Where the mountains are high and the fjords plunge deep

As we left Bergen last night, the Captain explained in laboured English that during the night we would be calling in to the Port of Florø at 03:30 departing again at 03:40 at which time the ship's horn would sound three times. We were not to be alarmed and this would not be the emergency horn.

Horn?? what horn? Both Donna and I slept right through it as I suspect almost all the other passengers did also. We are marvelling at the lack of noise transference into the cabins - they are all well noise-insulated.

We went up for breakfast at about 8:30 am as our excursion is not until 14:00 this afternoon. A full smorgasbord is available - cereals, breads, hot food, cold food, fruits, juices, teas and coffees.  We noticed yesterday that it can become a little like pigs at the trough, so we were happy to have a later breakfast today and went up about 9 am.  Breakfast is served until 10 am.

Today is a bucket list day.  You know the photo that is iconic Norwegian fjordland on all the postcards and travel blogs that you see?  Well, today that is where we are going. 

The cruise ships cruises the length of the Geirangerfjord.  The scenery is magical - towering cliffs that plunge into the water below.  Moraine slopes, saddles, faulted and folded mountains, ice and snow caps, single farms and tiny settlements clinging to small areas of grasslands.  We ask ourselves how you could get there with all your belongings, and what would make people want to live in such isolation - it is amazing!  We pass the famous Seven Sisters Falls, but today only four are at home (falling).  We can only imagine this cascade in full flow!

We dock in Geiranger just before 2pm.  This is a village in western Norway, at the head of the beautiful Geirangerfjord with 240 permanent residents. In the summer months, up to 6 cruise liners dock here bring up to 10,000 PER DAY to visit.
We leave the ship at at 2pm. Buses are waiting to collect us - too bad that they didn't warn us that it is a mad 400 metre dash in the drizzle. There are three buses waiting - one for the English/Norwegian, one for the German/French and the last for French language groups - goes to show you how many french people are on this cruise.
 

We are exploring the Geirangerfjord and Trollstigen Route - 'the Trolls Route' one of Norway's national tourist routes and on to Molde where we again join the ship at 11:15 pm.  For those who followed our blog in Romania, this is the equivalent of the Transfagarasan Pass. There are 11 switchback hairpin bends. More about that later. We drive up out of Geiranger and look back over the village to see our ship already sailing out and two of the other three docked in view at the head of the fjord.  While the views from down within the fjord are stunning, You really can't appreciate it fully until you are above it, looking down the length.

The scenery is stunning, wondrous even. None of these photos can really do it justice. We travel for a hour and can count 7 or 8 ranges in the distance, towering over us, big sky sort of scenery.  Each time there is a photo opportunity, this is what you see!

Then we turn a bend and we are near the top of the peak, above the treeline and with lakes and tumbling streams with water so clear we can see the stones at the bottom.  Walking trails abound, little cabins where I guess people shelter in bad weather.  Many of the cabins have grassed roofs, some planted, most wild! 
The snow poles can be as high as 8 metres - thats what you call snowfall!

We see more of the same, not same scenery.  I think that the blog would crash if I tried to load too many more photos!  There was four hours of driving through this scenery and we never bored of the changing views. One minute we were in drizzle, then sunshine and again into rain. This region is also a big cropping area for Norway, growing apples and pears, the best strawberries and raspberries (supposedly) as well as heaps of other berries.  There was evidence of recent grass cutting for winter hay also.


There is a ferry crossing at a quaint little village - and another to come later tonight as we near Molde. Finally we reach Trollstigen, 'the Trolls Road', the only permanent road in to Geiranger. 
There is another road but it is closed from November to May each year.  Even this road can be treacherous! 

There is a lookout above the road and we pulled in to the rest/tourist area at Stigrøra, 858 metres above sea level, to allow people off to take photos.  The road twists through eleven hairpin bends and an impressive bridge carries the road across the Stigfossen waterfall. The road is carved into the mountain and supported by stone walls. The walk out to the lookout is made of steel for the first 150m or so, and is quite slippery, so I don't venture out, but Donna did and she brought back some stunning

photos.  From here, we drive down those 11 hairpins. There is a woman sitting, window side who is terrified of the steep turns and the precipitous drops. Her 'friends' kept making comments about it.  Really?  Grow up (and these were Aussies). Still, if she had any sense, she would have moved to an inside seat and given up the window - there were plenty of seats free, so it wasn't like there was a reason to hog the window.

