Peace (and the lack of it) in Norway

Norway is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize.  It has been presented in Oslo since 1901.  The award ceremony is held in the Norwegian Parliament Building - on the right hand side of the photo.  The building is modest in size and architecture, in comparison with parliament buildings of many other countries.  But there are few places in the world that are host to such prestigious events, and graced by so many admirable people.

The prize winners stay in the Grand Hotel (on the left hand side of the photo) next to the Parliament.  In addition to association with the Nobel Peace Prize, I heard that Roald Dahl got his inspiration for some of his work here, and Henrik Ibsen used to eat here everyday. 

On the other hand, Norway is also the home of Anders Behring Breivik, and where he killed 77 people in 2011.  He committed these atrocities to promote his far-right views, hatred of Islam and feminism, and desire to deport all Muslims from Europe.  Recently he indicated that his only regret was that he did not kill more people. 

Evil is lurking right where people celebrate peace and lofty ideals.  Even a place as peace-loving, wealthy, educated and open-minded as Norway is not immune to evil.