Another great breakfast and another beautiful morning! From Oslo S, you can take the #30 bus all the way to Bygdoy, however we took the #11 tram to the Radhus (City Hall) stop and walked to pier #3 to catch the Bygdoy ferry boat across the harbor to the peninsula. It is a scenic ride that passes by the waterside Akershuss Fortress.
 |
| Radhus and ferry pier |
 |
| Akershuss Fortress |
The ferry travels a triangular loop with two Bygdoy stops at Dronningen and Bygdoynes. From Dronningen, a ten minute walk takes you to the Norwegian Folk Museum--which is an open-air park with 150 traditional log buildings from all corners of Norway.
The Gol stave church, built in 1212 in Hallingdal and exactingly reconstructed here, is spectacular. Authentically costumed guides and craftsmen/women doing their traditional activities add to the experience.
 |
| Keeper of the church key |
Paths wind around the 35 acre park and each turn brings a new exhibit. I was taking photos of milk cows in a lush pasture when I stumbled upon a small open-air dance floor with a traditional fiddle and dance show.
During our sightseeing, we easily developed the habit of "midday beer breaks" to recharge for the afternoon. The Folk Museum deserved a beer break as well.
The Viking Ship Museum features two majestic oak Viking ships from the 9th and 10th centuries. The ships, the Oseberg 834 AD and the Gokstad 950 AD, were well-preserved only because they had been purposefully used for burial of notable gentry. Also numerous displays with remarkable artifacts that shed a personal light on life in those difficult times.
The Kon-Tiki Museum houses the original Kon-Tiki and Ra II ships built by Thor Heyerdahl. In 1947, Heyerdahl and five crewmen constructed the Kon-Tiki out of balsa wood using only traditional Peruvian tools and materials. Trying to prove that South Americans could have settled Polynesia, they sailed for 101 days and 4300 miles living on fresh fish, coconuts and Peruvian sweet potatoes.
 |
| Kon-Tiki |
 |
| The Ra |
In 1970, Heyerdahl made a similar 3000 mile journey from Morocco to Barbados to prove that Africans could have populated the Caribbean and America.
 |
| FRAM |
The FRAM Museum holds the original 125-foot ship, FRAM, which made three historic Arctic and Antarctic expeditions under the command of Nansen and Amundsen. After having seen the Polar Museum in Tromso, it was especially fascinating to see the actual FRAM and climb all over her. Unlike many museums, the FRAM allows visitors to walk over a third-story walkway onto the ship's deck. From there, you can climb a ladder to a platform overlooking the deck and climb down into the lower two levels of the ship. This was the most sturdy ship ever built to withstand being frozen in polar ice. Let's just say the accommodations were not luxurious!
 |
| Amundsen and other Polar explorers |
After all these testosterone-laden voyages, the ladies decided to take a "wine break" while Manfred and I checked out the Norwegian Maritime Museum. In addition to displays showing centuries of Norwegian maritime history, there was a Supervideografen (IMAX-type) movie depicting Norway's maritime landscapes from the south all the way up to the North Cape.
By now, the ladies were considering a third glass of wine, so we rescued them from their beautiful waterside table and we departed from the Bygdoynes ferry stop and returned to the Radhus pier.
By this time were all "tourista-ed" out. The #12 tram returned us to our hotel and a very nicely prepared buffet dinner on our last night in Oslo. Tomorrow we are on the move, taking the NSB train to Bergen, by way of the Nutshell.
Posted by TBW Travel Today!
No comments:
Post a Comment