A family travel blog meant to track our family goals and to inspire the world that anyone with vision backed with SMART goals are meant to have their dreams come to a reality!
“You can’t understand a city without using its public transportation system. ” – Erol Ozan
Travel, it seems, then and again for us, is all about perspective. Exploring Oslo, Norway raised our standards so much so that we frowned on New York’s Metro Card calling it “barely a card.” Getting settled into the New York transportation system after three days, off we went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and there we were greeted with a scratch card… the city’s day pass for tourists and travelers. Let’s just say that it took us four days to look beyond this and give Toronto a fair judgement of the city’s beauty and uniqueness. First impressions. Perspectives. Flexible travelers that we think we are, perspectives matter.
If we have traveled from Manila, Philippines, our home country, straight from Toronto, Canada, the availability of Metro straight from the Union Station and the convenience of family card plus the friendly ticket receptionist, would have floored us with awe. To travel conveniently in Manila, usually takes private-hire transportation and even then, the horrendous traffic and heat (or rain) would leave us scratching our eyes out waiting for the transport ordeal to be over. Transport system in Toronto would be we a very much welcome blissful paradise to experience.
Only,, we didn’t come from a developing country. We transited from a highly developed city, equally diversified as Toronto, it seems to us, equally populated like New York. Transport payment scheme in Toronto is very primitive to us now.
How does this affect how we think of Canada? It should not affect us much. We firmly believe that how we view a country is more of a reflection on us that it is a reflection of the country,
So, this experience, makes us feel empowered. Worldschooling the kids mainly has the purpose of showing the kids the beauty of the world and what men are capable of nurturing what’s possible; highlighting NOT borders, but potentials.
“Oslo’s contemporary art” is something that simply ceases to exist. From witnessing the art within the Astrup Fearnley Museet, I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s solely hare-brained to categorize the art in such ways. Perhaps it had been easier to group masterpieces of which had been bizarre to the eye in a single group; although each and every piece had been produced with a pastiche of particular passions, each had been fashioned with idiosyncratic intentions. This is my opinion, due to the fact that I find hardship in distinguishing similitude between denim doused canvases, shopping cart creations, and paper-carved coups.
Based on my self-reflection, I distinguish a certain depth in “Oslo’s art”, the miniature brain-muddles it’d take a person to disentangle a sole piece, and the mystery that envelopes it, for unless you were to pry open the mind of the certain creator; you’d never truly fathom the depth that had originated from the marvelous masterpieces I had witnessed today.
Check out a simple version of my art based on my previous experiences in Oslo, Norway:
Who is Alfred Nobel?: Alfred Bernhard Nobel, 1833 – 1896:
Considering the fact that Nobel had been infamous for the birthing of the “Nobel Peace Prize”, along with five other rewards based on various categories; (eg. chemistry, economics, literature, physics, physiology, and medicine.) I had never guessed his career had commenced due to the exact opposite.
Dynamite.
Alfred Nobel had had specific interests since he had been birthed, one of which had included nitroglycerin. Having been influenced by people of intellect such as himself, it hadn’t taken long for Nobel to develop interest in the chemistry department. Despite the fact that nitroglycerin, at the time; had been eminent due to the fact that it had been the most unchancy reincarnation of explosives in the 19th century, Nobel had been quick to toy with it.
This had resulted in the death of five people, including his youngest sibling. During one of his nitroglycerin-congested experiments, the building; much to my non-existent confoundment, had, well…exploded.
This had left Nobel at a stunned state for a matter of five seconds in the duration of a decade; for he had quickly brushed himself off, determined to avenge the day Emil had perished by…
the production of explosives!! From that day forward, Nobel had been positively driven to produce trustworthy time-bombs, occasionally tweaking for the better of battles.
That is, until he had stumbled upon the feet of Baroness Bertha Von Suttner. From the day the had met, they had been considered as the closest companions. Von Snutter, the prodigious pacifist, as well as the perplexing pen-woman; and Alfred Nobel, the… dashing dynamite dude?
