17th October 2015
I was still raging when I woke up but once Rory apologised for not remembering my PIN code I felt much better. In an attempt to make the most of the limited time we have we got up, got ready and were on the street for 9.30am. Using Google Maps and the free map we found at the bus station we navigated the deserted streets in search of City Hall. We took a few wrong turns but eventually found the impressive but not quite beautiful building. We also had our first glimpse of the Oslo fjord which didn't disappoint.
As our time in Oslo is quite short and we have a lot to fit in we decided to buy the 24hr Oslo Pass. For £30 you get free entry in to most tourists sites and free transport throughout the city. The first stop of the day was the Norwegian Folk Museum so we hoped on a local bus and made the 20 minute journey to the museum district. We were some of the first visitors at the museum and had the place to ourselves. Much like the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum the folk museum offers a glimpse in to daily life throughout the ages, except Norway has Vikings so you know it's going to be better. Some of the cabins are over 600 years old but what really struck me was how small the doors are! The Avengers would have you believe that Thor is massive but if these houses are anything to go by he's just a hobbit with a hammer!
Some highlights include the school house, a traditional Norse cathedral and an amazing collection of houses which are decorated to represent different decades. One such house was 1950s style and had its own method actor who legit acted like he was from the 1950s. He even offered us some coffee which he was making on the working Norwegian made stove! We then stumbled across a working farm, which was, no joke, the highlight of my holiday. Stroking a beautiful calf was amazing and made me feel absolutely horrendous for being such a carnivore.
Once we'd had a look around the sweetshop, the jail, the garage and even the brewery we had a quick look at the indoor exhibits and reluctantly headed on to the next museum! I'm not sure what I was expecting but the folk museum far surpassed anything I could have hoped for. Maybe it was the beautiful weather and scenery or maybe it was walking through the trees, seeing the colours and feeling the crisp autumnal air, it might even have been the carefully planned and meticulously maintained exhibits but I honestly think it is the best museum I've ever been to!
Our next stop was the Viking Museum. The massive building houses three actual long boats. The first and most ornate boat was a funeral boat for two prominent women. They were placed in the boat along with personal items, food, drinks and even animals and then they were all buried! Fast forward a few hundred years and some chap finds them, digs them up and then brings them to a museums where people like me can look at them! The second boat was also a funeral boat for a male Viking and the third is so badly damaged that it doesn't look like much at all. It's quite amazing to see the craftsmanship of these boats; the Vikings sure knew what they were doing and while I wouldn't fancy crossing the Atlantic in one, they certainly didn't mind. From China to North America they sure got about and let's not forget their most important stop of all - Ballyholme Bay!
From some old ships to a slightly newer one, we went to the Kon Tiki museum where we saw the actual raft that Thor Heyerdahl used to cross the Pacific Ocean. In an attempt to prove that South Americans colonised Polynesia as opposed to settlers from the West, these chaps made a 101 day journey on a raft made of balsa wood. Talk about flaunting health and safety!
Next we went to the Maritime Museum where we saw all things nautical. There was even a ship interior to explore. I felt like I was in Titanic but without Leonardo Dicaprio and the iceberg, obviously.
But that wasn't enough, sometimes you just need to see more ships so we called in to the Fram Museum. It's meant to be the best museum in Norway and while I think that title belongs to the folk museum, it's hard to ignore the Fram Museum. It might have something to do with the MASSIVE ship that's inside. Why have a few things from inside a boat then you can have the actual boat?
The Fram was used in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions from 1893 to 1912. Apparently it has sailed farther North and South than any other wooden ship. Each level circled the boat and as you walk up you learn more about the expedition. There are several interactive exhibits and even the odd stuffed polar bear! On the top level you can go on the boat and explore the various sections from the top deck to the sleeping quarters and the engine room. It was really interesting to see inside this gigantic beast of a boat. It also reminded me of all those family holidays where instead of going to Disney Land we looked around old boats. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all!
When we had visited literally every museum we could we headed back to town in search of a very late lunch. But wait!? What's that? Another museum? Why not! This time is was the Nobel Museum. The entire museum is dedicated to the Peace prize, the winners and the vision of world peace. I didn't really take very many pictures, it's not that it was a sad place but perhaps there was something reverent about it or at least some of the exhibits which are focused on the devastation of war. It was a really interesting place, not too big, not too small and filled with information without being overpowering or imposing. I would definitely recommend it.
Eventually we did find some lunch. I'd love to say we tried some traditional Norwegian food but really we went to a cool burger restaurant and spend £30 on two burgers and a portion of fries. Safe to say this was when I realised how expensive Oslo is! Probably something you should know before you head to the most expensive city in the world. But who cares? You only live once. Money is for spending. Paying £3 for a bottle of water is totes normal.
But we didn't stop there! We had a look around the Akkerbrygg area and then headed back to the centre of town where we took a tram to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. It's s really nice park full of sculptures by some famous artist. I probably should have been reading up on the sculptures and the artists but all I wanted to do was take funny pictures with the statues. Captain No Craic was much too cool for this but I didn't let that, or the sniggers of passers by stop me!
When I was all posed out we got back on the tram, arrived back in town and then set off in search of thr Royal Palace. Despite knowing absolutely nothing about the Norwegian Royal Family, I can safely say they have a nice house. It was just starting to get dark so the lights were coming on which made the whole place look more impressive. I was also struck by the lack of railings - you could practically walk up and knock the door. Rory did suggest we try but after seining the massive guns each guard had we decided against it but to be fair, these guards were smiling and posting for pictures, nothing like the ones guarding old Liz!
We then headed back towards the hotel, stopping here and there when something caught our eye. We probably made it back just after 7pm and by 8pm I was fast asleep! I'm not usually one for naps but after a long day of walking around outside, in the freezing cold in my little raincoat I was ready for the ridiculously cosy and warm bed! Rory snuck out to watch the rugby but couldn't find a bar showing it so at 9.30pm he arrived back with a fresh pizza and it's safe to say that I miraculously felt wide awake. We finished the night watching a documentary about Patagonia and dreaming of our next trip!
