Another early start with a 7.55am flight to Oslo. My Boarding Pass said “Go to Gate 1b” – which I read as “Go to Gate 16”. At 7.20 am there was no sign of other people or a plane. The I thought – maybe it’s 16. I looked up and it said “Boarding”. Of course, it was on the other side of the airport and by the time I’d run there (in my fashion) I was out of breath and feeling like I needed an ambulance, rather than a plane. I slept all the way. The sky was grey and the Immigration was very casual. Stamp the passport; don’t look up. Then onto the train into Central Oslo. Only problem – the train had 4 steps leading from the platform to the train. How to hold the railing AND manoeuvre the suitcase up as well. So I do the “I’m an old lady, please help me” act. Which I hate. Luckily my hotel is not far from the station, and I get in and everything overwhelms me. I get into bed, and I don’t get up till next morning. I call these moments MELTDOWNS. The early start, the wrong gate, the train not knowing where the hotel was, PLUS – leaving E, and L (and not knowing when I’d see L again) was too much. Sleep is the only thing that cures this – and if it eats into the sightseeing, that’s bad luck. By next morning I’d be ready to hit the Museum Circuit.
And so it happened. Back to the tourist information centre and I bought an Oslo pass which gave me 24 hours entry to the Museums. Many of the museums are on a peninsular called Bygdoy, which is accessible by ferry. As we pulled in there was an announcement in Norwegian – followed by one in Norwegian accented English. Unfortunately I hadn’t realized that the English bit had started, so I missed the announcement. But I go off anyway, which turned out to be the right decision. The peninsular was hilly, and this was the stop for the folk Museum at the top of the hills. So all the other museums were downhill from there.
The folk museum contains 155 traditional houses and buildings that have been reconstructed. I didn’t have time for the whole 155, but I particularly wanted to see the Stave Church, which dated from 1200. These churches are made of elaborately carved wood – and this one was truly beautiful.
From the Folk Museum I went to the Viking Museum where Viking Ships (which had been used for burials are displayed. The building itself was lovely. Like the inside of a church – vaulted ceilings, domed windows soft lighting, stone floors. And dark wood ships – enormous and elaborately carved. Plus the Viking artifacts including some chess pieces like the Isle of Lewis ones.
Downhill further was the Kon-Tiki Museum which was the one I most wanted to see. I read “Kon-Tiki” when I was quite young and it piqued my interest in the way Humans had migrated around the earth. Inside was the original Kon-Tiki and one of the Ra boats. Although I’d had the idea that the original Kon’Tiki broke up on the reef. This was combined with models of some of the Easter Island statues (which are also on my bucket list to see) and South Pacific Artefacts. And some copies of carvings from Peru which I had seen while in Peru as well. Tying up a lot of loose ends. (Thor Heyerdahl’s theory has been disproved by DNA testing I think. But it was an amazing voyage which showed so many possibilities.)
And because I didn’t have to pay (thanks Oslo pass!) I also went into the Maritime Museum and the “Fram” Museum. The Fram was a ship (used by Amundsen among others) used for Polar Expeditions, They say it has advanced further north AND south than any other ship. (In the gift shop I find the DVD “Happy Feet”, made in Australia about dancing penguins.
The maritime Museum looks at the history of shipping in Norway – which obviously has had an enormous influence in Norwegian Society.
This would one of the best collections of Museums I've ever seen - and all so conveniently together.
