Oslo is further north than anywhere I have ever been. Quite a contrast from the feeling in Paris, where it is hard to believe I woke up just this morning. Today my friend Manuela took me to Vigeland State Park to see the sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. It is one of the world’s great wonders – hundreds of sculptures of men, women and children, powerful, personal and utterly unsentimental – all aspects of the human condition in all its subtle beauty and dignity, naked and up close.
As the day goes on here, evening slowly falls, but it never does become night; the Norwegian sky never actually goes completely dark this time of year. Wandering around at 11:30pm with my friends, I find the party hasn’t even really begun yet in this town. People are just starting to pour out into the streets, and the music is only beginning to play.
It seems I got here just in time. At midnight begins the longest day of the year in Norway. And that is saying a lot, considering just how long the days can get. They mark the summer solstice here with all-day celebrations, and outside now I can hear things starting to heat up as the longest day begins.
I’m looking forward to it.