When the day’s agenda only involves walking across the street, you can afford to sleep in. This is why retired individuals should consider a long stay in a destination. We can linger over coffee and pastry. We can sleep in if we want or spend an hour talking to strangers.

Today, we move slowly after spending fourteen hours adventuring to Lillehammer. A slow start feels right. After a four minute walk, we arrive at the Oslo Natural History Museum complex. It is located within the grounds of the Botanical Garden.

There are several buildings that make up the museum complex. In the first building, we find a very large collection of skeletal and stuffed animals. The taxidermy and artistic settings of the arctic are very well done. Other settings can be sketchy. It is interesting to see the animals from your home, represented elsewhere. It makes me wonder what our zoos and science centers get “almost” right.

The center is full of preschoolers running to and fro and squealing in delight at each new encounter. I would be annoyed if they weren’t so cute. Try as I might, I can’t turn off the school administrator in me. I will always love children and when they are around I go into supervision mode. It takes real effort to remain detached and enjoy the museum instead of chasing the little guy hanging from the display case.

Building two is a geology lesson in rocks and prehistoric bones. The dinosaurs loom large in the gallery. But there are also giant sloths, mammoths, and sea creatures. Who doesn’t love to wander around with dinosaurs? We reminisce about our son’s love of dinosaurs and the many trips we took during his preschool years to allow him to see his precious triceratops.

Upstairs we encounter planet Earth. Models demonstrate currents, wind, magnetic charges, and a variety of other variables that support human life. We also find endless cases of rocks. I shudder as I think about the horrible geology teacher I had in college. In his exams, he wanted us to identify rocks by sight and by “tasting” them. No sir, I don’t want to lick a rock, especially if said rock has been licked by all of your other students. While my husband is learning about rock formations, I am imagining my rebuttal to Dr. Williams. Of course, I returned to reality in time to enjoy the gemstone collection.

The last building is the climate house, a beautiful building dedicated to helping people understand climate variables and issues impacting life on the planet. Here we encounter many high school students. Some are engaged while others stared at themselves in their cell phones. I guess selfie obsession is universal. I have seen this field trip play out many times.

By late afternoon we are tired of indoor spaces. We take a new route out of the park and find ourselves in a new neighborhood. Multicultural and bustling, it is my kind of place. Eventually, hungry and concerned about walking too far afield, we take a short cut back toward home. We stop at the Ali Baba steakhouse for Turkish/Mediterranean dinner. Sometimes the best things turn up in your own neighborhood.