May 28 - Oslo

 May 28 - Oslo

First job this morning was off to the clinic to get PCR tests prior to the cruise. We were a little bit nervous as a negative test would result in us getting bumped, and we’d been waiting best part of 3 years for this trip!  Anyway all good (apart from the cost, GBP420, AUD 740!) and so that’s one more barrier less to cross. 


 As we’re here for a while before the cruise we decided to get Oslo passes (‘free’ travel and entry into all sorts of things) so we’ll be seeing our fair share of museums over the next few days. 


A ferry ride away is an island called ‘Bygdøy’, which is home to a number of Oslo’s main museums, and so it was to there we went. Our first cab off the rank was to the Fram Museum. Built to honour Norwegian polar exploration in general, but three Norwegian polar explorers in particular – Nansen, Sverdrup, and Amundsen, it’s main exhibit is the ship the ‘Fram’.  This was one special vessel as, amongst other things, it was built for Nansen’s 1893 Arctic expedition with the plan to be frozen into the arctic ice sheet and then ‘float’ on it over the North Pole. A very interesting museum, let down a little by its ‘moody’ lighting (making it difficult for photos), but some fascinating information nevertheless. 

Keeping to the maritime theme, our second port of call(! 😊) was to the Kon-Tiki museum.  Originally built to house the Kon-Tiki (no surprise there!), the raft used by Thor Heyerdahl to sail from Peru to Polynesia in 1947. It also houses another boat of his, the Ra II, a raft built of reeds that Heyerdahl sailed from North Africa to the Caribbean after a previous attempt with the reed boat Ra failed (it reminds me of a boat I once saw while out fishing, the ‘Never Again II’!). A great museum to honour yet another great Norwegian explorer. 


Our third visit of the day was to the Norwegian Maritime Museum, and this time it was a bit of dud. Consisting mainly of models of boats and ships, and some naval artwork, we did however watch a doco on the wartime sinking of the German warship, the ‘Blucher’, which was very interesting. 


Getting a different ferry home, to do a little bit of of cruise around sound of the nearby islands, finished off what was a very interesting day. 



Comments

  1. The Wally'sMay 31, 2022 at 5:34 PM

    We are all aware that Scandinavia is generally more expensive but surely the cost of the PCR is p155 take?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sept 27 - Perugia (Day trip to Spoleto)

Image
  Sept 27 - Perugia (Day trip Spoleto) Off to Spoleto today, an ancient city in the foothills of the Apennine Ranges.  Divided into the medieval upper town, and the predominantly modern lower town, our initial goal was to head up to the fortress at the top of the hill.  In theory this was going to be relatively easy as the town has installed a number of escalators all the way to the top making it an easy ‘climb’. However, signage to said escalators being non-existent, we found ourselves wandering around town for ages before finding our way up.   The fortress, the ‘Rocca Albornoziana’, was built in the 14th century and was originally part of a fortification system constructed by the church to strengthen its military power.  Today however, it houses the ‘National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto’, although in more recent times it was used as a prison.  Having some great views of the city and the local countryside it also overlooks the magnificent 13th-centur...
Read more

Sept 28 - Perugia (Day trip to Assisi)

Image
  Sept 28 - Perugia (Day trip to Assisi) Having experienced some pretty steep hills yesterday, today, on arrival in Assisi, we took the easy option and got the bus to the top of town before strolling down! 😊 On a recommendation we first visited a couple of churches in the upper part of town.  Both nice, although nothing spectacular, but considering where we were, i.e. Assisi, I suppose we were both thinking they’d be a little bit special (sorry St Clare! 😊 ) Walking through town though was very nice, really ‘Olde Worlde’, with some great piazzas, cobbled lanes, some Roman remains, and, because it’s in the hills, lovely views of the local countryside.  It’s not often that I’ll mention food on here but today we found a sensational restaurant, overlooking the walls of the city and just metres from the Basilica of Saint Francis, we chose it simply for its location. The food however was superb and, considering its setting, it was no more expensive than most other places w...
Read more