Oslo, Norway - Day 17
About midnight I’m awakened by thumping. The dance party has once again reared its ugly head and I’m now wide awake. I locate my one ear plug, but since I have two ears it didn’t work out well. I called down to the front desk about 1:30 to see if they had earplugs, but after looking through his drawer all he found was chocolate. I told him I didn’t think that would work, but thanked him for his efforts anyway. So now that I’m 100% awake, I pulled out a bag of Oreos, grabbed my ipad and snacked while watching the movie Brooklyn. It’s one of my favorites and it passed the time. At 3:30 when the movie was over, so was the dance party (it ended some time after 3pm) and I snuggled down and fell asleep for the rest of the night. It actually wasn’t that big of a deal. We had gone to bed early and all in all, I got plenty of rest. We are in room 227. It’s actually a pretty good spot in a corner with no one passing by your room, easy walk up nice stairs, and really close to the food, coffee and lounge area. Perfect if not for the noise at night.
Breakfast was the same as the day before. Lots of delicious options and we had our usual variety. I’m the yogurt and sweet bread kinda breakfast girl. Guy is Mr. Savory and we both ate our fill. Once we had full bellies we headed to catch the ferry across the port area to see the Viking Museum. Oslo City passes in hand, as they still covered our boat rides and entrances into today’s museums as well. The Viking museum was PACKED and they had two restored ships and one more in ruins. These are actual Viking ships. I thought the one we had seen at the Vasa in Stockholm, Sweden was the largest Viking ship, but that was a huge Swedish warship built in 1626. These were actual Viking ships built around 800 AD or possibly even earlier. I can’t believe that these boat went all the way from Norway to Iceland, to North America! Amazing! Just basically exposed to the elements. Some holding up to 32 rowers. It was noted that the Vikings were great engineers and these ships were very sturdy out in the open seas.
Today we saw one of the best preserved Viking ships called the Oseberg ship. It had been buried (as these large boats were often used as graves where they would dig a giant hole, set the ship down in it, then bury it...mounding up the dirt all around it). Quite a task. Some of these are discovered, like the Oseberg was in 1904, then properly excavated. Most have been plundered at some point, including this ship as no precious metals were found. Wiki and the museum both say: Two human remains were found, both women. One possibly in her 80s and one in her 50s. Oddly they could tell they were high-ranking women because they had been buried with grave-goods, a red wool dress with a particular pattern in the fabric that indicated it was a luxury commodity. They could also tell by markings on the teeth that they used a metal toothpick (another rare 9th century luxury). Assumptions were made that one of the ladies may have been either royalty or a shaman (prophet). In the ship/grave were the remains of 14 horses, an ox, and three dogs. Also found were elaborately decorated sleighs, a fabulously carved four-wheel wooden cart (the only complete Viking-age cart ever found), and a few household tools. See today’s pics!
The museum also housed a few other ships and lots of artifacts. It was actually a really interested museum and I’m glad we made the stop. Afterwards we made our way back to catch our ferry boat back to the Akershus Fortress/Castle. But first some lunch! We ate at a lovey restaurant connected to the castle. Guy was wanting some fish and chips and reviews were good at this location. We ordered one order of fish and chips and some focaccia bread. The servings were large and we both had more than enough food to eat. The service was good and we sat under a big umbrella outside to enjoy the day. It was pretty perfect. The high today was 70. :)
Our first stop in the castle was the Resistance Museum. It was a WELL DONE presentation of the Norwegian Resistance in WWII. It took some time to get through it, but we first watched a film about the Norwegian King at the time of the German invasion, his son, and his grandson who is now the current King. Then we worked our way through the years of the German occupation, chronologically, from 1940-1945. Even I enjoyed this history lesson and took several photos. Guy has seen several movies and read many books on Norway during WWII, so he was already well versed, but even I had seen a few of these movies myself. Quite interesting.
From there we explored the fortress which is a medieval castle built in the 1290s to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo. The castle has also been used as a military base and today is a museum. It also is the burial site for the most recent Kings and queens of Norway, including King Haakon (who escaped to the UK upon German invasion). Their royally ornamental mausoleums are on display.
After a museumish-kinda blue sky day, we started the walk back to the center of town. The city is packed with people. Packed. Unsure if it is the result of all the Pride events going on in town, or if it is because yesterday was summer solace and the longest day of the year...which means a dance party outside my room until 3am probably again tonight (but I bought earplugs). Even tho it isn’t quite a “midnight sun” situation like when we were north of the arctic circle (where for about a two week period the sun doesn’t fully set), in Oslo yesterday the sun was up and shining for 19 of the 24 hours...and with the sun set and sun rise happening so closely together it never got fully dark. Thing was I was actually awake watching a movie, I just never got up to properly look, but light was coming in from our light-blocking curtains with what is known as a “white night”. Apparently I could have read a book outside last night without a light on. Not just last night, but from about mid-June to July 2 it is like this. Similar to areas in Russia and Alaska. Lots of towns were having celebrations with big bonfires and festivals yesterday and today. Fun times and our first time this far north during this time of the year. The true Midnight Sun in Iceland is the last two weeks of June (I had to look that up so it would be official info).
