Today I (Susan) was released from my quarantine to go on excursions and the parts of the boat outside my room! Of course, I was masked the entire time I was out. I certainly miss doing things with my sister, but I headed out anyway to take pictures for both of us. We drove around Oslo where I was able to get a few pictures from the moving bus of the fortress and the parliament. Oslo has some beautiful architecture in the old part of the city. The rest of the city is much more modern. Norway, once a poor country, is now a very rich country. They do many exceptional things for their citizens including almost an entire year of fully paid parental leave for each child. They want to grow their population since it has been declining. They have free health care and free education all the way through the university.
After driving through the town, we went to Vigeland Park, a beautiful sculpture park with more than 200 sculptures all created by one man, Gustav Vigeland. Half of the sculptures represent the circle of life and the other half represent relationships. These are not small
sculptures mind you. They are all at least life size. It was so nice to be able to walk through the 1/2 mile long garden and enjoy the sculptures, the flowers, and the sun. When we left, we went to see the ski jump that the people of the area use. It is just like the Olympic jumps! You cannot imagine how large it is, I would be terrified! There is also an arena there where people can practice for the biathlon. In the summer they use roller blades instead of skis on the track. I was able to see one person practicing.
When I returned, I walked by the opera house that is built to look like a glacier. You can walk all the way up on the roof. I was sad to learn that we could have been looking at it the whole time we were here had we been on the port side instead of the starboard side. They have a much more beautiful view than us. Claire could have been looking at the museums and buildings as well. There is a beach beside the opera house where little kids were playing in the
water. I cant imagine how cold it is. I am heading to the port talk momentarily, but will back and order room service for dinner. I want to be kind and not take the chance of spreading germs to others.
Claires turn. My day is the usual. Susan stopped by this morning and I gave her the excursion tickets and all my Norwegian money. I did wake with a sore throat and that really concerned me. Susan told me I should do the saliva test anyway. When the nurse came by, I mentioned my throat and she assured me that it was normal and that a couple of weeks ago she had covid and still has a sore throat and cough at times. Today I feel great, except for the slight sore throat. Im not even tired and have done yoga and exercises. Ive enjoyed the pictures Susan sent me. The one of the single shadow made me sad since I wasnt there. We love to do our shadow pictures. Other than that, its the usual. I did watch a good movie and then read some. Life. Well bad news, Im in here for at
least another day and it could be two. This is so depressing. Susan did say that the better view was on the opposite side of the ship.
