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Published: July 31st 2011
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I can’t believe I slept until 7:45am this morning. I guess I really needed the sleep. Everyone else was still sleeping so I snuck out of the room and went to deck 7 for a walk. My goal was to walk for an hour to help keep the weight off because of all the food; however after 7 minutes I was back in the room getting my camera and then back on deck 7 to take photos of our entry through the waterways to Oslo. The hilly landscape surrounding our ship was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I had to capture this with my camera. I am photo crazy. I was able to catch a double rainbow. Last time I saw a double rainbow was on our South American cruise. Today the weather was sunny and the expected high was to be in the low 70’s. Can you say perfect?
Today our tour was only a ½ day in Oslo. We did not arrive at the port until 10:30am. Our tour was leaving at 12:15pm. I have mixed feelings about visiting Oslo because of the terrorist attack just one week ago. However it was the right thing to do. They need
our support at this time. However it did feel odd.
We ate a breakfast around 9:15am and then lunch at 11:45am; both were small meals because they were so close together.
Shortly after lunch we left the ship to visit two places today; Hadework Glassworks and the Viking Ship museum.
Hadework Glasswork
Before arriving at Hadework, we took a very scenic bus ride through the countryside of Norway. The entire bus trip passed by rolling hills, large and small very blue water lakes, and small villages with traditional Norway construction (tile roofs, brick/stone exterior and large wood structures). Even though we are not in New England, it sure had that feeling. You can just sense that this country is about family and culture. Several of the visuals I saw all involved family members gathered together at their homes or farms. It was Saturday too.
Hadework was a small village in itself. The village sat on the shore of a beautiful blue lake set between the rolling hills. Everything is so green and very relaxing. Our tour guide took us to the factory where they make glass. We sat in stadium type theatre (approx. 100 people capacity) and
watched a team of two people make a blue plate. The entire process is incredible and well worth the 30 minute demonstration. I am always intrigued by the skill level that glass blowers have. They are patient people and very sensitive to detail. After our demonstration we visited the factory store which was full of slightly blemished pieces. My daughter bought a beautiful piece, glass vase. It will be great when she ends up getting her own place.
Before our bus left for the Viking Museum, our family walked across the street to take photos next to the lake. This lake was perfectly clear, blue, and you could see 6+ feet down. While we were taking photos, two little girls ran down the pier, hand to hand, and jumped into the lake. They looked like they were having fun, however the water was cold.
On our journey to the Viking Museum, we continued driving through the countryside with great views of all the wilderness and blue water lakes. We drove by the island where the terror attack killed several children last week. On top of the hill overlooking the island was a manmade memorial of flowers for all
the victims and families. This was a very moving experience.
Viking Museum
The Viking Museum had three historical Viking ships. These ships are actually called boats. The boats were made of logs. These boats were unearthed several years ago and ending up in this museum. The crowds were heavy making photos taking difficult. We spend about one hour here before heading back to the ship.
We arrived back at the ship and had an awesome dinner in the dining room. This evening I had chateaubriand for dinner. This was a delicious meal. After dinner, we saw a show at the Princess Theatre. The theme was Mo-Town, Motor City. Great show, but awful voices. Around 930pm I went out to the deck and took photos of the sunset. It was amazing seeing the sun set around 945pm at night. Around 11:15pm there was still some daylight outside. Amazing.
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