Dinner tonight was at the hotel again as we were still full from our lovely lunch, so a little pasta, salad/fruit and bread with homemade blueberry jelly was just right. It’s 7pm and these two tired travelers are heading home tomorrow and just taking the rest of the evening easy. We are still basically packed and tomorrow we’ll just toss last minute items in, zip up the bags, and head to the airport. On this trip I actually bought packing cubes. They were pretty cheap online and even tho they don’t really add space to the suitcase like the ones that suck the air out, it did help to keep us incredibly organized and I think cubes will be the way of the future for us!
Last minute thoughts on the Iceland/Norway vacation:
Viking was awesome. Was it worth all the extra money? Kinda not really, but yes and no. How was that for an answer? Was the cruise awesome? Absolutely. Was the food amazing? Yes, not a single day disappointed us. Was it nice not to have small kids running around, no cheesy water slides, not have to worry about sparkly dress up nights, heated floors in the bathroom, and no one trying to up-sale you on the ship every time you turned around? Without. A. Doubt. Was the pricy ticket worth all that when really you go for the destinations, more than the ship? Absolutely, Only IF you have the excess cash. What if Celebrity had a cruise to those locations, would we have done that instead. Possibly. But all I can say was it has been an amazing vacation. One of the best. Ever. And as always, so we are so blessed to be able to travel and don’t ever want to take that for granted. So with that said, Viking was a nice “upgrade” life-splurge and we loved every minute of it.
Iceland was cool! The weather played a role in the best-ever experience, but the volcanos, lava fields and black sand beaches were something to see. Guy and I probably aren’t the “Arctic Adventure” types to go back in the winter and climb an ice wall, but to see the Northern Lights would be nice (and that’s never a FOR SURE that you’ll see them) So to go back to Iceland is probably a no. But 100% an amazing check off the bucket list.
Norway was stunning. More so than we had ever expected. It would be on our list as a “do over” some time. Or to explore more of it. What an absolutely wonderful experience. There is just something special about the fjords. Breathtaking. Now Bergen and Oslo would be a no-return kind of place, but the interior and the fjords...absolutely.
For those who followed along with us every day, thanks for reading it and for the prayers of safe travels. Honestly it’s fun to share the experience with other people this way, but for Guy and I, the blog helps us later to remember all those little details that soon slip away if not documented at the time. The funny little things we heard, the food we ate, or things we saw, etc. So again...thanking the good Lord for His blessings, for save travels and unless something noteworthy happens tomorrow on the trip home, this is the last post from one of the most amazing trips ever. Love to you all.
Breakfast was the same as the day before. Lots of delicious options and we had our usual variety. I’m the yogurt and sweet bread kinda breakfast girl. Guy is Mr. Savory and we both ate our fill. Once we had full bellies we headed to catch the ferry across the port area to see the Viking Museum. Oslo City passes in hand, as they still covered our boat rides and entrances into today’s museums as well. The Viking museum was PACKED and they had two restored ships and one more in ruins. These are actual Viking ships. I thought the one we had seen at the Vasa in Stockholm, Sweden was the largest Viking ship, but that was a huge Swedish warship built in 1626. These were actual Viking ships built around 800 AD or possibly even earlier. I can’t believe that these boat went all the way from Norway to Iceland, to North America! Amazing! Just basically exposed to the elements. Some holding up to 32 rowers. It was noted that the Vikings were great engineers and these ships were very sturdy out in the open seas.
Today we saw one of the best preserved Viking ships called the Oseberg ship. It had been buried (as these large boats were often used as graves where they would dig a giant hole, set the ship down in it, then bury it...mounding up the dirt all around it). Quite a task. Some of these are discovered, like the Oseberg was in 1904, then properly excavated. Most have been plundered at some point, including this ship as no precious metals were found. Wiki and the museum both say: Two human remains were found, both women. One possibly in her 80s and one in her 50s. Oddly they could tell they were high-ranking women because they had been buried with grave-goods, a red wool dress with a particular pattern in the fabric that indicated it was a luxury commodity. They could also tell by markings on the teeth that they used a metal toothpick (another rare 9th century luxury). Assumptions were made that one of the ladies may have been either royalty or a shaman (prophet). In the ship/grave were the remains of 14 horses, an ox, and three dogs. Also found were elaborately decorated sleighs, a fabulously carved four-wheel wooden cart (the only complete Viking-age cart ever found), and a few household tools. See today’s pics!
