Here we are in the Norwegian capitol city. Come along with us!
First up: a run around town! We'll go down to the water, run around some historic sites... or we'll turn the wrong way and end up in the industrial district. Whoops! I slow Steve down when we run together, so even though he wanted to stay with me while we were running in all these foreign countries, slowing him down made me feel bad enough for him that I told him to run free! My phone's running app has a map on it, so I could find my way back easily.
And hopefully everyone knows a run necessitates a shower. But let me tell you something about Norwegian hotel showers... they're messy! Or at least we never figured out how to take a shower unmessily. There's a glass door that only goes for half the length of the tub/shower, and unfortunately, the water went a bit beyond that, especially when it splashed off of me! Sorry I neglected to get a picture. But really, it was just wet.
Breakfast time. It's Saturday. It's the weekend before a Norwegian holiday. It's chaos in the breakfast room. While it's quite nice for the hotel to include breakfast in everyone's room rate, the sheer number of bodies is staggering! I think it would have been worth it to go out for breakfast, but I guess hindsight is 20/20. Oh well, on we go!
To the waterfront! as with most history-laden cities, the old stuff is by the water. Who wants to go on a little ferry ride with us?
Off to a Scandinavian island paradise!
We bought Oslo passes for unlimited access to several museums and transportation, including the ferry ride. We decided to go to the Norweigian culture museum first. It's an open-air museum, so we were glad it was such a beautiful day! The flowers were beautiful, there were exhibits about Norwegian life through the years, including buildings that were hundreds of years old, and my favorite part was the Stave Church, built in the year 1200!
Funny looking, huh? But really cool! All that carving is original, as are the paintings inside! Can you imagine? That's over 800 years old! And as a special treat, here's a guy dressed in traditional Norwegian clothes, specific to a nearby town!
Very Scandinavian!
And for something else very Scandinavian, we're off to the Viking Ship Museum!
So, Vikings are apparently very misunderstood. The museum was very interesting, with lots of artifacts and even a VERY well-preserved Viking ship, discovered in a yard by some kids in 1879. The serpent's head to the right is a replica of the original, which was on the front of the ship. Sometimes the Vikings would send ships off with mummified bodies as a funeral and burial. Like the Egyptians, they sent their people off to the afterlife with all they could need--live animals, food, jewels, money, tools, etc. Pretty swanky! So all those ships either ran aground or eventually sank, I suppose. Very interesting stuff!
And now to a more somber, less-expected adventure: the Norwegian holocaust museum. Give me an F in world history, as I didn't know that the holocaust really even came up this far north. But sure enough, it did. That is part of the reason there is animosity between Norway and Sweden today--the Swedes were "neutral but friendly" toward Germany, and they allowed Nazis into Norway. Many Norwegians (Jews and others) were send to Dachau and other concentration camps, just like in central Europe.
Moving on to happier things, another ferry ride! Next stop, the mainland and the Nobel Peace Museum! Which, unfortunately, was a big fat disappointment. There wasn't anything really about Nobel himself, and only a small exhibit about the prize winners. Mostly it was about some cause that I can't even remember now! Oh, and chemical warfare. Those two things took up 90% of the museum. Skip it.
Next, the castle! Yes indeed, the castle grounds were quite lovely. The museum was already closed, but the grounds offered lots to see!
Anyone up for a romantic stroll around the top? It was lovely!
And now we're getting hungry... Good thing our Oslo pass also includes discounts on restaurants! The one we decided to go to, I think it was called the Christiana, was definitely a tourist restaurant, but the food was delicious! I got a type of fish I'd never heard of the before (Lind, perhaps?), and it was amazing! These Scandinavians really know how to blend flavors without everything getting lost in the sauce, so to speak. Take a look!
OK, I just love the tea set lamp! In the middle picture, the fish is in the foreground with veggies and mashed potatoes, and Steve's steak frites are in the background. And our cute little mini dessert plate is on the far right. On the dessert plate, from left to right, we have a cookie, the cutest and tiniest cupcake ever, a brownie-hazelnut-type thing, and passionfruit mousse. Yum!
Time for bed! The sun stays out a while here, but Steve and Whitney don't! More to come! Oslo day two is next including THE SCREAM!
No comments:
Post a Comment