When we reach the bottom of the Trollstigen,we have a coffee break and served lovely fresh open rolls with cheese, tomato and cucumber or cheese and meat and cream filled folded waffles that are soooo good. One of those people near us on the bus is complaining about this dinner and is horrified to be told that this is a coffee break (it is after 6 pm by now) and that dinner will be served in Molde at 9:30 pm. I think that they are normally in bed by then!  We ate quickly so we could escape outside and get some photos of the plentiful trolls. Donna even found a friend!!

From here, we are back on the bus and headed toward Molde. We are now in hunting lands and there could be no doubt given the deer heads on one of the local buildings - I only managed to get half of them in the shot as we drove by.

Another ferry crossing (cheaper than bridges) and a few more hours of jaw breaking scenery and we reach the end of our day tour in Molde, Norway's town of roses.

We are booked in for a cod dinner served on a bed of mashed potato with julienned vegetables and a sweet apple, cream and cinnamon crumble for dessert. It was a delicious way to end a stunning day.  The Kong Harald pulls in at 10:45 pm and departs at 11:15. It was too late to blog last night!

Bergen - 235 days of rain a year, and boy, did we get one!

Turns out that Bergen has the highest rainfall in all of Scandinavia.  And today proves that well and truly.  But I will have any one day of rain to appreciate the brilliant clear sunshine that follows - especially if that is tomorrow when we get to go to Geiranger and the Trollstingen Pass to Molde where we look down along the length of the fjords.

Today began again with a bit of a scare. Got up to go to the bathroom early and in returning to bed, walked along the mirror that is the length of the room and gave myself a fright when I passed the magnified section for makeup or shaving. OMG I am NOT an early morning person.  Note to self: avert your eyes when passing mirrors! 😂

Breakfast was included at the Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen, the first that has been so on this trip thus far. Breakfast was great - good selection of hot and cold, fruit and cheeses, meats and salads, cereals and yoghurts, eggs of all cooked varieties, bacon and sausages. We ate our fill before returning for our luggage which they held for us for the day. 

Then we set out on foot to go around to Bryggen, 900m around the front of the port and through the local 'farmers' markets. What do you think they farm around here?  Well, that would be fish, oysters, prawns, mussels, crabs; and berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries and cherries; and small-goods made from moose and deer and whale. That was the some total of the offerings at the markets, mind you there were many multiples of sellers in each category.  And one lone soft serve ice cream vendor at the very end.  As we (under our umbrellas)  walked past each of the sellers, they would have one of their staff dedicated to touting for business  mostly young girls. And they were very good at it! Marchiella caught our attention showing us the ENORMOUS Norwegian Oysters and the smaller and smoother Fjord oysters. And the trolls guarded the condiments!

Bergen was once the capital of Norway and it was ruled from the old part of the city - Byrggen. Bryggen has existed since just after the Viking Age of 1070 and as it stands now was constructed after the Great Fire of 1702. You cannot help but wonder at how it does burn to the ground far more often.  The last fire was in 1955. We heard sirens and saw a fire truck coming screaming along the road and the crowd collectively took in a breath!  Its ok, its none of the row of historic shop fronts that we duck in and out of to escape the rain.  In fact Donna is sure that it is those wet days that is what is protecting the timber from burning again!  

The front of the shops are wonky and nothing is really straight. While all lined up, they are very picturesque, up close you can see the strain reflected in different ways - a door that does not lineup with its lintel, a set of steps narrow and steep that go up on an angle, whole buildings that tiredly lean against each other as though to prop themselves up. A number of them are empty with historic displays in their windows and a few others are under renovation. The shops that front the quay in these shops are the big name tourist outlets and one or two woolen shops or adventure gear shops. We can only begin to guess what the rents must be like in a city that is very expensive. I did support the local commerce with the purchase of a Norway coastline cross-stitch kit.  Don't ask, it doesn't matter, I like it!


