Oslo - The Old and the New

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Today was our first full day in Oslo, and we woke up to a cloudy cool day. We decided to go to Bygdoy which is a peninsula adjoining Oslo, but very underdeveloped. We went first to the Norwegian Folk Museum where old buildings from different areas of Norway were reassembled and furnished according to the era. Most of the buildings were medieval farm buildings and cottages. It's an open air museum, so we could wander around acres and acres of trails and go inside many of the old houses and farm buildings.

Next, we went down the road to the Viking Ship Museum to see 3 huge Viking ships dating from about 900 AD that were excavated from the Oslo fjord. There was also a fascinating exhibit of some of the artifacts found on the ships. Apparently, they were funeral ships loaded with goods that the dead would need in the afterlife. It's easy to see what good ship builders the Vikings were. Both museums were especially interesting to me because my great-grandmother was Norwegian.

In the late afternoon, the sun came out so we walked to the harbor area which has been turned into a huge modern shopping area. We stopped and had a beer, which cost the equivilent of $24. We heard that Norway is expensive, but we still cringe every time we look at a menu or a price tag.

On our way back we visited the Nobel Peace Center. All in all, we had a great day, and so far, we've had good luck with the weather. Tomorrow is supposed to rain all day, so it may be a day devoted to the art museums. I've always wanted to see Edvard Munch's "Scream". But now it's time to rest our tired feet.............

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Photos

Folk Museum
Medieval croft house

Folk Museum
Interior of one of the houses. Much of the furniture was painted and most of the doors have intricate carvings.

The Folk Museum
17th century Farm house. The roof was covered with several layer of birch bark to keep the rain out, then soil was put on to hold the bark in place.

Viking Ship Museum
The front of one of the longships. View from the floor

Viking Ship museum
View of another longship from above so you can see the inside

Aker Brygge
Modern shopping development in what used to be the docks of Oslo.

Port of Oslo from the Strand
See the smiling ship!

Comments

[Diane & Mark]

thanks for the great Oslo pictures
Oslo looks fascinating, what a great time you are having! Don't drink too much beer!