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Sunday, July 4, Oslo, Norway
There may be fireworks going off all across the USA later today, but other than a little line at the top of the daily program sheet, saying "Happy Independence Day" and a small sign in the gift shop, there was no recognition aboard the ship that it was a big holiday for the Americans aboard. Then again, the passengers on this ship are from many countries, and speak a variety of languages, so why emphasize just one group?
We didn't have to change our watches before reaching Oslo, but we certainly were sailing up into the higher latitudes and Mr. Sun was up by 4:30 a.m. We enjoyed a very colorful sunrise, with the sun reflecting in the sea. We sailed up the "Oslo Fjord" and it was a similar scene to that of the Swedish Archipelago--wooded islands and then wooded hills on both side of our channel. But, this fjord only has low mountains bordering it--unlike the deeply-cut fjords on the western side of Norway--mountains carved deeply by glaciers and water. The Oslo Fjord formed in a "rift." By the time we docked in Oslo, the sun had retreated behind those so-familiar clouds again.
The Westerdam docked right smack next to the old Akershus Fortress, complete with 13th-century castle and mounted cannons, that once guarded Oslo from invaders. The main part of the city is just a short distance away. On the pier is a nice set of shops, full of Nordic souvenirs. Very convenient. No shuttle buses needed to get the cruisers into town at this port.
Later, our tour guide commented that the Akershus Fortress is more than just ceremonial. It was here that a Norwegian traitor, "Quisling" was tried and executed.
We seem to have run out of welcoming bands on the piers. No musicians gathered near the gangplank either in Oslo, or in Warnemünde. Maybe almost-new mega ships are a dime a dozen here, or more likely, not enough come through to make it worthwhile to provide a band at the dock.
For our sightseeing in Oslo, we chose an excursion that would take us through the city, then a walk through Frogner Park where many bronze sculptures by Gustav Vigeland are on display, and finally to the Viking Ships and Kontiki museums.
Another early-morning tour, and we were under way by 8:30 a.m. The cruise ship staff really shine at handling the various tours, and moving people out of the meeting place and to their respective buses, tour boats, etc. When you check in at the meeting place, they slap a colored sticker on your chest--which should match the color indicated on your excursion ticket. The sticker also has a number on it--and that is the order in which the buses load. If you are "Red Number 4" you are going to wait until they announce that group is to head for the gangway, then you look for the bus with a sign in the window: RED NO. 4. Worked very well at getting all of us OUT of the ship--but, as in St. Petersburg, getting us all BACK on the ship was sometimes not quite such a smooth operation.
Riding through the main part of Oslo the first impression is that it is a very modern city, most of the buildings looked no older than perhaps the late Nineteenth Century--none of the half-timbered or gabled buildings of the Middle Ages here. There is a reason why this is so. Until the 1600's, Oslo was not at this location--it was about a mile away. Timber being a plentiful commodity, all the city's structures used to be made of wood and it burned to the ground with alarming regularity. Finally, the ruling monarch at the time, King Christian IV of Denmark, said "That's it! Enough with these ruinous fires! I'm moving the city to a new site, it's going to be called "Christiana" and it will be against the law to build a house out of anything but bricks." Brave talk--the trouble was, the Norwegians didn't know how to make bricks! So, King Christian imported brick makers and masons from Germany and Denmark to teach them how. Christian's edit continued to be followed, but finally, just 20 years after the country gained its independence in 1905, the city reverted to its original name: Oslo.
Our first stop was at Frogner Park, on the outskirts of the city. A huge park, and the Norwegians thought so highly of the sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, (1869-1943) that they gave over a large chunk of the park for the display of his work. A prolific artist, he was fascinated with the human condition, and many of his figures express universal emotions that I think would be recognized by anyone. Certainly, the "Screaming Baby" and (my favorite) the little girl trying to keep a younger boy from sharing secrets had expressions familiar to me. He followed the human life from birth to grave; the figures of the elderly were especially touching. There was a handsome fountain featuring a series of sculptures dealing with the relationships of man, and a stunning obelisk at the top of a low hill. The entire display was set off with lovely gardens--which were full of blooming roses. It was still overcast while at Frogner Park, but somewhere, along the drive to our next stop--the sun came out, and it was suddenly a very nice day, with just some white puffy clouds that had no intention of dropping rain upon us.
The second stop was at Bygdoy Island, more of a peninsula than an island. It was on the far side of the bay fronting Oslo, and we had nice views of the city skyline from the island shore. On this island, there is a cluster of museums--the Norwegian Folk Museum, which we did not visit, but the bus slowed down so we could have a peek at the amazing, all-wood, multi-story "stave church" from the 12th century; and two museums that we DID visit: The Kon-Tiki Museum with the original balsa wood rafts on which Thor Heyerdahl proved his theories of how people may have migrated across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans; and the Viking Ship Museum, where three Viking longboats, buried at ancient tombs are displayed.
