More photos

Below are more photos from recent activities.  First, a pano from a trip to the nearby islands.  This island is called Hovedøya.

Next, a pic of the Oslo Opera House.  Quite cool - you can walk all the way around the back of  the building with an amazing view of the Bjørvika neighborhood and Oslo waterfront.  The water is an inlet fed by the fjord Oslofjord.

The National Gallery of Oslo also houses Munch's "The Scream," shown below...

Next is a photo of Damstredet - a hipster neighborhood in Oslo which is apparently home to a lot of artists.  It has gorgeous wooden houses, a huge pea patch, and quaint, winding cobblestone streets...

In the same neighborhood, I spotted this street art, which I can really get down with...

Some friends and I also visited an "ice bar..."  

(You can see "The Scream" is a theme in Oslo!)

Finally, moving outdoors, the ISS organized a group for students to go river rafting.  This is a pano near our rafting lodge.  Super fun and exciting river!

On the way to the lodge, we stopped and hiked Bitihorn, a gorgeous mountain north of Oslo.  View from the hike up -->

More recently, a group of us traveled to Bergen, a northern harbor city.  It is gorgeous!  Weather reminds me a lot of Seattle.  On the way, we took a ferry through a fjord for part of the trip - 

Bergen itself is quite charming...

It has a lot of important history, including King Håkon’s Hall, which was at the time one of the most important places in Norway - being a fort on the harbor and an important strategic military post and seat of power.

In Norway, even the simple countryside panos are pretty amazing...

Finally, I will include a pic of my most recent favorite Vigeland sculpture.  The detail of the sculptures is incredible...