Lucky Beginning

Near the beginning of the sculpture lined avenue in Frogner Park one finds this statue where one key element is shiny, having lost its patina from being frequently touched.  (See closeup below.)  I asked a male employee of the nearby Vigeland Museum about this, and he told me that visitors, both Norwegians and tourists, touch this fellow for good luck.  The Norwegians even have a catchy descriptor for this in "ta tak i den heldige Kødd," which translated roughtly as "grab the lucky pecker."  Kødd is a slang term which can also mean doing a stupid or outrageous thing.