The Kon-Tiki Museum not only had excellent displays of Heyerdahl's rafts (the original Kon-Tiki, and the second RA raft (first one was not well-constructed and quickly sank) but amazing replicas of two Easter Island statues. They truly dwarfed us!
Heyerdahl's theory about how Easter Island was settled involved a long, circuitous route, following prevailing currents. Those Polynesian sailors would have traveled east to the South American continent, then on westerly currents from Chile to Easter Island. Heyerdahl and his raft succeeded in reaching Easter Island, following this route. There were way more display cases, videos, etc than we could possibly absorb in our brief time at the museum--besides, it was time to use the toilettes just outside the museum.
From Kon-Tiki we moved to another culture and some more fascinating boats at the Viking Ships Museum. This museum has designed a stunning display of three 1100-year old burial vessels found in the general vicinity of Oslo between 1880 and 1904. As you walk into the long hall, the ships are suspended above your head in three galleries, in the shape of a cross. Little stairways near the ships lead up to observation platforms where you can look down into the interior of the ships. The design of these ships is absolutely beautiful--and yet, the high, curled prow has a definite feeling of threat. It's quite easy to see how the sight of these ships, coming up a little English river, would strike terror into the hearts of the villagers, about to be plundered by these fierce Vikings.
Some later research I did on the Internet indicated that even in Norway, no one living in the Nineteenth Century had ever actually seen a Viking ship, and even descriptions of their appearance were sketchy. Then, these three ships were found in huge burial mounds. It boggles the mind to think of digging a grave big enough to completely bury one of these ships! The remains of the ships and their occupants were so well-preserved, that the archeologists can even say with some certainty that the Viking King buried in one ship suffered with arthritis.
Like the Egyptians, the Vikings liked to send their noble families, important warriors, etc. off into the next world with all the comforts of home. So, along with the buried ships, the excavations revealed the bones of the VIP's, and in one case, also the maid of the deceased noblewoman (who probably was very much alive after her mistress died) and all sorts of "stuff" to use--dishes, linens, even a horse! These ship burials have been a rich source of information on these people of a distant time. There was even silk cloth found on one of the ships--an indication of how far-flung the Viking trade area was. Our guide said the Vikings were pagan and did practice human sacrifice.
In spite of their impressive size these burial ships were probably puny compared to the big warships that tackled the North Atlantic. The assumption is that these would have been ships used more locally, for ferrying goods and people from one place to another around Oslo. All the ships were made of oak, treated with tar.
Here's a good description of these amazing vessels and those who sailed in them:
"What all Viking ships have in common is a beautiful symmetry and in being clinker-built. By clinker, each hull plank overlaps its neighbor. The Vikings were the most powerful people in northwestern Europe for nearly five centuries from about AD 800. Their longships were fast and sleek. Powered by sail or oars, they were ideally suited for raiding because their shallow draught meant that they could travel up estuaries and rivers.
These ships were known at the time to be silent, swift, and light enough to be pulled ashore and carried over land.
While Viking warriors raided and looted their way across Europe and parts of Asia, many more of them lived in communities scattered along the coastline of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and later Iceland and Greenland. These Vikings were hunters, farmers, shipbuilders, blacksmiths and traders."Instead of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, the Viking ships in the museum are known as the Gokstad, Oseberg and Tune. And, from another website, here is a description of each:
"The Gokstad ship was discovered in 1880. It was buried in a huge mound of blue clay southwest of Oslo. The clay preserved the oak vessel for one thousand years. The man buried in the ship was probably "Olaf the White," Viking King and co-ruler of Dublin along with Ivarr the Boneless. (Ivar the Boneless????)
Over 23 meters long (about 70 feet) and with a load of 8 tons, it only displaced less than 3 feet of water. (The better to sneak up those little English rivers, huh!) A replica of this ship was built in 1893 and sailed from Bergen, Norway, to Newfoundland, Canada, in 28 days.
The Oseberg find is the richest Viking grave find ever to be revealed in the entire world. A 66-foot oaken Viking vessel, beautifully hand carved in the stem and stern and fully laden for its last journey, it was accidentally discovered by a farmer at Slagen in Vestfold County, Norway, during 1903. This was apparently the tomb of a Viking queen or princess, who died about 834 A.D. The ship was built in around 815-820 A.D. and had been used as a sailing vessel for many years before it was put to use as a burial ship for a prominent woman who died in 834.
The Tune was in a much greater state of disintegration than the other two ships. It was the earliest found; in 1867."
About all there was to see of the Tune was the hull.