We had read up on Bryggen before we arrived here and know that there are a number of timber floored alleys and arcades and that towards the back of these are local artisans - we found jewellers, woollen goods sellers, artists, leatherworkers, christmas decoration shops etc.  I have been waiting to get here to buy a new cardigan to replace the one I left on the plane, accidently.  We found ourselves in Susan Fosse's shop where I found just the thing. Again don't ask, I'm not telling!!

The boards are damp underfoot and I am terrified of slipping.  After seeing two other people do just that, I am happy to leave these little timbered gems for the cobbled streets outside.  The rain turns quite heavy for a while and we, along with a whole lot of other tourists, take shelter in doorways and under awnings. For a little while we even hanker down into a wall, protected from the worst by our umbrellas.

Finally the rain lets up enough for us to walk back to the taxi rank and get a cab back to the hotel where we stayed last night about 1:30 pm.
We can go down to the terminal - it opened at 13:00, but cannot book our luggage in until 15:30. The hotel is warm and dry, and we can get a glass of wine and some nuts to while away the time. Donna ventures out to see whether we can walk around to the Terminal with our luggage, but reports that it is located in the next port around the headland and up and over a large hill.  Settles that, we will cab it.

The hotel concierge brings our luggage from the luggage room and orders us a taxi, telling us that the fare we should pay is 153 NOK.  Glad he did that because when we got in to the taxi, the driver asked how we would be paying (I always pay card as there is a record and less likelihood of the meter not being turned on) at which point he tells us the fare will be 240 NOK. We disagree, and so he says well 160 NOK, but we stick to our guns and invite him to go and check with the hotel concierge. At this point he becomes rude and sullen but agrees to the fare. I can only think how many tourists he has ripped off.  Will let the hotel know as we took the cab number.

And so finally we find ourselves at the Hurtigruten Ship Terminal.  We only booked this in July, but it feel like a lifetime ago.  Check in is done and we head upstairs to the cafe to wait boarding which is running an hour late. Console ourselves with a hot chocolate and a waffle while we watch the rain come and go. Come 5 pm when the crew open boarding, there is an almighty rush - as though to get the best seats!  Hang on, we all have allocated cabins, so what is the rush.

Finally we are on board. Safety briefing done and dusted. Cabin located - quite spacious even if not a suite with a WINDOW that does not open on to a deck so we can have an uninterrupted view from here.  We decide to wait a little while before heading up for dinner and let the panicked hordes go first. Just as well we did, there was still a line up at 8:30 pm. From here on in, we are allocated seatings, so it should be ok.
Dinner for all and sundry tonight is a buffet. Cold meats and fishes, hot dishes, salads, cheeses and crackers with fruit spreads, and desserts. We skip the hot dishes so we can have a little of the rest.  The reindeer meat with lingonberries was 'interesting'. Beefy, but not, gamey, but not. Something in between the two. will be good to try it hot for a comparison!  


We set sail right on 21:30 and pass out through the port areas, hugging the coast for a little while before we head out in to the open water of the Atlantic Ocean at the lighthouse.  OMG the ship is rocking and rolling  aghhhhhhhhh and the rain is slamming in to the window.  Hopefully it will just rock us to sleep.  Guess that I am about to find out.  Time for bed - nite all.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Day one of the ' Oh my god's '

Sunday in Oslo is quiet.  If we thought that the centre of town was quiet on other days/nights, this morning was dead. Literally.  Until we got to the railway station about 5 blocks away, we saw the sum total of three people!

The day began with a little scare.  Instead of adding a block to our (read my) walk, we chose to go down the back exit which meant that Donna had to carry the suitcases down a flight of stairs. So far, so good.  Get to the bottom of the stairs and open the heavy exit door, Donna carries the cases out, she is now outside the building and then just before the door closes behind me, we realise that the heavy, huge iron gates - you know the massive ones that you see at the opening of many historic buildings in Europe, were closed and locked with a padlock.  All of them.  On both sides of the building. Its about 07:25 am and the train goes in an hour.  So I jam my foot in the door while Donna checks out the exit. Little scare, not a big one - there is an exit release - phew!!!  Disaster averted.

