We are walking and looking for a small museum called The Paradox. It is cold and misty. Although the gps ultimately got us to the right place, there was no visible sign. We walk by it twice before we notice a worker in a Paradox jacket in a doorway. We have arrived, even though we still don’t see a sign. They aren’t open yet so we walk around the block.

There are police cars lining the street between the Grand Hotel and the Stortering (Parliament) building. Officers line the street and politicians mill around outside . We gawk and walk among them. Oslo natives walk on by like it is a common occurrence.

We walk up to the open doors of Parliament where there is a red carpet and people taking photos. No one seems to care that we are there. We don’t know what is going on. It is a paradox to be part of something important in such an ordinary way. Two tourists walking up to the parliament without a clue… but as a historian/political scientist/sociologist, it is fascinating. Maybe later I can look up the official record of what is happening.

Curiosity keeps us longer than we intended and by the time we make it back to the museum there is a line of families. The Paradox museum is made up of seventy exhibits of optical illusions. Some are interactive, some informative, and some are just fun photo opportunities. We act like big kids playing among the exhibits (often competing with actual children for exhibit space).

There are halls of mirrors, tables with floating heads, 3d pictures, camouflage walls, and a variety of mazes. We giggle and take a lot of pictures. I am a giant. I sit on a couch where my body looks separated from my feet. I stand on a bridge where the walls seem to spin around me. Big fun.

But all good things must come to an end. Hungry, we head to Pepe’s Pizza. They are everywhere in Norway and claim to have the best American style pizza. We order a large Philly cheesesteak pizza. I can’t say it is the best in Norway (because it is the only pizza I have eaten in Norway), but it is great. Two thumbs up.

The day is still young so we decided to visit a few shopping centers in the downtown area. They are arranged vertically, usually several narrow stories high. Escalators take you between levels, but the down and up escalators may or may not be near each other. This means that when I leave my husband near where I head up a floor, I may have to find him again when I come down (it will help if I can remember the name of the store where I left him).

Items are expensive in Norway. It doesn’t seem to matter what I am buying, prices are roughly three times higher than I normally see at home. The only notable exceptions are batteries and backpacks ( roughly two to three times lower). Needless to say, I do a lot of window shopping.

Even so, people watching is fun. So is taking in the public art and architecture nestled among the shops. I could wander in a city for hours doing nothing but soaking in the cultural differences. What might be mundane at home is suddenly exciting in a new context. That is not a paradox.