Some of you may remember that I, a girl born and raised in California, spent a year in Ukraine. It is a lovely country with wonderful people, but it is cold in winter, and winter is very long. It’s the kind of cold that Californians like me simply do not understand and seldom can tolerate. I certainly had my fill of cold after one year and was quite happy to go home. And now, I visit Oslo.
It is often cold in Oslo, and was during our visit. One thing that surprised me about this city was the abundance of nude statues. I’d heard of the very famous ones in The Vigeland Park.
But others were in evidence all around the city. Every time I saw a nude statue, I thought, “Burrr. Someone put a coat on them. A scarf. Mittens. A cap with ear flaps.”
There is something about cold climates that make me very one-minded. I was glad to see the many sights of Oslo. The downtown square is beautiful and the walk to the park is invigorating. There are nice places to shop. I bought fleece-lined slippers.
There are many lovely neighborhoods,
and walking streets to enjoy, as long as you have the proper outer wear.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that as happy as I was to be in Oslo, I was just a bit happier when we left.
One Small Walk... 
I so understand that you felt cold, it must have been early spring? Our son, who was born in Stockholm, Sweden, went ‘back home’ for one year for his education and only afterwards told me how much he had suffered from the cold 🙂 I am always bringing warm clothes, whatever the season, when I visit either Sweden or Finland because in my years roaming the world I have become accustomed to warm climates.
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Tiny, I would love to say that I could live anywhere, but it would be a lie. Too bad there is so much beauty in those cold climates!
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This California girl says “brrrrrrrrrrr.” I guess if I ever visit Oslo, I’ll go when it’s warmer. Beautiful, though!
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Janis, Californians lose all tolerance for cold weather, and frigid is just waaaay beyond us. Visit, if you can, but take thermal everything and down coats (not jackets, coats!)😉
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I’m with you on the weather thing, even though I lived in the Yukon for ten years. Olso looks nice.
Alison
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Alison! The Yukon, really? Will you please write that story?
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Okay. One day I will 🙂
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Art is where our imaginations can do what we do not actually do but would like to do rather than doing it. Brrrr, indeed. We happened to visit the sculputre gardens in the summer of 1979 on a summy warm day…. all the Oslonians were, well…. semi-artistic, for the day.
Cuz-O
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I understand. I will admit, I was over dressed compared to the locals. 😃
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We understand completely! And we love the way you cleverly countered how cold it was with the nude statues.
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Beth, I had such pity for those poor stone people😃
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An extraordinary collection of bare bums. 🙂 Maybe helps to take the mind off the cold? I hope you are enjoying much more compatible temperatures at your current location. 🙂 🙂 Looking forward to the posts already.
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RJo, Thank-you kindly. It will be awhile for these new stories. I am traveling without my computer, trying to force myself into the cell phone culture of today. I am failing miserably, but the travel -yes- is wonderful😉
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It’s not an enjoyable process, is it? Far rather enjoy the moment and blog later 🙂 🙂 I can wait for the stories.
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Excellent advice…hope you are enjoying your moment,😃
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And you! Lots of wonderful moments 🙂 🙂
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You look well wrapped up! I like to think as hardy Scots we’d be ok, but I’m not sure. Haven’t made it to anywhere in Norway yet.
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My guess is that Hardy Scots would be fine 😃 It,s the thin skinned Californians that need to worry!
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Love Oslo and the cold! Favorite time to go is winter!!! Vigeland is beautiful in the snow!
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You are so brave😎😀
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Not really. A goid warm thermal layer helps a lot!!
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We lived in the Northern US (Montana and Idaho) for years and you’ll never hear me say, “I miss the cold.” I can definitely see why you’d want to beat feet! There are so many places we want to visit in Europe that are well below our preferred temperature that I think we’ll be doing like you, wearing triple layers and making the best of it. Hopefully we can find some days with sunshine but I imagine we’ll always be able to find a hat and mittens to wear! 🙂 Anita
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Anita – I am such a coward in the cold, but I have to say that it was HOT in your neck of the woods during our recent visit, and that is tough on this traveler, also. Hope your visit to the Baltics finds sunny weather, whenever you go!
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