Paintings and Snow!

Two weekends ago was the Moose cabin trip, my second cabin trip here in Norway.  This was a different cabin (Streptokåken): a much less continuously uphill hike.  The Moose, by the way, is the only English-language paper on UiO's campus, and I wrote a couple of articles for the last issue and edited.  Pretty much the entire way there it rained, which made the last bit interesting because the actual path to the cabin, once you've hiked up the main gravel roads, was a muddy path at that point.  Once we got there, there were some interesting decorations, including this moose:

There then followed a cake contest, awesome spaghetti, guitar playing, and SPOONS!  The next day it was much less rainy, and hiking back down the mountain to catch the bus, I finally got to see some of the great views:

Also, some hanging moss, which is not Spanish moss, but looks like it: Norwegian moss?

Last weekend the weather was gorgeous again, and if it's one thing you learn when it gets cold and rainy: it's to get outside when it's nice.  Here's Sognsvann on Friday:

And some curly dried grass:

Any, this is about an hour walk, and by the time I start walking along the road home, it's cloudy, windy, and SNOWING.
But it's nice and sunny again on Saturday, and I wandered along the waterfront:

On Sunday, Daylight Savings Time ended, and the sun started setting at 4:30.  I went to the National Gallery, because admission is free on Sundays. 
Lots of neat paintings and sculptures there, so I took many pictures (are you surprised?  you shouldn't be).
This is the Thinker:

No, not that Thinker, though the museum did have him, too.  There's some modern art, and some Ancient Greek/Roman sculptures, but the museum mostly traces the changes in Norwegian art, with, of course, The Scream (Skrik, in Norwegian):

Though, honestly, this didn't evoke a feeling of hopelessness, terror, or despair in me, unlike this:

This is Melancholia I, by Albrecht Dürer-look, it's sunny outside, and she's annoyed because she's stuck inside doing work with that pointy-thing!  Ah, exam qualifications and grad school applications, how I loathe you.  This was in one of  the cabinets in the corners of some rooms-look inside, not everything cool is on the wall.  The museum visit also led to contemplations on how stuff is arranged in museums.  Example: There is the Langaard Room, with Old Master paintings donated as a collection in 1924-it is arranged according to then-current practices.  This means that many paintings are on the walls next to/above/below each other.  This leads to some confusion:  The sign next to these reads: "A Gentleman Visiting Courtesans", "The Card Players", and "The Rape of the Daughters of Levkippos."  Now, the first one is larger, and arranged above the others.  Then, there is this:

My eye naturally goes to the left one first, since the sign was on the left.  I think this is Card Players, since that is how the signage and pictures have been arranged so far.  That is one exciting card game!

Also, this:

The Three Graces Listening to Cupid's Song; a 19th century marble sculpture meant to evoke ancient civilizations.  To these past artists, ancient Greek and Roman art is life in marble: serene, perfect, silent.  However, a while ago I found out that Greek statues were painted, like this:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors.html#
Totally different view on how this art "should" look: I think it shows how real and vibrant life was, personally.

Anyway, cool stuff.
Then I walked around Vår Frelsers Gravlund, a graveyard where several notable Norwegians are buried, including Munch and Ibsen, as well as Hansteen and Wickstrøm, the first Norwegian citizens shot during the Nazi occupation of Norway.

I can't read much Norwegian, but some differences between this graveyard and one I did an archaeological project on in Michigan: women's maiden names are more likely to be included (versus just Mother, or Wife), full-grave covers, and people's faces.  It was also really pretty with all the leaves:

Then, on Monday I woke up to snow.  Lots of snow, which lasted for 2 days.  I went out hiking on Tuesday:

Happy Halloween!