The road is damp underfoot - it must have rained during the night, but the morning is clear and cool.  Lugging our (getting heavier) suitcases it takes us about 15 minutes to walk to the station and get our bearings.  And, thanks to Murphy's Law, our carriage is the furthest one out.  We finally make the door, lug the suitcases up the steps and find a spot to store them in the luggage vestibule. As we move in to the carriage, we find it filled with the passengers of an Indian tour group AND four of them are in our seats.

One of them wanted an argument, but man, that wasn't going to happen. We stayed firm and it was only a couple of moments before the tour guide came and insisted that the four of them return to their allotted seats.  He took one of the last two and just as the train was due to depart, in rushed the last passenger - Kimberly, a nurse from Venice Beach in California. We hit it off straight away and have made a new friend!

Both Donna and I feel that today really starts the trip of adventure - even though we have now been travelling for a week and seen and experienced some wonderful things. 
Today we are doing a self-guided tour called Norway in a Nutshell.  It involves five legs:

• train Oslo to Myrdal
• scenic train Myrdal to Flam
• boat cruise Flam to Gudvangen
• tour bus Gudvangen to Voss
• train Voss to Bergen.

The train departs Oslo smack on time at 08:25 am. It is not long out of the City Sentrum before we begin to encounter the working day for some, with farmers harvesting cauliflowers in the morning dew.  Its not long before we find ourselves in bucolic scenes from some European folksong.  The streams and rivers are bubbling alongside us in every shade of glacial blue and the open meadows morph into valleys between towering mountains. And yes, we do mean mountains, not the hillmountains we have back home.

And still we have the reach the real Oh. My. God. Scenery. 

We pass by the Geitanosi glacier, near Finse where the snow scenes from Star Wars was filmed - the things you never knew!  Finse is the highest railway station on the entire Norwegian railway system at only 1222 m!  
And pass through tunnels before reaching Myrdal and changing for the the Flåm Line is a 20.2 km long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The line's elevation difference is 866 meters; it has ten stations, twenty tunnels and one bridge. The steepest incline is 1:18 - and without cogs!

Even though the journey to Myrdal takes 4 hours, the time flies. As we pass Finse we see little huts hunkered down hugging the earth as if to protect themselves from the cold winters. Many have moss and alpine plants including flowers growing on their roof, like a blanket keeping in the warmth. Kimberly is not travelling to Flåm today, but going direct to Bergen so before we leave the train, we exchange contact details and make loose plans to catch up tomorrow in Bergen. 

Crossing the platform takes us to the departure point for the Flåm railway. The Flåm railway is considered to be the world's most beautiful train journey and provides a panorama of some of the wildest and most magnificent mountain scenery in Norway at any time of the year. There are rivers carving their way through deep gorges, waterfalls leaping off steep mountainsides with snow-covered mountain peaks, as well as mountain

farms clinging tenaciously to steep slopes. Down at the bottom, you can enjoy the scenic cultural landscape of the Flåm Valley and admire the beautiful Aurlandsfjord.  On the way, the train makes a stop to allow everyone to get off the train to take photos at the Kjosfossen Falls where the Hulda sang to lure us into the waters of the waterfall. Thankfully no-one succumbed!

We continue our journey down the valleys into Flåm railway station. The scenery is jaw-breakingly beautiful and the camera and our two phones get a massive workout today.  If you want to see more of the photos, then ask us to put on a slide show for you when we get back!

At the end of the line, we have arrived at Flåm harbour. We have a chance to catch a breather here and meet three American sisters travelling together for the first time to visit their grandfather's birthplace near Bergen. We grabbed a coffee and an amazing Pistachio biscuits with chocolate and raisins. Crisp on the outside and chewy inside. It was the size of a bread and butter plate!   Mmmmm.
Here we catch a Fjord cruise on Nærøyfjord with Fjord Norway.  You know those times when you say that you couldn't get the whole vista in one photo?  Well, up close this is what the scenery is like.  Mountains tower over you and dwarf elfin little hamlets and villages with perfectly manicured lawns right to the water's edge, surrounded by untamed brutality of the mountains and thundering waterfalls (nice description Donna). Everywhere you look is another view down another finger of a gorge or a fjord. It really is an oh. my. god. day.


