TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

I know this is rather late but I am the late reaction type anyway. In all honesty, I really do not have the right words to say about the bomb and tragic killings that happened in Oslo and Utoya. It is a despicable act of anger and crime to mankind. A madman can only do this. I just wish the surviving loved ones will have peace. For now I just want to post a few fotos of Oslo, Norway taken a few years ago. This trip was a birthday gift from the Dutchman. And I actually still have a few entries about Oslo and lots of fotos that I have not blogged yet... so that is something to come soon in this blog. Travel Period: September 2009 Destination: Oslo, Norway Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)

After my Oslo trip, I think I hit the wall. Big time. It’s like a brick that hit me hard on the head and I lay there unconscious on the floor for a time. Unlike my other travels where I totally get hyperactive and ecstatic to work on my fotos and spend time daydreaming and rekindling all the travel experiences in my head, Oslo gave me this thick wall of complacence, and utter nothingness. It was as if I had a withdrawal. Maybe because I wasn’t so charmed at the city at all? As Dutchman put it with sarcasm, Oslo is a “uitgegroiede dorp”, which means a big or developed village. The city is relatively small per metropolitan standards but quite compact. It’s just about Amsterdam Centrum only except that the city center of Amsterdam has a different appeal. Eerily crammed with dark crooked houses and lined with romantic medieval canals whilst holding up this down to earth alternative jive, carefree yet mysterious. Of course plus 250,000 more people. Amsterdam will always be my favorite ci...

The Akershus Castle built around the 1300 is situated on top of a hill overlooking the Oslo Aker Brygge harbour and Oslofjord. The Norwegian Royal Family used Akershus as their residence during the Medieval Period. This fort has also been besieged many times by the Swedish but was never captured. Prisoners have been incarcerated here too. This is the landscape just before the entrance to the fortress and next foto is taken at the back in the lower part of the castle. The entrance to the fortress and guards in uniform marching on duty, doing their rounds. Dutchman told me this is the first underground parking in the world -built during the war. Next foto is a peak to Aker Brygge, the gate just under the Resistance Museum. Nowadays, the place is used by the Norwegian Armed Forces and the last significant event here was in 1945 and 1948, just after the World War II, when Vidkun Quisling, defunct prime minister of Norway who collaborated with the Nazis and two other members of his cabin...

The end of the month and end of the quarter are my super hectic days. Being in sales, I am always measured based on my monthly and quarterly targets. So I was not in the mood to blog really and work on my travel fotos. I think the market is starting to ramp up. 130% above target. It would be nice to have months just like this every month. Anyway, I’m posting the first set of fotos of my Oslo long weekend getaway starting with Vigeland Sculpture Park in Frogner Park about 3 kilometers from the city center. The Oslo trip is a belated birthday gift from the Dutchman. We originally planned to go to Berlin but decided for Oslo last minute. I’ll give Berlin as my birthday gift to Dutchman next year then. These are my favorite sculptures and scenes in Vigeland Park: The amazing fathers... juggling 4 babies at the same time! This angry child sculpture is fast becoming Norway's symbol. On the far right is the sculpture of the sculptor himself, Gustav Vigeland. Taking a souvenir fot...