Day 3 - Saturday, July 23

Day 3 - Saturday, July 23 - Oslo

July 23, 2022

We were happy and surprised to see blue sky when we woke up and were lucky to have temperatures in the mid-70s much of the day. Between the good weather and the weekend, all of Oslo and the surrounding region must have been out. Some of the broad pedestrian streets were so crowded it was difficult to get through.

In the morning we took a bus tour with guide Nina. First we went up to the mountain east of the city which looks down at the harbor. We stopped at the site where Munch is said to have gotten his inspiration (despair?) for his most famous painting, "The Scream".

Nina explained the efforts Oslo is taking to make the downtown "green", making it very difficult to use vehicles, promoting public transportation and bicycles. There is a steep toll for vehicles coming into the city, many roads are only for buses and bicycles and parking is very expensive.

We then visited the Norwegian Maritime Museum which has short but very interesting videos about Viking boat building and Viking trading with Europe in the period 850AD-1050AD (Sponsored by Viking Cruises, of course). There is a workshop where replicas of Viking boats are being constructed using only traditional tools and methods. It was quite fascinating to see how huge oak logs were split and eventually turned into thin planks for the hull.

From there we went to the palace which was built for the Swedish king in the early 1800s (when Sweden was controlled by Denmark) and then became the palace for the Norwegian king in 1905 when Sweden gave up Norway as part of the deal of Denmark giving up Sweden. The history is very complicated going back to medieval times.

After arriving back at the hotel we went for a walk, stopping at a seafood restaurant. Ordering was interesting, scanning a QR code with the phone, using a web site to specify our table, what we wanted to order and then pay all in one process. I thought they had a lot of nerve to suggest levels of tipping in a country where tipping is largely optional. We shared fish & chips and fish ceviche along with local beer.

We then walked to the Nobel Peace Museum which was quite interesting, with Nobel's history and information on a number of the significant peace prize winners. Nobel proposed to two women who both turned him down and he never married. Despite his accomplishments, over 350 patents and business success, he didn't feel accomplished. It was a bit discouraging to think about how little progress we've made with peace more than 100 years since the prize was first given.

After a rest back at the hotel, we walked to the top of the opera house, one of the most famous Oslo landmarks. There are long slopes on both sides of the opera house and the top is teeming with people enjoying the sights. It was interesting to visit one of the places highlighted in one of the Rick Steeve's videos that we watched before leaving.

We then strolled along the waterfront and were interested to see the floating saunas that were along the promenade. Some people were using the saunas and then jumping into the water. We also saw one motoring back from somewhere - you can sauna out in the fjord as well. I got a great photo of one of the more interesting ones with the opera house and Munch museum in the background.

Tonight we have to leave our luggage outside the room for it to be transported to Bergen. Tomorrow we will walk to the station and take the 7 hour train ride to Bergen.