Saturday, January 18th

On the first weekday of our stay we had a freer program, according to the project plan, and each of us decided to spend this day according to our taste. Some of us went to the famous Vigelandsparken (The Vigeland Park), where sculptures in the morning fog were even more beautiful - so no wonder we took many photos. Others went to the Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway), where they used time to study materials for the project. One of us headed to Lillehammer on Friday, where she visited a former prison camp where Hans Børli, a poet whom she had chosen for project work, was arrested. The rest of us were studying and relaxing.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 18. 1. 2020)

Sunday, January 19th

On Sunday we had a different individual program. We went to see the museums on Bygdøy peninsula in the morning. We divided into two groups according to our preferences: one started in the Vikingskipsmuseet (Viking Ship Museum), where they had the opportunity to admire the remains of
three viking ships and many other interesting artifacts found in them. It was unbelievable that over a thousand years old vessels had survived in such perfect condition. Then they went to the Historisk museum (Historical Museum), where there are several exhibitions - Egyptian, American, Arctic, Viking and medieval. The second group went to the HL-Senteret (Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities) on the recommendation of our project partner, Jødisk Museum i Oslo (Oslo Jewish Museum), to see an exhibition about the fate of Norwegian Jews during the war. Then they continued on a tour to the Norsk Folkemuseum (The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), open - air museum on Bygdøy peninsula. In the evening we had the highlight of the day, the performance of Ghosts - Ibsens Gengangere by Henrik Ibsen, in the form of modern ballet in Operahuset (Oslo Opera House). It was a unique cultural experience for us that we will not forget for a long time. The dancers were able to express all emotions perfectly by movement and expression. So even without words the spectator was deeply impressed by the story.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 19. 1. 2020)

Monday, January 20th

We started Monday morning with a visit to NORLA, which is institution dedicated to promoting Norwegian literature abroad. NORLA´s activity was presented to us by its employee, Dina Roll - Hansen, who prepared an interesting presentation for us about the specific supporting activities for
translators of Norwegian books abroad. Then we met two authors whose work is closely related to the theme of our project. Anne Ellingsen prepared a presentation for us - she spoke about her book Odd Nansen - Arvtageren. Nina Grünfeld, director, writer and daughter of Berthold Grünfeld, one of the Czechoslovak children saved by Nansenhjelpen, showed us the trailers of her documentary films and told us about her grandmother Frida´s past and her father´s fate. In the afternoon some of us decided to go to Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway) to study. Others enjoyed the sun for a while by walking in the streets of the city and then used the time for studying in our apartment.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 20. 1. 2020)

Tuesday, January 21st

 According to the project plan, we went to Centre for Ibsen Studies (Senter for Ibsen-studier) - department of the University of Oslo, where the works of the playwright Henrik Ibsen are studied and analyzied inanalyzed in the interdisciplinary context. The local associate professor Giuliano D'Amico welcomed us very warmly. First he guided us through the rich library of Centre for Ibsen Studies (Senter for Ibsen-studier). After he showed us - with the help of interactive maps and several graphs - the results of the work of students and employees: for example, a worldwide map showing the performance of Ibsen's plays. In the end we got information about the possibilities of master's programme at Centre for Ibsen Studies (Senter for Ibsen-studier). In the afternoon, we took a guided tour of the Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway), which allowed us to learn more about the environment in which we spent a lot of time during our research. For example, we were shown old maps of the world, we could also look at valuable old manuscripts and see the Royal Library.  Thanks to the pleasant guide and her knowledgeable interpretation, the tour was an unforgettable experience for us.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 21. 1. 2020)

Wednesday, January 22nd

According to an agreement with the Jødisk Museum i Oslo (Oslo Jewish Museum), we spent this day in this host institution for the most part. We handled several administrative matters and subsequently received some other materials for our personalities, which the museum staff sought for us. This gave us a lot of useful resources that we might not even have had a chance to get - it was a very useful visit. We spent the rest of the day doing a self-study of these materials in the Nasjonalbiblioteket (Nation Library of Norway). In the evening we used the nice weather to walk around the historic city center.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 22. 1. 2020)

Thursday, January 23th

 To our partner’s recommendations we had an individual program for today, dedicated to visiting major museums in Oslo. First we went to Munchmuseet (Munch Museuum), which will soon be closed and moved to another building - thanks to that we were glad that we managed to visit the exposition. In addition to Munch's paintings, we had the opportunity to see the fascinating realistic landscape paintings by Amald Nielsen.

Then some of us went to near near Botanisk hage – Naturhistorisk Museum (Botanical Garden – Natural History Museum) and the Nasjonalmuseet – Arkitektur (The Nationa Museum – Architecture), while others went to the Fram Museum to learn more about the Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen's polar expeditions. One of us went on a project journey outside of Oslo to the place where Hans Børli lived.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 23. 1. 2020)

Friday, January 24th

We started this day according to the project plan by visiting the Aschehoug publishing house, where a local employee Henrik Francke told us a few words about the authors published by Aschehoug. Also each of us received a gift of several books, including “Kathe, alltid vært i Norge” by Espen Søby - the life story of a Norwegian Jewish girl from the Holocaust period. Professor Jakob Lothe was waiting for us before the publishing house. We moved with him to the hospital Gaustad sykehus. Founded in 1855, it was the first state hospital for seriously mentally handicapped people. In the hospital we met Professor Lars Weiseth, who told us very interestingly about the Norwegian psychiatrist of Czech origin Leo Eitinger. He was one of the Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia to Norway, after the war he devoted himself to examining the psyche of people imprisoned by the Nazis.  In the evening, one of us had meeting with Mr. Bernt Lund, the son of her project personality, Sigrid Helliesen Lund, who worked for Nansenhjelpen . It was a very beneficial meeting, full of personal stories and memories.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 24. 1. 2020)