Fortunately, the beautiful baroness had been able to clean his act up a bit, no matter of the fact that he had custody of four beach houses in countries of which he spoke fluently.
As much as Von Snuttner, as well as Nobel had been best buddies; they had never considered themselves as the “romantic”. Proving this point, Nobel had later on courted some woman that had been 1/2 his own age, although ‘suppose “love is love”. Since I had already began to delve into dalliance, I might as well state the fact that Alfred Nobel had never gotten around to marrying; not to mention the fact that he had never had offspring. (Dad/Mom: Yeaahhhhh!!)
1896, October 10, Midday,
was the day of the death of Alfred Bernhard Nobel. The procession commenced, the coffin had been enveloped with fragrant flowers. Later it had been discovered that:
at his deathbed Nobel had had something of a guilty conscience. Having done dynamite deals a majority of his life, he hadn’t exactly contributed towards peace until he had written his will.
Why was the Peace Prize named after him?:
What lay written in Alfred Bernhard Nobel’s will, was the fact that he had requested a platform be made for the means he had devoted his life to. Thus began the birth of the Nobel Prizes, and the distribution of 1 million dollars, as well as a memorious medal every December 10th, the day an admirable man had gone gallivanting to the heavens; an armful of explosives at hand.
Who are my top 3 favorite Nobel Peace Laureate? Why?:
Baroness Bertha Von Snutter, the very first female Nobel Peace Laureate, not to mention the fact that she had greatly impacted Alfred Nobel’s life, and future decisions, and possibly the past itself.
Denis Mukwege Mukengere, for the temporary exhibition at the time had displayed the deeds he had done, and the wounds he had healed for the victims of awful armed rebells. (The most recent Laureate, 2018.)
Nadia Murad, along with Denis Mukwege Mukengere, she too was rewarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, for after her execrable experiences as she was held captive in the city of Mosul where she had gone through things no human should ever withstand; she had managed to escape, and is now the founder of Nadia’s Initiative, “an organization dedicated to helping women and children victimized by genocide, mass atrocities, and human trafficking to heal and rebuild their lives and communities”.
What would you I in the future to win a Nobel Peace Prize? How? When?:
Contribution to climate change, and before everything smelts to smithereens.
Mom: “How, how, how???”:
Somehow incorporate geothermal energy for household heaters, stoves, etc. Despite the fact that there is indeed a possible percentage that global warming mayn’t be real, although the discovery of new energy could contribute nevertheless. If this fact proves to be true, I’d like to get behind exactly what warms the earth, and help the walking skeletons that have become our arctic animals avoid extinction.
I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results. – Alfred Bernhard Nobel
Nobel Peace Center is located in Aker Brygge and it’s really close to where this traveling Turknoys stayed for several days. The Nobel Peace Center is a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents. The Center is also an arena where culture and politics merge to promote involvement, debate and reflection around topics such as war, peace and conflict resolution.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish businessman, chemist, engineer, inventor, and philanthropist. Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him.
Quote on Obama’s Nobel speech acceptance ..on climate change..apparently, the kids favorite topic on how to win the Nobel Peace Prize for their generation.
…the world must come together to confront climate change. There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and activists who call for swift and forceful action it is military leaders in my country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance.
In an artwork you’re always looking for artistic decisions, so an ashtray is perfect. An ashtray has got life and death.” – Damien Hirst, Artist with extensive private art collections in Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
Astrup Fearnley Museet is a private museum of contemporary art and has since its opening in 1993 been one of the most important art institutions in Oslo.
The museum moved to Tjuvholmen in 2012, beautifully located by the Oslo Fjord in a building designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano. The museum shows changing exhibitions by leading international and Norwegian contemporary art and houses the Astrup Fearnley Collection. The collection is one of Norway’s most important and extensive private art collections, with iconic works by artists like Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer and Jeff Koons.
It makes sense for us to see all forms of art, whether we appreciate it or not, whether we understand it or not, or whether we feel violated about the art or not.
