24 May 2019 -- Day 16 -- Oslo
We are at the end of our Scandinavian Adventure!
A day of touring the capital city, some of it in the sun and wind after our train ride, and some in the rain on Friday! We started out yesterday afternoon with a leisurely walk from the hotel to the major sights in the downtown.
The first stop was the new opera house that is designed to represent a glacier falling into the ocean and the sculpture in the water in front of it that depicts a sailing ship striking and iceberg.
Next came the Old Oslo Cathedral and it's unique "Ring wall" that now houses shops and restaurants.......
...then the Parliament Building,
..the National Theater and its beautiful park and flower gardens,
a beautiful old building that once was the finest hotel in Oslo.
and at the end of the walking street the Royal Palace, where the King and Queen were in residence, evidenced by the flag of Norway flying in front.
Last was the City Hall which was started in the early 1950's with it's high bell tower on the left and the astrological clock on the right. It overlooks the water and wharf area. Stunning!.
On Friday morning, after a typical Norwegian buffet breakfast at the hotel, we boarded buses and were treated to a long bus tour of the city and the outlying areas with a Viking representative.
Some very interesting points of interest that we saw were the Holmenkollen ski jump area that was part of the 1962 Winter Olympics and the 2014 World Championships.
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| King Olav and his dog cross country skiing |
Next we went to the Vigeland Park and saw over 200 sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland in bronze, granite, and wrought iron. The centerpiece is the RIng Of Life Monument depicting all phases of life from birth to old age in the areas around the base and the monument spire that rises from old age people at the bottom to babies at the top. All of the statues were without clothing that would render them dated or from one class or another. They were designed to be timeless and relevant to all who viewed them.
The PIECE D'RESISTANCE had to be our final stop and that was the Viking Ship Museum, where we saw 3 viking burial long boats that had been uncovered and preserved with all the items associated with those who were buried in the boats. Below are the pictures of the 3 ships and their explanatory plaques.
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| The Gokstad Ship |
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| The Oseberg Ship |
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| The Oseberg Ship |
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| The Tune Ship |
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| The Tune Ship |
And tomorrow we head back to home with lots and lots of wonderful pictures and memories and plans for our next adventure!
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John, fantastic. Love the Opera House and statue architecture! And that monument of the different stages/ages of life... It looks like adding the Oslo extension was a great choice!!!! Can't wait to talk to you in person about it all! Thanks for allowing me to come along on your journey!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had fun! Tell me all about it when I see you next please, I’ll be looking forward to it! Thank you for the pictures!
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