Saturday, January 25th

This day, according to the project plan, a visit to the famous Holmenkollen ski jump was planned, where we had the opportunity to visit the local museum and take the elevator to the top, which offers stunning views of Oslo and the Oslofjord. Moreover, thanks to our guide Lenka Sommerseth, who used worked in this museum, we had free admission. For the rest of the day, we had an individual program that most of us used to walk around the city and visit places of interest they hadn't had time before. A few of us then went on a small hike through the frozen Norwegian nature of Nordmarka from Holmenkollen to Lake Sognsvann; it was more than a pleasant rest from the bustle of the city.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 25. 1. 2020)

Sunday, January 26th

In the morning, some of us went to the mausoleum of Emanuel Vigeland, the brother of the famous sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The red brick building concealed a hall richly decorated with frescoes depicting the life cycle. This museum is unique in Oslo and its visit very impressed us. very impressed us. Other of us went to Sunday cupping, which is basically a coffee tasting, to the well-known Norwegian coffee roaster and esspreso bar Tim Wendelboe. The experience was very intense and pleasant and we learned something new about coffee in norwegian language.

We continued according to the project plan with a guided walk through the Vår Frelsers Gravlund (Cemetery of Our Saviour), where we had the opportunity to see the graves of such Norwegian personalities as the famous writers Henrik Ibsen, Björnstjerne Björnson and Henrik Wergeland. We also visited the adjacent Romanesque church from the 12th century, where the election of representatives to the Eidsvoll Assembly in 1814 took place.

In the afternoon we went to the Lysaker district where Harald Bache-Wiig awaited us and guided us in the footsteps of Fridtjof and Odd Nansen and the Lysakerkretsen art group. Among other things, we had the opportunity to see the villa Polhøgda, where Odd Nansen was born. After the walk we were invited to dinner with our guide and his wife Sylvi Penne. Excellent food and pleasant company contributed to the general good atmosphere.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 26. 1. 2020)

Monday, January 27th

Today was the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when a commemorative event is held at Akershuskaia in Oslo. On the recommendation of the Jewish Museum, we took a part in this event despite the bad weather.  This included a series of speeches, in which the speakers mainly addressed their speech to generations that did not experienced the Holocaust themselves. It was said, among other things, that we must remember this day to know who the true enemy is - hate. We were also strongly impressed by the reference to human equality, which guarantees everyone the same value and rights. The speakers especially turned to a society marked by increasing racism and anti-Semitism - there was a warning that we should not allow such a horrific event, where even a million and a half children were killed, happen again. After the event, those who were interested, could go to the Akershus Fort for soup to warm up. Otherwise, we spent the day studying the project materials.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 27. 1. 2020)

Tuesday, January 28th

According to the project plan, we visited the Nordics Department at the University of Oslo, where professor Ståle Dingstad welcomed us. First he showed us the digital library and digital research methods, which are an important working tool not only for local Nordists. Subsequently, he also told us a few words about the position of various minority groups in Norway (Jewish, Roma, Sami etc.). Then two lectures followed by doctoral students whose doctoral theses are closely related to our project. Ingeborg Helleberg told us very interestingly about the diary records of a Jewish girl Ruth Maier, whom she analyzes in her work. Ruth Maier was originally from Vienna, but spent her youth in Norway; her diaries and letters depict personal and historical-political events of the 1930s and 1940s.
Her main goal is to find out what new perspectives Ruth's story can give us during World War II. After that, Madelen Brovold, who studies Jewish characters and motifs in Norwegian literature, took over. First, we summarized the history of Norwegian Jews, then we learned what specific works and phenomena she deals with. We were intrigued, for example, with information about the controversial re-issue of anti-Semitic books in the last decade - a sad reflection on the current social situation.
 In the evening we were invited to the residence of the Czech Ambassador in Oslo, Mr. Jaroslav Knot, to a lecture by the associate professor about the Norwegian footsteps of the writer Karel Čapek. In her talk, the lecturer also pointed out the ways Čapek's work reflects the rise of Nazi ideology in the 1930s. Subsequently, we, the students, got the words to present the content and outputs of our project to the audience (embassy workers and Czech compatriots). Our presentation met with great interest - we were particularly pleased by the offer to write an article about it in a Czech compatriot magazine.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 28. 1. 2020)

Wednesday, January 29th

We spent the last day of our stay in Oslo at our host institution, the Jewish Museum. We returned borrowed books and materials, had the opportunity to go through the museum exhibition once more and make some notes or take pictures of everything needed for our project work. In addition, we were given the opportunity to discuss our administrative and project questions with Dag Kopperud, who was our contact person throughout the stay. We also discussed our impressions of project activities and our stay in Norway - we agreed that it was an enriching experience for all of us and a unique opportunity to get to know the culture and inhabitants of this beautiful country better. Finally, Dag invited us for coffee and a final group photo. We thanked the employees of the Jewish Museum for their willingness and help, and we are looking forward to meeting Dag Kopperud again during the project week in May 2020.

(Bronislava Garčárová, 29. 1. 2020)