Snow in Oslo (& boats)

The next day of our Norwegian Holiday was absolutely packed with boats, three museums worth all right by one another.

The first of the three museums we visited was the Kon-Tiki Museum. Now if you want to be filled with a burning sense of wanderlust, this is the museum for you! The Kon-Tiki was a boat built by experimental anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl. He built this boat to prove that it was possible people from the Americas could have travelled to South Polynesia on such a vessel, and he then proceed to sail his boat across the Pacific Ocean!

Thor was so convinced that it was possible he, six other men and a parrot set off on a mission everyone else said would certainly get them killed. They set sail in April 1947 and it took them 101 days but they reached their destination successfully. He also spent a lot of time on Easter Island trying to unravel the many mysteries there, like how the figures 'walked' onto the island.

Not content with one death defying voyage across the ocean Thor built a further three boats for similar voyages, these ones made of reed and based on the sort depicted in Ancient Egypt. During these voyages Thor noticed that the oceans were becoming more and more polluted and began raising awareness of the issue internationally.

This man is the sort of man who makes you want to do more with your life, and the Kon-Tiki Museum, which also talks about his other expeditions, is a very worthy tribute to such a larger than life person. It was amazing to read about his adventures, whilst looking at the actual vessels that he and his crew sailed on.

Next up was the Fram Museum, all about the Polar Ship Fram that went on three polar expeditions. Again the actual ship sits at the center of the museum and you can even go on deck and inside. Each cabin is labelled with the names of the people who have stayed there.

Every so often the Norther Lights are projected around the museum, giving an amazing sense of space and adventure to the museum. There are also lots of fun interactive for children and adults so we enjoyed having a go on those. This museum however didn't so much make me want to jump on a boat and go on an adventure, clearly I only have the explorer instinct when the destination looks a bit warmer!

The third and final ship museum was the Viking Ship Museum. The artifacts in this museum were amazing, and reading about how they survived in the various states they did, and who the people associated with them were was fascinating. There are three ships and their associated finds displayed in the museum. They have been restored to some extent so the Oseberg and the Gokstad appear complete where as the Tune is much less complete.

The museum itself is rather dated and they are planning a massive renovation and re-display, which will give the brilliant collection the surroundings it deserves. For the mean time however the quality of the collections speaks for itself, and nothing beats seeing real viking ships when your visiting Norway!

On Christmas Eve we happened to find ourselves in Oslo Cathedral just as the carol service was starting. Mum claims this was a total coincidence but me and Jake weren't convinced. The service was lovely, they sang mostly familiar carols that we could join in with in English and the choir and congregation sang in Norwegian. It was quite nice to just sit and admire the surroundings while they talked in Norwegian, even thought I couldn't understand it I enjoyed just listening to another language.

The Cathedral has the most amazingly colourful painted ceiling, showing images of biblical stories. Listening to the choir and the music and staring at that beautiful ceiling was a really lovely, relaxing experience.

We also went to the Museum of Decorative Art and Design, which had some beautiful piece of royal clothing on display. They also had chronological displays of furniture and design which were really interesting, even the modern pieces.

Then it finally snowed, and it was so worth the wait. We walked through the palace grounds in the snow and into the town center and it was lovely. I'm actually quite glad it hadn't snowed earlier because it also suddenly became very cold too!

The museum I had really wanted to see was the Resistance Museum which was fascinating. The museum is housed in a tiny building inside the fortress walls, but it is packed with information! Don't let its size fool you and allow a lot of time to visit this museum as it took us a long time to read through the masses of text. While the museum could do with an update the content is totally engrossing.

The text took you through the build up to the Second World War and the entire conflict. On one side of the room was information about the global situation and on the opposite wall what was happening in Norway with those who were resisting occupation. If I hadn't been so interested I would not have made it through all the reading, but I really wanted to know about all the brave men and women that risked everything for what they thought was right.

