I love libraries. Maybe because I am a woman of a certain age who devoured every book I could get my hands on over the last half century. Libraries are places of mystery and opportunity. The national library of Norway is a bibliophile’s dream. It has a coffee shop and restaurant. There are reading rooms and specialty collections. It even has a special map center and a rare documents exhibit. I am giddy.

The rare documents exhibit has a variety of media across from across the centuries. I fall in love with a Viking era Bible. There are also early Gutenberg press samples. We watch early Norwegian cinema and see the original Viking sagas. There are numerous examples from the Nazi years of egregious propaganda. There are photo books of Oslo citizens from the 1800’s found in a photography shop. Less fun, I find a moving photo of over 1700 Jewish citizens standing on the boat that will take them to Auschwitz. Some of the small children are smiling, excited to be on a boat. Their parents eyes are heart breaking.

I wonder what causes a person to become so callous that they can no longer see humanity. How do we get to a place where entire groups of people are considered expendable and without rights? Evil writ large just a few generations removed.

Our next stop is the Queen Sonia Art Stables. The Norwegian Queen has turned the palace stables into a gallery to exhibit items from the royal collections to the public. I think we are going to see a large collections of artifacts (based on online photos of past visits). After we pay, we realize that we are just going to see the royal China. It is displayed in one big room.

So, we join a dozen senior ladies in oohing and ahhing over porcelain. There are some interesting dishes. I have never seen a fish plate with holes in the bottom to allow the juices to flow out. There is also a meat plate with channels to collect the grease.

Because the stable takes a lot less time that we anticipated (you can only stare at plates for so long), we take a stroll through the park. Children have designed art pieces for a contest the royal family created. Winners ideas were manufactured and installed in the parkland surrounding the palace. There is a melting starfish with eyes, a rainbow, a fox, a rabbit, and a variety of other shapes.

We play among the sculptures, posing and trying to guess what they might be. We hear music and walk down the central stairs. A stranger comments that we make him happy as we dance together in the park. Happiness breeds happiness I suppose.

It is a beautiful day and so we continue walk. Locals are strolling the paths and using the benches in a graveyard to catch some sun. The small hill inside a perfect place to view the city. Bluebells line the hillsides, creating a brilliant blue carpet.

Nearby is our neighborhood of Grunalokka. We walk across the bridge and along the river taking in waterfalls as we go. A lovely cafe sits against the hillside, so we stop for a beverage and to people watch.

Construction walls along the river are filled with colorful graffiti. Dogs play in the park. Parents push baby carriages. Scooters and bicycles zip by. Every one in Oslo appears in the park when the sun is shining.

Mathallen or Oslo’s food hall is just across the river. A small bridge takes us to the foodie favorite. A fish market, a butcher, Italian, Asian…. If you want to try food, this is a great place. We decide on gelato. Ice cream is the best fuel for a stroll in the park.

This day is a strange mix of whatever feels right in the moment. We walk home through Sofienberg park as the sun moves lower in the sky. Joyful. Thankful.