I thought this probably the best museum on the cruise, perhaps because the Vikings have always carried a lot of mystique. We noticed that the guides tried hard to downplay the image of the Viking as only engaging in rape, pillaging and war. They emphasized they were also outstanding sailors, and engaged in trade as much as plundering, and did indeed found settlements wherever their ships carried them. By 700 A.D. they had colonized southern England and Normandy (named for the Norsemen who settled there). Then, they moved on to Iceland (where the natives still speak a form of "old" Norwegian), and Greenland. Of course, they also visited the shores of North America, but apparently gave up trying to colonize there.
When we got off the tour bus right at noon, there was another big line of cruisers trying to get back aboard the Westerdam. Instead of doing a slow shuffle toward the gangplank, we headed for that little collection of souvenir shops, right next to the ship. We just can't get enthused about buying souvenirs on this trip. Partly because souvenirs seem pricey, for what they are. A refrigerator magnet and set of postcards at the Viking Ship Museum set us back about ten dollars. All that enticed us at these souvenir shops were a few more postcards. Pictures and our notes will have to suffice as souvenirs of this very interesting trip.
The local folks of Oslo took advantage of this sunny afternoon and the arrival of our beautiful big ship to come down to the waterfront and gaze up at us, as we gazed down at them. Many made their way up to the broad lawns under the Akershus castle and were stretched out, soaking up those rays. Our guide mentioned that they have had terrible weather so far this summer--we can agree with that! Add to that the fact that it gets down to about twenty below in the winter and it's no wonder the sun quickly brings out sunbather. Norwegians and cruisers alike were enjoying a sunny day in Oslo.
Earlier, Glenn had purchased a pack of beer from Room Service, and stashed them away in our little refrigerator. When Glenn offered to share the last two with me, that was a deal I didn't want to pass up. We decided to skip lunch and just ordered two plates of cheese and crackers from Room Service. In due time they arrived, but the items were not quite what we had envisioned. There were three or four kinds of cheese, and some nice grapes, strawberries and dates, and some Ry-Krisp crackers. All well and good--but the other "crackers" on the plates were graham crackers! Actually, brie on graham crackers is sorta tasty! We supplemented the cheese plates with some of the good fruit from our "always full" fruit bowl. A fine luncheon menu.
This was really the first time we've been able to fully enjoy our verandah--in pleasant temperatures and with sunshine and colorful scenery to enjoy. Oslo was right beyond our verandah and suddenly, while eating lunch, cannons from the nearby fort started booming away. Glenn speculated this was an acknowledgement of the USA's birthday; then again, maybe it was to salute this new ship on its first visit to Oslo; or, gosh, maybe they shoot off a 21-gun salute every day!
Glenn decided to go ashore once more, and investigate the old castle and fort that are literally a stone's throw from the ship. I declined, glad for a chance to give my sore right leg a little rest.
While in Oslo, we had hoped to have a little visit with a friend of Anita Aguilar, Sarah Klingseid. Sarah lives in Oslo and is a flight attendant on SAS. She and Anita became acquainted when Sarah spent some time in Mexico, where she studied Spanish with the idea of becoming a guide. Apparently, she stayed with flying instead. Via e-mail, we tried to arrange to meet today, but Sarah was scheduled to work this afternoon, and our excursion extended so long, we probably would have missed her. Even a phone chat was not easy to manage. There were pay phones in the little souvenir shop near our ship, but they were all being heavily used by the ship's crew. Probably their best chance to get in touch with their families. So, the Oslo-Mexico-USA connection didn't work out. Too bad.
After a little rest, it was time to get into our formal clothes--for the last time on this cruise. We went up to the Crows Nest to listen to the "scenic commentary" as our ship left Oslo and headed back down the Oslo Fjord. The mountains behind Oslo were lower, but in many ways, this could have been departure from Juneau, Alaska on a sunlit late afternoon.
Dinner followed the cruising traditions--lobster tail on the menu, and the Baked Alaska dessert parade by the waiters.
After dinner, we went to the Vista Lounge and found it already packed. Tonight was a big production number in the Lounge, apparently everyone from the early dining wanted to see it. We decided to follow our strategy of going to the late show at 10:30 instead. I guess it was a good show; I only saw a little bit of it! In spite of loud music, and even fireworks on the stage, I still kept nodding off. After the show, we stopped in the casino for our gambling nightcap. I woke up darn fast when the slot machines started dropping nickels in the bin for me! Glenn was rooting me on for awhile, then he wandered off to find his own slot machine and he kept coming back from time to time, reporting, "well, I made twenty there; I even witnessed him winning $40 on another slot machine. We had both settled on the theory of playing just 3 nickels at a time. Certainly worked tonight--when we finally gave up and headed for our cabin, I was $26 ahead for the night and Glenn was $68 ahead, for the whole trip.
Before going to bed, we set our clocks back another hour so we will be in sync with England time. Tomorrow will be another "at sea" day and the ship will have lots of things to keep us amused: have our passports checked by British Immigration, listen to a disembarkation lecture, and if we wish, we can view the video made of this particular cruise.