Our final museum of the trip was The Historical Museum. we could have spent a very long time in this museum. There were several different galleries but my favourite was the one with all the ecclesiastical art. We saw more Stave Church portals, some fantastic medieval icons and even an entire painted church ceiling!

There was also of course a Viking exhibition, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed about the standard of this. The interpretation was minimal and very uninformative, the layout was strange, and there was some totally random textile art in some of the cases that really detracted from the objects in my opinion. Most frustratingly was there was nothing in the gallery to tell me why these swords were curly! Were they just tired and having a nap?

The answer (Google tells me) is that no one really knows, but it is possible they were purposely bent before burial so that they were 'dead' like their owner. This would have the added affect of discouraging grave robbing. There was also an Egyptian Gallery and an interesting but all too brief temporary exhibition on identity, and what the artifacts we leave behind say about ours.

I have to say I was quite sorry to leave Oslo when the time came. It is such a beautiful city full of friendly people and really interesting museums that I could have spent so much time in, just absorbing every fascinating and beautiful detail. I would really recommend visiting to anyone with an interest in history and heritage, or anyone who just wants to spend time in a lovely city!

No snow in Oslo at Xmas

Hello Everyone! This Christmas (2015) my wonderful Mother and Grandmother took me and my little brother Jake to Norway! Mum is a lecturer and likes to spend her holidays time visiting new places, and we thought Norway would be perfect for the festive period. Also most of their museums are open every day but Christmas day.

Now I'll be honest, quite often when I go away somewhere, particularly abroad, I feel very out of my comfort zone and can never quite relax. However I really didn't feel like that in Norway at all, in fact I felt rather at home. I loved it, the people were so nice, Oslo is beautiful, the food was great, the heritage was fantastic! If I ever get fed up of like in England I might just up sticks and head to Norway.

As soon as we got off the train, that we had got on after the plane landed, but shortly before the taxi on the way to the hotel, we were greeted with a brass band in the Train Station. Suddenly I was feeling very Christmassey, despite the fact that Norway was experiencing unseasonably warn weather. It may not have been covered in snow like we had been expecting, but Oslo was beautiful anyway.

The hotel was a little strange, one room, four beds and a kitchenette, but it was just what we needed for the week and we managed not to get into too much trouble.

Our first heritage excursion was to the Folk Museum. Here were examples of buildings from all over Oslo, collected and moved to the museum to preserve the traditions and architectural styles of all different parts of Norway.

My favorite building was Gol Stave Church, dating from around 1200 it is a really impressive building with lots of beautifully intricate carvings.

In another tiny red timber building was a rather unexpected surprise, the whole interior was painted with these beautiful swirly, leafy designs, and images from stories.

As well as the open air museum the Folk Museum had several indoor exhibition spaces, including one filled with examples of traditional Norwegian craft and art. This included very awesome looking sleighs and more beautifully carved stave church door frames.

The next day we slipped and slid our way across a rather icy port to catch a ferry around the islands, and while we were waiting we went in to visit the Nobel Peace Center, named after Alfred Nobel. This museum had some really through provoking and interesting exhibitions, as a museum talking about such a serious and weighty subject should do. My favorite element was the Nobel Field, a darkened room with screens giving information about everyone who had even won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Each screen in the room is about one year's winners, and when you step up to the screens, they come alive. As you stand in front of them the information about who the recipient is and why they won appears on the screen.  The room looks almost enchanting and the relatively simple design reacts to those around it, creating visitor engagement on another level. It really is interactive, intelligent exhibition design done brilliantly!

The boat trip around the islands was very picturesque, although we did decide that the islands might be a lovely places to live but I wouldn't quite sacrifice the convenience of having amenities close by in order to live somewhere so beautiful. Imagine having to get on a boat to pop to the shops when you run out of milk. And what if you had a late night chocolate craving!

Speaking of boats, there will be a lot more boat related activity in my next post, talking about the second part of our Oslo adventures. Stay tuned!