The two hour trip is done all too soon and we dash for a bus that will take us up and over the mountain into Voss. We head out the only road into the Gudvangen harbour and then the coach pauses before the driver turns off the perfectly good double lane road on to the old highway that was the only access until 1981 for traffic in both directions.  This is a very steep mountain pass road with 11 switchbacks immediately one after the other.  The bus creeps down most of it in low gear doing about 10 kph. Which is good for anybody wanting photos of the stunning mountain peaks or waterfalls (if you can get a clear view while staying seated in a seatbelt, and vying for window space with your seat partner. Behind us are the other two buses that met the cruise boat.  If one goes,it is likely that we will all go!

Soon enough, we reach the bottom and rejoin the new highway for the remainder of the trip in to Voss where we clamber over makeshift steel and planking walkways to the train for our last leg of the day. Old Murphy obviously thought he had tortured us enough for one day as on the final train trip down to Bergen we are in the second car.  We are travelling through increasing urban areas, although still manage to go through two ski resorts, one complete with Ski Jump. We pass through a multitude of tunnels and by the way our ears are popping, we are dropping in altitude rapidly. In 90 minutes we reach Bergen arriving right on 9 pm, 13 hours after we left Oslo this morning. A distance of 463.9 km in the most direct route and 7 hours by car.  And do you know, I would not have changed a thing.

The hotel doesn't have a restaurant but we passed the fish markets about a block and a half back so Donna heads out to get some fish and chips. The prawns are tiny, frozen and $65 AUD per kilo.  Crab claws were $100 kg and the king crab,well there wasn't even a price on them and you know the saying that if you have to ask the price you can't afford it. 
Lovely fresh white fish (but quite bland) and chips that the seagulls back home would refuse, but washed down with a bottle of Italian Chardonnay, worked a treat. Was definitely a better $60 spend on the wine than the same cost for the takeaway meal! Meanwhile, Bergen by night looks lovely and everything we have read of the old port area sounds intriguing.  Some exploring early tomorrow, perhaps a catch up with Kimberley before we board the Kong Harald to sail north later in the day. How exciting! 

Back when my bones were warm . . .

So it is cooler. Heading for a maximum of 16 degrees. With a breeze.
And wet.  Again. 
But today it is wet enough to hinder some of the options of things to explore. 
Being a Saturday, it is also a later start for most of the attractions. We decide to head to the National Theatre stop and go to The Viking Planet, a relatively new attraction that only opened in June 2019.
From the comments on their site, most people seen to enjoy the experience.

As we enter Princengate, one of the four streets that bound this building, we can hear the music festival we saw them setting up for yesterday in full swing.  The band is on a stage inside a partially enclosed marquee, there are a few children playing on the playground that was constructed, but in the drizzle, everyone is hurrying by under umbrellas or a range of rain jackets, seemingly oblivious to the music. We are bound for the tram stop on the opposite corner, and like all the other people passing by, we do too.


It is only a couple of tram stops from where we are, and as we near, the rain lifts for a few minutes, allowing us to have a look at the statuary that is dispersed among the gardens of the National Theater.  Currently showing is Romeo and Julie(tte) and Alice in Wonderland.


Like many other areas within the City of Oslo, there are gardens and green spaces, filled with flowering beds.  In the centre of the square between the National Theatre and the Universitat buildings are formal and rather austere surrounded by lots of cobbled stones, but also with large tubs of flowers at regular intervals. Large brass statues are in every square and courtyard, no doubt notable scholars. And in pride of place is the Norwegian counterpart of Sydney's El Alamein Fountain!

We realise that we again are walking away from the area that we are wanting to visit. Google maps is a fail as far as using it for walking directions. I just wonder how much of it is because we are surrounded by large stone edifices.


