Oslo's Amazing Vigeland Sculpture Garden

Oslo is a city I have always wanted to visit and I had that chance last year at the end of my month in the arctic. I had one full day entirely to myself prior to returning to California, so I was anxious to see as much as I could in the time I had remaining.  A place of particular interest and recommended to me was the Vigeland Sculpture Garden at Frogner Park.

Since I was staying at an airport hotel, I firstly had to shuttle back to the airport and take a train into the city.  There are two options available and I learned it was cheaper to not take the airport train, but the regular commuter train as it was half the price. With Norway being notoriously expensive, I figured this was sound advice!

The journey took about half an hour depositing me at the central station, where I took out a map and decided to head in the direction of the park. The sun was shining and a gorgeous day to explore this beautiful city!  I took one of the "hop on, hop off" double decker tour buses and utilized the service to see as much of the city as possible, in addition to stopping at the park where I initially disembarked.

Upon entering the main gates I was greeted with a beautiful tree lined walkway bordered by spring flowers.  This led to a bridge over a lake which was the starting point of the sculpture garden. Sculptures of nude men, women and children in various poses and interactions led the way further into the park. I found it interesting to just sit and watch which sculptures people were drawn to.

As I walked further into the park, beautiful displays of colorful flowers reminded me of my childhood in England and visiting Kew Gardens with my family.

I had not seen any pictures of the park prior to my visit, so I really did not know what to expect.  As I continued my stroll, a beautiful fountain become the centerpiece before ascending a series of steps, through more flower displays and another set of steps until I arrived at the incredible array of statues around the centerpiece which was a dizzying array of bodies entwined about a tall column.  

I loved the variety of sculptures around this centerpiece, but was particularly drawn to the romantic interactions between men and women. Really quite beautiful and I don't think you can visit Oslo without a visit to this magnificent park.