Slottsparken

Slottsparken, or the park surrounding the Norwegian King's royal residence in Oslo, is just a few blocks from my grandparent's home.  It became a beautiful playground for their children who would spend a lot of time there.

Bestefar Strand loved nature and had a fondness for birds.  He would take all the stale bread in the kitchen, carefully cut it into cubes, put it into a sack, and take it to the King's park to feed the ducks, seagulls, and other birds.  A champion of the underdog, he would chuckle and be tickled when a little sparrow would dive in and steal a morsel from the bigger birds.

I have fond memories of the park shrouded in snow in the winter.  A few brave souls would skate on the duck pond once it had properly frozen over.  The local children would make sled runs on the small hills surrounding the park on the north side.  I remember a few breathless slides down on a little round plastic sklibrett, or sledding saucer (I'm sure they have them in the USA, but I have no idea what they're really called).  I was ecstatic when I got a beautiful one for Christmas that year!  I was five years old.  The older boys in the neighborhood would monitor the runs, and make sure the little ones, like me, were okay.  They also made sure the kids all took turns, and would arbitrate disputes.  I remember them as tall and scary - but very kind.  Looking back, I realize they couldn't have been more than 12!

My mother had a great story about the private, fenced off area of the park.  The private gardens are for the royal family.  My mother was about 10 or 11 when she and her sister and assorted little girls from their neighborhood were playing in the park.  There were two little girls watching them from behind the private fence.  After a while, an adult came and asked my mother and her friends if they would like to play with the girls behind the fence.  The girls agreed, and the whole ragamuffin bunch was taken around to a gate and ushered into the private area.  They had a great time laughing and playing with the little girls all afternoon.

It wasn't until years later that they came to realize that the little girls they had played with that day were none other than Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid, the daughters of King Olav, and sisters to the current King Harald!