Oslo

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It is raining buckets and is 60 degrees as we leave the ship. Ok, so Mark and Christopher want to stay on the ship but I am determined to see Oslo. Turns out to be a bad idea but it is my birthday, 65 today so I rule. I want to head to Vigeland Sculpture Park to see the hundreds of statues. So I know how to get there by bus but you cannot buy bus tickets at the bus stops so we walk. It is Sunday and the only open shops are the occasional bakeries which have enticing smells coming from them. We get a little off course but we finally make it. The park has 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and forged iron. All of the sculptures are the work of Gustav Vigeland (1849 - 1943). Entrance to the park is free. We only got one picture because it is raining so hard we don't want to soak our camera. We have rain jackets and rain pants on but they are no match for this downpour and we are wet through and through. We stop at the park cafe and have a warm tea then head back to our ship. We had planned on stopping at the ice bar but we are wet and cold so we skip it.

Back on the ship we have a hot drink and lunch. In the afternoon the sun comes out and we head to Akershus Castle which is right across from our ship. It is a medieval castle from around 1300 AD. The castle is still used for state events and college classes. The Nazis used it as a prison and the Norwegians also used it as a prison.

We didn't see as much of Oslo as we would have liked but some days that is the way it goes. Oslo looks beautiful as we sail away and our cruise is about to come to an end but our adventure will continue.

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