The museum also housed a few other ships and lots of artifacts. It was actually a really interested museum and I’m glad we made the stop. Afterwards we made our way back to catch our ferry boat back to the Akershus Fortress/Castle. But first some lunch! We ate at a lovey restaurant connected to the castle. Guy was wanting some fish and chips and reviews were good at this location. We ordered one order of fish and chips and some focaccia bread. The servings were large and we both had more than enough food to eat. The service was good and we sat under a big umbrella outside to enjoy the day. It was pretty perfect. The high today was 70. :)
Our first stop in the castle was the Resistance Museum. It was a WELL DONE presentation of the Norwegian Resistance in WWII. It took some time to get through it, but we first watched a film about the Norwegian King at the time of the German invasion, his son, and his grandson who is now the current King. Then we worked our way through the years of the German occupation, chronologically, from 1940-1945. Even I enjoyed this history lesson and took several photos. Guy has seen several movies and read many books on Norway during WWII, so he was already well versed, but even I had seen a few of these movies myself. Quite interesting.
From there we explored the fortress which is a medieval castle built in the 1290s to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo. The castle has also been used as a military base and today is a museum. It also is the burial site for the most recent Kings and queens of Norway, including King Haakon (who escaped to the UK upon German invasion). Their royally ornamental mausoleums are on display.
After a museumish-kinda blue sky day, we started the walk back to the center of town. The city is packed with people. Packed. Unsure if it is the result of all the Pride events going on in town, or if it is because yesterday was summer solace and the longest day of the year...which means a dance party outside my room until 3am probably again tonight (but I bought earplugs). Even tho it isn’t quite a “midnight sun” situation like when we were north of the arctic circle (where for about a two week period the sun doesn’t fully set), in Oslo yesterday the sun was up and shining for 19 of the 24 hours...and with the sun set and sun rise happening so closely together it never got fully dark. Thing was I was actually awake watching a movie, I just never got up to properly look, but light was coming in from our light-blocking curtains with what is known as a “white night”. Apparently I could have read a book outside last night without a light on. Not just last night, but from about mid-June to July 2 it is like this. Similar to areas in Russia and Alaska. Lots of towns were having celebrations with big bonfires and festivals yesterday and today. Fun times and our first time this far north during this time of the year. The true Midnight Sun in Iceland is the last two weeks of June (I had to look that up so it would be official info).
Dinner tonight was at the hotel again as we were still full from our lovely lunch, so a little pasta, salad/fruit and bread with homemade blueberry jelly was just right. It’s 7pm and these two tired travelers are heading home tomorrow and just taking the rest of the evening easy. We are still basically packed and tomorrow we’ll just toss last minute items in, zip up the bags, and head to the airport. On this trip I actually bought packing cubes. They were pretty cheap online and even tho they don’t really add space to the suitcase like the ones that suck the air out, it did help to keep us incredibly organized and I think cubes will be the way of the future for us!
Last minute thoughts on the Iceland/Norway vacation:
Viking was awesome. Was it worth all the extra money? Kinda not really, but yes and no. How was that for an answer? Was the cruise awesome? Absolutely. Was the food amazing? Yes, not a single day disappointed us. Was it nice not to have small kids running around, no cheesy water slides, not have to worry about sparkly dress up nights, heated floors in the bathroom, and no one trying to up-sale you on the ship every time you turned around? Without. A. Doubt. Was the pricy ticket worth all that when really you go for the destinations, more than the ship? Absolutely, Only IF you have the excess cash. What if Celebrity had a cruise to those locations, would we have done that instead. Possibly. But all I can say was it has been an amazing vacation. One of the best. Ever. And as always, so we are so blessed to be able to travel and don’t ever want to take that for granted. So with that said, Viking was a nice “upgrade” life-splurge and we loved every minute of it.
Iceland was cool! The weather played a role in the best-ever experience, but the volcanos, lava fields and black sand beaches were something to see. Guy and I probably aren’t the “Arctic Adventure” types to go back in the winter and climb an ice wall, but to see the Northern Lights would be nice (and that’s never a FOR SURE that you’ll see them) So to go back to Iceland is probably a no. But 100% an amazing check off the bucket list.
Norway was stunning. More so than we had ever expected. It would be on our list as a “do over” some time. Or to explore more of it. What an absolutely wonderful experience. There is just something special about the fjords. Breathtaking. Now Bergen and Oslo would be a no-return kind of place, but the interior and the fjords...absolutely.
For those who followed along with us every day, thanks for reading it and for the prayers of safe travels. Honestly it’s fun to share the experience with other people this way, but for Guy and I, the blog helps us later to remember all those little details that soon slip away if not documented at the time. The funny little things we heard, the food we ate, or things we saw, etc. So again...thanking the good Lord for His blessings, for save travels and unless something noteworthy happens tomorrow on the trip home, this is the last post from one of the most amazing trips ever. Love to you all.
What a great day!! SO MUCH HISTORY today!! I'm sad that you're done telling stories and taking pics of exotic and fun adventures, but also I'm glad you're coming home. :-) (Also pleased to hear about the packing cubes--have been secretly shopping for these on Amazon but unsure as to whether they're worth it. Instagram influencers tell me they ARE, but alllllll too often, they're PAID to tell us that....) See you soon, and if you find you're unable to sleep without a midnight dance party, I'm sure Tricia and I can stand outside your home and provide one....
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