Oslo Day 2

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We had set our alarm for 9:30 am in order to make it downstairs for breakfast which ended at 10. However, when the alarm went off Mary couldn't be bothered to get up so Martin decided to wait until 9:55 and then run down and grab what he could to bring back up to the room. On his way out Martin looked outside to see what the weather was going to be like today and was disappointed to see that it was grey and dim despite a forecast of sunny. He brought back some bread and jam, ham, cheese, and yogurt which we picked through and then showered. By the time we were dressed (in many many layers, mind you) we noticed that it was very sunny and clear outside. We couldn't believe how much the weather had changed in just about an hour until we realized that the weather hadn't changed at all and that the sun had just come up. When Martin first looked out the window at 9:45 am the sun hadn't risen so it looked dark and overcast outside. We both knew that there were fewer hours of sunset up north but you never really understand until you see it. Very interesting.

The first thing we did was walk down to the harbour and look out at all the boats. It was really surprising how many old fashioned looking boats there were in the harbour. Its a very different way of life in a city like Oslo which is still so dependent on the sea. There were even boat taxis which run to and from all the fjords in the summer time. It was really beautiful and we took some great pictures. Even though it was about 11:30 am when we were there all the photos look like they were taken at sunset since the sun never really rose much above the horizon. It gave the city a very warm but eerie glow the whole day. We walked along the harbour and unexpectedly came upon the Nobel building. We were sad to hear that we had just missed the Nobel Award ceremonies by about two weeks. And there was our one chance to see Al Gore in person, damn. We snapped a couple of pictures of the Nobel building and then moved on. Luckily, right across the street from the Nobel building was the big Oslo Christmas Market. Finally, what we had really come for!

We hurried across the street and into the market. The market had just opened so there weren't very many people inside. This was the first time we realised how much the people of Oslo love their statues. the market had been built up in a square which contained a number of huge statues. So right in the middle of their Nativity display was a statue of a giant naked woman. Very festive. Mary knew right away that she had found her people. We carried on through the market and looked at the various stalls with local crafts and foods. It was all very nice and really put us in the Christmas spirit.

Next we went across the street to the Oslo city hall. This was a relatively unimpressive, but large building with an enormous ornate clock face on the front of it. Mary was somewhat sceptical about going in as it looked pretty dull from the outside, but we trusted the guide books and went it anyway. The moment we walked in we knew that we had made the right decision. As you enter the building you come out into this huge reception room with vaulted ceilings and murals painted on all the walls and on the ceiling. There was a huge 20 foot Christmas tree at one end and a number of tables being set up for some event, perhaps a very posh wedding. Along both sides of the reception room were marble staircases which took you up to a balcony which ran along the entire perimeter of the room and since the ceiling was so high allowed you to look down on the room from about half way up. Next you moved into the multitude of smaller halls behind and beside the large central reception room. The first room we went into, which we called "the long room" was the most beautiful room we'd ever seen. It was full of vibrant colours on the walls and even the ceiling was intricately decorated. The windows faced the sun and since the sun was so low it came in the windows casting beautiful shadows on the far wall. There was also a gorgeous marble fireplace at one end of the room which would be a wonderful focal point for any event being held in the room.

After wandering through about 4 more rooms in the city hall, each one just as impressive as the one before it, we moved on back out into the cold. We were very happy that we had spent time living in the Midwest as we were prepared for what 10 degrees Fahrenheit actually feels like. We walked on through the city center until we came to the castle, which wasn't very impressive next to Warwick or even Lancaster castles, but did have some very serious looking sentries standing guard out front. After walking through the castle grounds and looking at the cannons that were used to fight off the Nazis in World War Two we decided to stop for lunch. We found a small but fancy looking sandwich shop where we had magnificent sandwiches and coffees/chais. This was the first opportunity we had to marvel at how everyone in Norway speaks perfect english. We went into the small deli assuming it was going to be a bit of a struggle like it was in Barcelona and even Rome to some extent, but instead the very large, hairy, tattooed man behind the counter spoke better english than most of the people you meet in Lancashire. We were very impressed.

After thoroughly enjoying our lunch, we layered back up and headed out into the cold once more. From there we boarded a bus for Bygdoy and the Viking Museum. We were a little worried about not knowing where to get off the bus, but of course, the bus driver spoke perfect english and assured us he would let us know when to get off the bus. The city felt very friendly and easy to navigate, which is always a plus. The first thing we noticed about Bygdoy was that although it was only 10 minutes out of the city center it looked very different. There was snow on the ground in Bygdoy where there was none in the city center. Also, all the houses were now made of white wood and looked very much like American farm-style houses. This, of course, thrilled Mary who decided that she had to live there. The first place we went in Bygdoy was the Viking Museum, which was contained in what we could only guess was an old church. The museum was really more of a small display of three Viking ships and their contents which had been discovered about 100 years ago. The ships were nowhere near as big as you would have expected given that the Vikings used to sail them from Norway to Canada in 900 AD. It was really astounding to think about how miserable it would be to sail for weeks on end in a tiny boat with just enough room to sit and row, and which had no cover. No wonder they raped and pillaged. Each of the three ships in the museum had been used in the end as a burial ship for some very important people. They bodies were placed in the ship along with some items for them in the afterlife and then buried in the clay. Because they were buried rather than sent out to sea the ships stayed in almost perfect condition. Lucky us.

After spending ages in the Viking museum we walked through Bygdoy to the Maritime museum on the other side off the town. We saw more and more houses that were obviously very expensive, but very beautiful. Mary was smitten. We then arrived at the Maritime museum where we were the only people in the entire building. It was great; like having our own private viewing. We played around in the model ship display and watched a film about the Norwegian coast line. One of the most exciting displays for Mary was a small canoe which they had dated to 200 BC, which she was tickled to discover was now the oldest thing she'd ever seen; even older than the ruins in Rome which were only from around 90 BC. Then we went across the street to see the Polar ships, one of which was the first ship ever to sail the Northwest Passage. Very treacherous. We could have paid more money to go into yet another museum to see the ship Amundsen took to Antarctica, but we saw it through the window and decided that was enough.

By now it was pretty dark (it was 3:30 after all), so we decided to get the bus back to town. We exited the bus in a very fancy part of town and went to a pastry shop that our guidebook said Bill Clinton had visited. It was very nice. We ate some very expensive cake with free water. We then proceeded to discuss the pros and cons of socialist vs. capitalist economies. We are such geeks. After spending two hours in the pastry shop we decided we should probably find somewhere to eat dinner. After a couple of foiled attempts to find Thai or Indian restaurants we ended up in this funky little pizza bar near our hotel. The food was good and we had a very nice conversation with the young man who owns the place. It had a very nice atmosphere with dark walls, billowy curtains everywhere and a blue neon-lit bar. It was very cool, but as always we decided it was too expensive to drink so we avoided the 8 pound beers and 14 pound glasses of wine.

After a magnificent meal we headed back to our hotel and our lovely twin beds.


To view the full set of photos from this trip see our site on Flickr
Flickr

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