upon Jul Vinterland (Christmas Winterland), a Christmas market near the National Theater that totally enchanted me.

 

Jul Vinterland

I felt like a child who had stepped into a wonderland, more so when I was in front of a shop selling donuts and candies (sweet tooth activate!)

 

Candy Wonderland

and while watching Rudolf the talking reindeer.

 

Rudolf

Sampling the gløgg Buddy bought was something I couldn’t pass up on. Gløgg is a spiced, usually alcoholic traditional Nordic drink served during winter especially around Christmas.

 

Gløgg

We wanted to try the Elgeburger (moose burger) but Buddy suggested we hold off from buying it until his Kuya (elder brother) could join us. The next day, we went back with Jaffy to have a taste of our very first moose burger. Eating it while sitting around a fiery cauldron is a winter experience I’ll always cherish.

 

Elgeburger by the fire

Even though it was incomprehensible at first why my prayer was not answered the way I wanted it to be, accepting the situation and continuing to seek God’s guidance had its rewards. More than exploring all the tourist spots in Oslo, family time is what brings me immense joy. God’s way is still the best way.

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