Friday, February 20, 2015

Frogner Park, or Penis Park?

the 'highlight' of Frogner Park in Oslo
There is no denying it, Norway is a stunning country, and Oslo is a beautiful city in this stunning country. On my first trip to Oslo, Nick and I had terrific weather- right in the beginning of August- and we decided to head to a local market, grab some snacks and drinks, and have a picnic. Little did I know, this picnic was going to be quite the interesting picnic!

picnicking in the park!
After we had eaten, Nick decided it was high time he show me one of the highlights of Oslo, and the specific park we were in. See, he had chosen to bring me to Frogner Park, one of the most popular parks in the center of Oslo. The park was beautifully designed and laid out, with plenty of benches and cozy spots to relax. A feature of Frogner Park is the Vigeland Installation or Vigeland Sculpture Park. Between 1920 and 1943, the sculptor Gustav Vigeland created 212 sculptures, all of which reside in the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist. Just what are these sculptures, you may ask?

"The Monolith"
At the center of Frogner Park…no, make that Penis Park… is "The Monolith". The Monolith, or giant penis (to the non-artsy folk), is a 14.12 meter (46.32 foot) high sculpture with 121 human figures climbing towards the sky. It is supposed to represent man's desire to become closer with the divine and spiritual, showing togetherness as each figure embraces the next as they are carried towards salvation.

….yeah, sure, if that's what you say its about, I'll believe you. Did you know that pigs can fly, too?


sculptures leading up to The Monolith
bridge leading towards the Monolith
Anyways. Each of these hundreds of sculptures portrays men, women, children, babies, fetuses- all of the different stages of life. Vigeland wanted to portray the relationships between men and women, adults and children, and the different stages of life. Lots of the statues show 'normal' activities- running, dancing, hugging, holding hands, getting a little bit closer… Although, there are statues that are much more abstract, like the one with an adult male kicking the crap out of attacking babies… strange. Nonetheless, despite the strange collection of sculptures, Frogner Park was quite gorgeous, and absolutely huge! It was quite easy to find quite corners of the park to relax and have our picnic, and just enjoy the weather of Oslo.

as you can see, the park really was gorgeous!
Nick & I at Frogner Park
Now, perhaps I just don't understand art, but personally, the highlight of my day was people watching and following this crazy group around… 

7 tourists & 2 white babies
Yes, this group of tourists was running around the park, snapping pictures with every Norwegian-looking baby around. These twins were quite the hit! At times, you could see all 7 of these tourists snapping pictures of the same kids. I wish I had gotten a picture of all of them taking pictures!

Regardless, Frogner Park is a beautiful park and perhaps one of the more interesting places I have been. Have you ever visited Frogner Park, or what is one of the strangest places you have visited while traveling? 

15 comments:

  1. Those statues are so cool in the creepiest way haha! I don't blame the tourists for snapping shots with the kids, blonde little Scandinavian babies are so cute!! Especially in those puffy snowsuits they waddle around in.

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    1. Haha, you have a good point- love the puffy snowsuits! We were there in August though so no snowsuits, but I've definitely seen my fair share here!

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  2. What a cool and interesting park! ha I have to say, your blog title definitely got my attention! ha

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    1. Thanks, Christine! It was definitely an interesting park to visit!

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  3. Holy cow; that is some statue! Love the blog post title! Haha

    So if I understand the last photo right, a group of Asian tourists wanted to take photos with the blonde Norwegian babies?

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    1. Keisha- you are exactly correct! The Asian tourists were just loving on the little blonde babies- so many pictures!

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  4. LOL, I thought initially the "penis park" was reference to the phalic shaped statue and then I was like.. OMG.. it's a penis park! haha!! Great pics.. I would probably be giggling like a pre-teen the whole time I was there.. ;-) - www.domesticgeekgirl.com

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    1. Gingi, you were exactly correct! The park was quite interesting to see- awkward with the families there though!

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  5. They have a penis museum here in Reykjavik, I have yet to visit but there must be something with the Scandinavian countries and penises ha.

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    1. I definitely agree, this area of the world has something to do with it! If I was you I'd definitely go check out that museum sometime…if nothing else for a great story!

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  6. Samantha, just back from Oslo today & that was my summation of the Monolith too..... Packed with humans it was..!! Indeed incredible carving & workings, most unexpected..My friends were telling me I was S.F(Sexual Frustrated)!! So feeling not alone in my interpretation of the Monolith

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  7. Samantha, just back from Oslo today & that was my summation of the Monolith too..... Packed with humans it was..!! Indeed incredible carving & workings, most unexpected..My friends were telling me I was S.F(Sexual Frustrated)!! So feeling not alone in my interpretation of the Monolith

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  10. Wonderful article, Which you have shared here about the Oslo tour. Your article is very informative and useful to know more about the best travel destinations in Oslo. I am thankful to you for sharing this article here.

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