…towards the docks so we could catch a boat to the Viking Museum. While waiting for the boat we walked up…
…to Akershus Fortress…
…to check out the view of the museum from across the bay. But, there happened to be an absolutely massive cruise ship obstructing our view!
So we tried to sink it with our canons…
But we were taking on some heavy fire…
So we charted a new course, and tried to sink them with a mine…
When that failed, we gave up and walked to the Viking Museum. Well, no, actually we walked past the Viking Museum. So far past it that we ended up at the Kon-Tiki Musuem and the Maratime Museum. Not where we wanted to be. But we made the best of it and took a few photographs…
…before walking the 2km back to the Viking Museum. This time however we were armed with a map! Yet we still somehow managed to walk right past it again. I tell ya, our Norwegian navigation skills aren’t what they used to be! Ya know, back when we were both vikings!
When we finally found the museum (in our defense it looked like a church from the outside) it was quite worth the extra 4km hike. There were three separate viking boats inside, the Oseberg ship, Gokstad ship & Tune ship. The ships are some of the most well preserved relics from the days of the vikings. Once used to plunder and pillage throughout Scandinavia, these three boats were later converted and used in the burials of some vikings. The ships were excavated from their tombs in 1880, and housed in a nearby university, then later transported to where they now sit. It was pretty amazing to see these ancient artifacts first hand. When you see the amount of detail that went into the carvings in the boats (especially the burial pieces) you kind of gain a new found respect for the vikings who always seem to get such a bad rap.
One thing’s for sure, they sure knew how to build some boats!
As per request, this post is dedicated to food, glorious food. Last night after our trip to the island, we were quite knackered. We had worked up an enormous appetite from all the walking so Louise suggested cooking a traditional meal for us. We stopped by the market on the way home to pick up some ingredients for dinner and some food for breakfast. We learned an interesting cultural lesson about Norway on our way to pick up the food. Apparently the government is strong in their beliefs that no one should have to work on Sundays, so much so that there is a law in place which forbids supermarkets from being open on Sundays! Only smaller markets can legally sell food then, so if you don’t plan ahead, then you should plan on not eating ’till Monday! Luckily, Louise new of a spot a short walk away that we were able to do some shopping at. With ingredients in hand, Joakim and Lousie whipped up a mean ol’ batch of sausage stroganoff!
Next up on the menu us yogurt.
For anyone that’s been to Europe before, you’re familiar that breakfasts are quite different than traditional eggs-n-bacon breakfast back home in The States. One of the more common food items served for breakfast here in Europe is yogurt and granola.
As a quick aside: For anyone that knows me well, you’ll know I’m a very detail oriented kinda guy and fascinated with gadgets, unique products, good logos, well designed packaging, etc… The packaging is really what stands out here and the reason this food product is even mentioned in this post in the first place. At the end of the day yogurt is yogurt (unless it’s bad yogurt).
Included with each yogurt cup is a miniature foldaway spoon…
The other highlight of the yogurt is the scored packaging that allows you to easily fold the dry granola container over on top of the wet yogurt container for a no-mess way of uniting the yin and the yang of your breakfast.
And for the final course… tonight Joakim and Louise cooked up some steaks and vegetables with a creamy sauce. Scrumptious!
Thanks guys! This may very well be our last home cooked menu for a very long time! We enjoyed it immensely!
This afternoon Louise took Jay and I on a boat trip to one of the nearby islands.
One of the cool things about public transportation here is that all means of travel are treated as one. So your bus ticket will not only get you on the subway as well, but it will also get you on the boats that ferry people to the nearby islands. If only it worked for the public bikes as well it would be perfect!
The island is pretty small, but it’s perfect for a little day trip. There is just enough room for some ruins of a Cistercian monastery….
…and a couple of sheep.
There was a small shack serving food and drinks so we grabbed some waffles and jam and headed out to the beach. Well something that resembles a beach. The rocks of the island seems to be mostly shale…
…so the “sand” is quite course and sharp at times making flip-flops a must.
The water was pretty darn cold, but that didn’t stop Louise from taking a quick dip.
After a bit of sunbathing and stone skipping we strolled back to the dock to hop back on the boat. The return trip actually turned out to be one of the highlights as we encountered an entertaining and intoxicated Norwegian man.
He talked to us for about 20 minutes on topics ranging from Obama’s VP pick, to his New Jersey girlfriend, to Vikings, to Navajos. And, according to him he is Norway’s best blues singer! You can listen to his singing and ideas in this video…
After returning to the mainland we walked by the newly built Oslo Opera House which is a very cool looking building both from the outside…
The Vigeland Sculpture Park has over 80 acres of landscaping with 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. All of them naked. Except one.
His self-sculpture:
Naked dad hauling his naked babies.
Naked dad hurling his naked baby.
Naked dad about to fling his naked son.
While naked daughter works on her tan.
At the father-daughter naked dance.
They had naked sports
With naked referees.
They must have had naked tailgating at the stadium, because this naked man is carting off what appears to be naked drunk mother.
Which upset her naked baby.
A naked lady waits patiently.
For her naked laundry to finish.
Someone needs a naked blow drier for her naked hair.
While someone else clearly needs a naked babysitter.
And what naked sculpture garden would be complete without a naked fountain.
Complete with naked trees.
Full of naked people.
All doing naked things.
There were even naked male gates.
And naked female gates.
That would cast some cool naked shadows.
The naked gates lead way to the naked Monolith.
That was surrounded by…
wait for it…
If you guessed naked sculptures, you’d be right!
Like naked baby clusters.
Naked lovers.
Naked brats.
Naked horseplay.
Naked yoga.
And something that looked like a naked Olympic sport of some sort.
They even had a naked bird bathroom.
At the very end of the park was the naked circle of life.
We started off the morning with a scrumptious breakfast prepared by Joakim. Seasoned scrambled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, fresh baked bread, and [mom cover your ears] horse-meat sausage. Once we fueled up, we headed out on a walk through the city. Apparently Oslo has a huge heroin problem, so we bypassed the area where the druggies hang out, and headed straight for the city center. As usual, there just happened to be a festival of some sort just when we arrived. Our walk was halted for about 15 minutes as we had to wait for a parade to pass down the main street.
Just about every single ethnic group was represented in the parade.
Including the Dunder Mifflinites in what appeared to be a homage to the one and only Dwight Schrute.