Finally City Hall is ahead of us and we know that we are about to reach our destination. This is an imposing modern towering building and rather stark. And even though there are garden beds along the broad stepped raisers to the entrance, they seem lost against the brick and concrete.  The bells are ringing and we see a wedding party gingerly try to rush to waiting cars at the bottom of the steps in the again increasing rain.  But we are here to see something else - The Viking Planet which is across the crescent from City Hall.

You actually enter the building through the souvenir shop. There is a uniformity in the offerings at most of the museums here - not only in the basic choice of souvenirs, but also the prices - that is good.  And each attraction then also has a range of unique products, but again, at comparable pricing.
Tickets cost us just under AUD$50 each. We are not too phased at the cost and by the time we have finished our experience, we actually think that it is really good value for money. The staff are very attentive and eager to assist. They explain the basic concept and offer suggestions on the route through the attraction. I actually think that being a wet day has worked in our favour as there are not a lot of people here.  

We began with the Fjordr - the cinema taking us through more than 1000 years of history before setting the Viking life in the context of European history. 

Then came the highlight of the visit, the Longship Ambush - VR Cinema experience, told as a story being recanted to a youngster - and from where the title of this blog originates. As neither Donna nor I had ever used a VR (virtual reality) headset, the staff member made sure that we were well seated in the seats and the headgear correctly fitted before telling us to make sure to look all around us. Now, if this is the future of movie experiences, bring it on.  It was AMAZING. It is a 4D experience as the chairs move to adjust to the movement of the longboat on which we are 'seated'. We set out in the longboat on a raiding run and move from active rowing to gliding passed small settlements quietly across the water. 

At one moment, a huge whale surfaces right beside us and the rower straight ahead of us jumps up (too late) to grab his bow and arrow to fire at the whale. Let me tell you, as an archer, he makes a great oarsman!  This seems to be the pivotal point in the journey and now we are the subject of flaming arrows, some falling short, some overshooting the longboat and eventually, many making their target and the longboat begins to burn. As we reach near the end of the fjord, another longboat comes rushing in from the left and rams us with a bone-crunching crash that beaches our longboat. We are boarded and before long the entire crew is dead. We finish the experience a little 'exhausted'. This is a full immersion experience with the seats rocking and bucking and shaking at the appropriate moments.
We sit through it twice, and in the second sitting, you see so much that you miss the first time.  Obviously, with the headsets on and all the experience

happens quietly from the outside, there are no photos of this experience to share.

We work through the other exhibits in the centre - from the Hologram Theatre where we see life size depictions of 25 Viking characters with the implements of their daily lives, the building of a Viking boat, the creation of the Viking Volka (female shaman), take a Viking 'selfie' and finish up at the Sagascope - a 270 degree cinema experience that shows daily life in a Viking village

through to their murders in a raid, Viking winter explorers etc.

All in all an amazing 2.5 hours or so.

Venturing back in to the street, it is still raining so we opt for a late lunch/early dinner at the nearby Prima Fila Ristorante where we share a Marghuerita Pizza and Tagliatelle allo Scoglio with a glass of Prosecco each.
Back on the bus because it stops almost in front of the entrance door. Music has now stopped, so I guess you call that concert a wash-out.

We have re-packed ready for any earlier departure. Tomorrow we head for the coast in a 12 hour train, train, ferry, bus, train day between Oslo and Bergen which includes the scenic Flam railway. Just a little excited! 

Oslo - where the Vikings once ruled

All night long, we were lulled with a muted rythmic rumble. Turns out that there is a very regular tram line that runs under our window. They run every 2 minutes during the day and not much less even into the wee hours of the morning.  The triple glazing must be excellent, as we are not disturbed at all. In fact, it is quite soothing.

Well Oslo is a bit of a surprise. Brunch this morning is fabulous coffee (oh, how I have missed you) and the lightest, plumpest cinnamon scrolls that look like a double carrick knot. Its cool but not cold and without any breeze.  As we sit enjoying our food, we here sirens and then a protest march in the near distance.  Great. Not. I guess that being a little on edge is becoming the new norm for travellers. Don't worry. Not close enough to cause any concern.