When ask about our art impression, the word “perversion” is not bad description , art is mostly an interpretation of one’s desires and hidden ambitions, exactly how you may define perversion. Although, to be honest, Astrup Fearnley Museet’s exhibition during this time around’s visit is a bit too much for the kids.
They enjoyed the art installations, don’t get us wrong – we always do! Art is art and loving art is to worldschoolers as flying is to airplane!
Our visit to the museum during last winter is also fun learning experience.
“It’s not about finding relevance or perfection or imperfection in objects, but it’s that you can accept yourself and then go out and accept others. I try to educate people about materialism through my work. I try to show them real visual luxury.”- Jeff Koons, Artist with extensive private art collections in Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
“Ruins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas. They are symbols of a beginning.” –Anselm Kiefer, Artist with extensive private art collections in Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
The City of Oslo is preparing for a car-free city centre and is almost there Equipped with electrified transport system, all city-dwellers and visitors can easily move in and around the city freely, easily and quite conveniently with a carbon footprint of zero! Isn’t that a great example for traveling kids- how to have it all with class no damage to environment? IT IS!
Oslo is the capital city of Norway and has a population of 658,390. The city is surrounded by the Marka Forest, a nationally protected area, and the Oslo Fjord, both connected by a number of waterways. Oslo’s approach to conserving its natural areas and restoring its waterway network is just one of the many reasons why it won the European Green Capital Award for 2019.
The city’s waterways have been subject to a new revolutionary strategy which has completely reversed the previous approach of enclosing these channels. They are now being actively re-opened in order to make them accessible for people, to efficiently manage stormwater and facilitate development and restoration of habitat.
Tackling climate change is a high priority for Oslo. The city aims to cut emissions by 50% by 2020 (compared to 1990) and to be carbon neutral by 2050. Oslo has introduced a range of integrated measures to achieve these ambitious targets, for example, by promoting zero emissions transport. The city has become the ‘Electric Vehicle Capital of the World’ with 30% of all vehicles now sold in the city being electric.
Improvements in cycling and public transport infrastructure, the introduction of car free zones, and encouraging the use of electric vehicles, will not only help the city reach its climate goals, it will also greatly reduce air and noise pollution, and enhance the urban environment for its citizens.
Innovation and the promotion of new jobs in the circular economy is a priority for Oslo and the city is at the forefront of circular use of available resources. Biogas produced from bio-waste and city sewage is used to fuel city buses and waste trucks.
Oslo also established the ‘Business for Climate Network’ to foster cooperation between the business community, citizens and NGOs in addressing the impact business operations have on the climate.
In 2016, the city introduced a ‘Climate Budget’, an initiative consisting of 42 separate measures across three sectors: energy and the built environment, transport, and resources. Carbon Dioxide emissions are now being counted in the same way a financial budget would account for funding. The unique ‘Climate Budget’ is one of the main initiatives that the City of Oslo is driving to reach its goal of 50% emissions reduction by 2020.
Exploring the city, the culture of green city is very evident. One thing that the kids enjoyed a lot are the scooters easily rentable around the city. We tried VOI Scooters and the kids had a blast. Our eldest traveller who’s so into the rules of wearing helmet while using the scooter was not comfortable disobeying them, so we have to cut our experience short – well done her!
Global warming is real – it is man-made and it is an important problem. But it is not the end of the world. We need to show the kids that efforts are being done to address this real problem.
Tjuvholmen is a neighborhood on a peninsula sticking out from Aker Brygge into the Oslofjord. At the tip of the peninsula, next to the sculpture park, is an outdoor bathing area. The water leads out to the Inner Oslofjord.
The Tjuvholmen Square great for kids, there are a lot of non-conforming scenarios aka ideas that challenges the norm– from naked sculptures to messages around the dining areas – expect a good number of questions from traveling kids.
WHAT IF?? -If we killed humans at the same rate as we kill animals, it would take17 days to wipe out the entire human specifies.
