Oslo...My Beloved Oslo...

     "Oslo, my beloved Oslo."
     Those were the four words that came to me the instant my cousin informed me that Oslo had been hit by an explosion.
     Twice in my life, I have had the joy of becoming acquainted with Oslo.  The summer I graduated from high school, I met Oslo for the first time.  I met her as a young tourist.  Karl Johan's Gatte was the main street of the town--the mecca for shoppers.  Then, there was the majesty of the Oslo City Hall.  Majesty is beyond the comprehension of any American, when they hear "city hall."  Yet, the murals, the marble floors, and the high ceilings may be defined no less than majestic.  Then,  Frogner Park.  Ah, Frogner Park.  Norwegian sculptor, Gustav Vigeland crafted a magnificent study of human form--human beings of all ages, in a multitude of positions.  It is a pilgrimage--an artistic pilgrimage of humanity--that any visitor to Oslo must make.  Knowing the trip might be beyond you, let Google do the walking http://images.google.com/search and enter Vigeland Park.  God was the sculptor for Oslo's other source of awe--the Sogne Fjord.  Words do not do it justice.
     In 1978, I visited Oslo as a tourist.  Little could I imagine that I would have the opportunity to return to Oslo in 2005.  I returned as a student--as a resident for a nine-day stay.  Frogner Park, and Karl Johan's Gatte were not mine to revisit.  I lived the life of a resident--the life of a student--housed in a youth hostel.  But, ah...the view.  The hostel set atop a hill overlooking the Sogne Fjord.  We ate outside and soaked up the sunshine, and the pristine air.
     Oslo is a city of hearty, gentle, peace-loving people.  Oslo is the home of the Nobel Prize.
     At the end of my nine-day visit to Oslo, I had absolutely no desire to return home.  In fact, even when I got home, I longed to return immediately.
      Oslo...my beloved Oslo...