Roberta Writes – Thursday Doors on a Saturday: Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo and a poem #ThursdayDoors #Oslo #poetry

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You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/06/27/day-of-travel-doors/

During my 2 1/2 day visit to Oslo, TC and I visited Vigeland Sculpture Park. I shared pictures of the Tower of Bodies in a previous post. This post will share some of the doors, naturally, as well as the entrance gate and a few more sculptures.

Picture caption: This is the entrance gates to Vigeland Sculpture Park. We didn’t go in this way, but this is where we exited
Picture caption: The gates into Vigeland Sculpture Park from the inside. I always do everything back to front – grin!
Picture caption: One of the water fountains. I really liked it.
Picture caption: another shot of the water fountain a short while later. See how the sky has darkened.

This is my YT video of this lovely fountain:

Defiance (Tanka)

Manmade water flows

Silhouetted by dark cloud

Nature does not weep

Withholds its natural bounty

Defies humankind

More sculptures that I liked.

The Children (Tanka)

Shelter the children

Protect them from treachery

Retain innocence

So easily imploded

By the hands meant to guide them

My YT video of some of these sculptures on the bridge:

Picture caption: a door in the Vigeland Sculpture Park
Picture caption: a beautiful metal work picture at the park

Fun fact about me! This is the song I walked down the isle too over 23 years ago:

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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98 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Thursday Doors on a Saturday: Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo and a poem #ThursdayDoors #Oslo #poetry”

  2. love the sculptures and the poems, esp the children’s song; was not familiar with that Enya song but it had her trademark signature: dreamy, lush verse; great video too; thanks Robbie: a delightful, multi-faceted post 🙂

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    1. Hi John, I really enjoyed this sculpture park. I found the sculptures beautifully and disturbing. They reminded me of Norse mythology. Although the one of the man throwing the babies reminded me of Greek mythology, to be specific, I thought of Cronus who ate each of his children as they were born.

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  3. beautiful photos and video of the statue park Robbie…. I found the images sad…. Not sure why, and not sad as in poor but as in unsettling as they ….well I can’t explain…. But that’s the point isn’t it.

    l love Enya and the fact that it was the song you walked down the isle to! … Fun fact about me…. Our organist failed to turn up at our wedding! ….I had to walk down in silence! And when we left it was to the the sound of my mother in law humming the wedding march!!? 😁😁😁💜💜💜

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    1. Hi Willow, I also found the sculptures disturbing and sad. They felt like an embodiment of the worst of humanity even though they are beautiful. They bring to mind mythology which is often harsh and cruel in its telling.

      That is interesting about your wedding. Fancy the organist no arriving. No instant music from cell phones in those days either.

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      1. I agree the Scandinavian art and drama is dark especially their fairytales/ folklore. I find all the statues threatening, the man throwing children around is scary but the saddest of all is the huddle of woman and children with the one little boy left out ….the look of dislike on the little girl looking out at him is harsh.

        I was supposed to walk down the aisle to the entrance of the Queen of Sheba.

        .

        and leave to

        .

        but it wasn’t to be ☺️☺️💜💜💜

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  4. It is a beautiful song. The photos and videos are great. We visited this park two years ago. We were making fun of the statues. Especially the one with the naked man throwing kids around, in the middle of your collage. They are beautiful but somewhat odd. It was the first time I was in Oslo and I was surprised to find that my north Swedish worked perfectly well in Oslo. I knew it worked well in Trondheim because it is essentially the same language/dialect but I was not sure about the Oslo style Norwegian.

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    1. Hi Thomas, I thought the statues were quite overwhelmingly sad. They seemed to be an embodiment of the worst of humanity in my mind. The statue you have mentioned here reminded me of Greek mythology, Cronus who ate each of his children as they were born. Everyone in Oslo seemed to speak English so it wasn’t a problem for us.

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      1. I did not know that. He ate his children. I thought he was juggling them. Sorry, I don’t know enough about the ancient mythology. Anyway, you are right about the English. Most people in both Norway and Sweden speak English well. My parents did not but they were the older generation before English was taught in school. But I prefer speaking Swedish if I can. I cannot do that in Denmark. They understand me, but I cannot understand spoken Danish, so I ask to switch to English or pretend to be American.