The public transport is amazing. This morning Donna got out the guide book and spent an hour or so cross referencing the transport map and the locational map to identify which trams and buses would get us to places such as the Opera House, the main railway station and the Vikingskipsene - our major destination for today.
And before we go any further, I just want to note that Donna has absolutely NO sense of direction.  Google maps sending us the long way around or not (as it does), she still has no natural sense of direction. Thankfully, I do! And thankfully Donna is a whiz at working out the connections.

We pick up the bus outside our building.  This is the former main Post Office - a beautiful building that covers an entire city block, it now houses apartments, shops, offices etc.  The bus stop is on one stage of the block and the tram stop on the other side of the building. So the bus stop is at the front door and the tram at the back!  On to Bus no 30 we head out. 
We have not been able to find out how or where to buy a ticket and are hoping that we can buy them on the bus. And yes we can, but only with cash, which I had bought prior to leaving Australia. But the bus driver could not make the change needed and so told us to sit directly behind him in case an inspector got on.  Everyone just boards the buses, you do not need to show your ticket, there is no tapping and I am guessing that there would be plenty of locals who ride the transport for free, taking a chance on not seeing an inspector who can demand to see your paper ticket or your electronic ticket on your phone.

A 21 minute bus trip through part of the historic areas, past a number of the embassies and consulates and through (obviously well-to-do) residential areas and eventually into some rural settings, takes us up into one of the ridges and finally to the Vikingskipsene. You can recognise it by all tourist buses parked outside! And yet there are not too many people here.  As we go in, once Donna has divested herself of her backpack and bought our entry tickets at a very reasonable AUD $33 for the two of us, we learn that this morning there were three cruise ship groups in and they had to hold people waiting outside because the museum had reached capacity.

THIS is a museum and a half.  The building is quite austere, painted all white inside.  This allows the pitch-black of the Viking ships to stand out in stark contrast. Each of the three main ships is housed in a wing off the small foyer, entry desk and souvenir shop.
They are mind-blowing!

Obviously restored, these three boats were only discovered in the 20th century. But all were built in the first century AD. The level of detail and care taken with construction and decoration of not only these main vessels, but all the artefacts found buried with them talk of the pride of the Vikings. 

As we learn more about our earliest ancestors, we learn more of the prowess and skill they had. 
No longer can we believe anything that we knew of the barbaric thugs we knew of as children.  These are sophisticated people with complex class structures and a true sense of adventure.  We sit through a really well done visual presentation of Viking history that showed the peoples they had dealt with across the globe as well as highlighting the natural features of their home lands.  I comment to Donna, that I wonder who was that first brave person who thought to build a boat and launch into the treacherous northern waters. I would have had heart attack after heart attack if it were me in one of the slight (looking) boats as it tossed and heaved in the swell depicted.


The Norwegians are obviously proud of their Viking heritage - and rightly so!!

Our wander back in history done, we catch yet another bus where the driver cannot make the change (and yet it appears to be a common event as we were not the only tourists to be caught out). We quiz him on where to buy the tickets and he says online (been there, tried that one unsuccessfully) or many shops such as 7-eleven - yes, the same chain as at home!  (Small world). We make our way down to the very modern Opera House and nearby find the main tourist office and the Olso Sentralstasion and in the harbour close to the Opera House are two enormous cruise ships. 


While there, Donna went in to the tourist office to purchase bus tickets for tomorrow and we see some unique art pieces. The 'trees' are found in the children's play area and the 'foot' sculpture (which looks totally different in side view as the space between the toes and the body of the foot is open) is on the concourse.

Tickets bought, we head turn for the apartment searching as we go for a restaurant and find ourselves at the Cafe Cathedral in front of the Cathedral where we order Baked Salmon - Fresh Norwegian salmon with fennel salad with dill, orange and apple.  Served with potatoes, asparagus and white wine sauce and (the best ever) Fish Soup - Our famous creamy fish soup with shrimps, salmon and vegetables. Served with bread.

Finished with a cheese plate, a pinot grigio and pear cider. Oh what a night, and a meal.

Another day dawns soon and bed beckons.  Chat soon all.