Visit Oslo notes the Tjuvholmen is a very recent addition to Oslo’s varied collection of boroughs. The buildings that make up the area are drawn by some 20 different architects, creating a concentrated display of current trends in architecture. Tjuvholmen is also characterised by elaborate outdoor spaces, including a city beach and several humorous outdoor artworks.At the point where Tjuvholmen meets the fjord you find one of Oslo’s main attractions, master architect Renzo Piano’s Astrup Fearnley Museum.Tjuvholmen may be knew in Oslo but this place will be the closest to our traveling family’s hearts in Oslo.
“From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity.” – Edvard Munch
The Munch Museum has the world’s largest collection of Edvard Munch’s art, which is displayed in exhibitions where Munch’s art is put in relevant contexts.
Edvard Munch was one of Modernism’s most significant artists
Edvard Munch was one of Modernism’s most significant artists. He is popularly known for his tenacious experimentation with painting, graphic art, drawing, sculpture, photo and film.
Munch was very good at portraying extreme emotions in painting, and he wanted to get a strong reaction from his viewers. His most famous work is “The Scream,” which definitely evokes intense feelings.
Munch left approximately 1,150 paintings,17, 800 prints,4,500 watercolours, drawings and 13 sculptures, as well as writing and literary notes to Oslo, Norway. The city is currently constructing a bigger Munch Museum close to the Opera House where Museum 2020 will rise.
“A work of art can only come from the interior of man. Art is the form of the image formed upon the nerves, heart, brain and eye of man.” – Edvard Munch
“Hope is not a prognostication; it is an orientation that no matter how things turn out, they can have meaning.” – Vaclav Havel
Family travelers are imparting the value of consistent hope. This is one of the many reasons we drag the kids around the world. Well, technically, just around Asia, Europe and North America for now. Hopefully, around the world soon enough.
When a traveling family run towards a train station hoping to catch the train on time, that’s hoping for the best.
When a traveling family is almost get denied entry by an Immigration Officer to a country of destination because of visa application requirements concerns and all family members continue showing calm while presenting valid travel documents, that’s hoping for fairness and diplomacy.
When a first time family hikes in an unfavorable weather up a gorgeous landscape in a foreign country and keeps the hyper mood, that’s hoping for an awesome adventure.
When presented with a bad customer service and the traveling family maintain a good attitude towards all people, that’s hoping for the goodness of humanity.
Emily Dickinson may have written it in a poem eras ago, but as family traveller, it is in our traveler’s literature pack.
“Hope”is a thing with feathers (By: Emily Dickinson)
“In my experience, it is rarer to find a really happy person in a circle of millionaires than among vagabonds.” – Thor Heyerdahl
Another Norwegian explorer breaking the ocean norm– why is that NOT surprising!
Thor Heyerdahl rose to fame when he crossed the Pacific Ocean with the Kon-Tiki in 1947. He is obviously an adventurer-at-heart, an ethnographer in profession with a background in zoology, botany, and geography. In his famous Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, he sailed 8,000 km across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures. Heyerdahl also proposed that Azerbaijan was the site of an ancient advanced civilization. He believed that natives migrated north through waterways to present-day Scandinavia.
In 1984, he was appointed a government scholar and further adventures followed with voyages on the Ra and Tigris reed boats.
Turknoys and Kon-Tiki, during their previous visit last winter (November 2018)
It’s fantastic to experience original rafts and up to date exhibitions on Heyerdahl’s expedition- the Kon-tiki, being the most famous, Ra, Tigris, Easter Island, Fatuhiva, Tucume, Galapagos, spelunking, under water exhibition and more!
What a really admirable explorer Thor Heyerdahl. Probably the coolest Thor we’ve read about, way better than the one with the hammer.
More of Thor Heyerdahl’s famous quotes illustrate his determined and adventurous personality:
“Some people believe in fate, others don’t. I do, and I don’t. It may seem at times as if invisible fingers move us about like puppets on strings. But for sure, we are not born to be dragged along. We can grab the strings ourselves and adjust our course at every crossroad, or take off at any little trail into the unknown.” – Thor Heyerdahl
“Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people.” – Thor Heyerdahl