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          1. You are right I am American too. I am an American citizen and I’ve lived in the US for nearly 30 years. It makes me nervous that the Danes expect me to understand Danish just because I am Swedish. People from southern Sweden, across the pond, Skåne/Malmö, they do, but I am from northern Sweden, and I just can’t follow Danish even though they understand me. They swallow the endings of the words, which Swedes and Norwegians don’t do. Add the history between Denmark and Sweden. Sweden celebrates their independence from Denmark (June 6, 1523). The Danish King at the time was Christian the Tyrant (Swedish moniker) or as the Danes call him Christian the Good. So, the Danes like to make fun of Swedes a little bit. Once when I took a guided tour in Copenhagen the guide never suspected for a second that I was Swedish. It was my daughter and me.

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          2. I am sure you have become very American. When I travel, no-one can guess where I am from and if they do try, they guess England. I am very English because of my upbringing, but I am also very South African. The Afrikaans accent has become synonymous with South Africa, but there are many different accents. We have 11 official languages here.

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          3. 11 official languages that is a lot. On the other hand Sweden has 6 official languages. In addition to Swedish and Finnish. Torneå Finnish called Meänkieli, an old form of Finnish, spoken in northern Sweden. Sami spoken by the north Swedish aborgini, and Romany and Yiddish. Then there is Älvdalska, an ancient form of Swedish similar to the original viking language. Only a few thousand people speak it, and it is counted as a dialekt even though it is a lot more different from regular Swedish than Norwegian and Danish.

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          5. It is funny how the viking / iron age Swedes/Norwegians and the Sami mostly stayed out of each others way while so many Swedes/Norwegians went raiding around Russia and Europe.

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          7. Yes I think so. Where I grew up there lived samis as well as iron age pre-viking Swedes almost 2,000 years ago. I used to play on top of old settlements. The samis did reindeer herding. The Swedes hunting and fishing. That co-existence lasted all the way until the 19th century.

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          8. How amazing, Thomas. You had an interesting childhood. I visited the Norwegian Folk Museum when I was in Oslo and loved the traditional houses. I will share some this week and next on my blog for Thursday Doors.

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  6. Vigeland is a wonderful place and full of intrigue. We were fortunate to visit it last year. Your poem captures an aspect displayed by the child sculptures, plus a good support video to conclude this post… and your gates are perfect for Thursday Doors. Well done, Robbie … and I hope all is well.

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  8. The entrance gate is fantastic, Robbie, as is the other gate. I admire metal work when it’s done this well. The sculptures are amazing. Thanks for bringing us along.

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  11. What a lovely post, Robbie. The sculptures are wonderful and I love your videos of them.

    What an original song to walk down the aisle to! Pretty and whimsical video.

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  17. Wonderful pictures and words, Robbie. We have a sculpture garden about an hour from here and it’s so great to visit – the sculptures you’ve shown are very thought-provoking.

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  22. Robbie, the sculptures are magnificent. They portray humanity. I liked your doors and poem. I enjoyed the song to which you walked down the aisle.🙂

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  23. Fabulous photos and videos, Robbie. Fascinating themes throughout the sculptures, which has prompted me to look closer into the life and works of Gustav Vigeland, brilliant, creative and profoundly philosophical given the breadth of his work. What I didn’t know was that he was the designer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal. Many, many thanks for opening this door for me.!!!

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      1. I have visited Sweden and Denmark which were both lovely countries but not Norway I am pleased you enjoyed your visit, Robbie I hope you have a peaceful and enjoyable week 🙂 x

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          1. I am pleased your aunt will be coming out of hospital, Robbie but it puts more on you with your aunt there I hope you get some help . Thinking of you x

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  27. What an interesting sculpture park, Robbie. It would take time to really look at them all and get a feel of what they are really saying after a first glance. Wonderful poems to combine with them. I love that video, so dreamy and lushlike.

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  28. What an incredible place. The sculptures are not meant to be reassuring, I suspect, but perhaps to evoke stories according to our own perceptions. Your video of the fountain was especially nice — I love the sound of the water! Your line about the children — “protect them from treachery” — was particularly touching in this setting, where I felt both beauty and something ominous.

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  30. I love the sculptures! Especially the one with the mother, father and baby. So precious a moment it captures. Thank you so much, Robbie, for sharing this with us.🌺🩷

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  31. Wow, what a unique and fabulous place, Robbie, a zenith of civilization.

    I enjoyed your video snippets and poetry.

    LOVE that last gate. What a beauty.

    Thank you for sharing your trip, Robbie!

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