Prisoner of Hopes

Category: Perspectives

  • When the Culture Gap Seems Wide: Travel Goals

    We have been home for almost a month and Norway seems a distant memory. I finally have the photos digitally organized and labeled. My photo book has been ordered. I have even created a dvd slide show of our adventures. But what I have really done is stored memories that help us bridge a culture.…

  • Leaving in a Jet Plane: Travel Goals

    I used to love air travel. It seemed glamorous and uncomplicated. Over the last two decades, while prices have gone up, the experience has definitely lost its luster. Perhaps I am jaded or turning into an old curmudgeon. Or perhaps profit motive and misguided security measures have ruined the experience. I used to call a…

  • We Haven’t Got Munch Time: Travel Goals

    We have only a few hours before we leave Oslo for the airport. We have said goodbye to our apartment and turned in the keys. The hotel that we stayed at on our first nights in Norway graciously agrees to hold our luggage so we can zip across town to the Munch Museum. Munch is…

  • Final Impressions: Travel Goals

    Last days in a place are always a little bitter sweet. I spend a little time either trying to figure out if there are places we need to see before we go or places we need to revisit. Today feels random. I want to return to Frogner park to get a picture of the “angry…

  • Ships Ahoy: Travel Goals

    The Bygdoy maritime museum complex is an all day adventure. We opt to visit all three museums in the complex. We start with the Norwegian Maritime Museum where we get to see a man building a Viking ship using ancient methods (and a few power tools). It is fascinating to see the overlapping construction and…

  • Viking Venture: Travel Goals

    Sometimes I just wake up feeling like a kid. On these days I forget the scholarly pursuits and the to do lists and just look for pure fun. We decide to check out Viking World. This small attraction behind Oslo City Hall is a series of video and vr experiences. Interactive computer simulations explain the…

  • Ekenberg Park: Travel Goals

    I love the great outdoors. Find me a forest and l am one happy girl. So when I read that Eckenberg Park has sculptures in a forest, I am intrigued. It is a beautiful sunny day in Oslo and it is unusually warm for the season ……so it seems like a great way to spend…

  • Books, Crockery, and Sunshine: Travel Goals

    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…

  • Forest Bathing: Travel Goals

    Nothing seems as good for my soul as a long walk in the woods. The sun is shining on the frozen lake. The water is warming and thawing slowly. But the forest calls me to its shadows. Buds are appearing on the branches. Crocus and bluebells make their colorful entry to the forest floor. The…

  • The National Treasures: Travel Goals

    When I visit national museums in capital cities, I begin to understand the culture a little more deeply. What do they treasure and what do they wonder about? Why is there a large gallery of sculptures that are only copies of pieces found elsewhere in the world? What artifacts were deemed worthy of keeping? The…