Monday, September 18, 2023
I actually had a restful night and woke up at 6:15. Went to the Grand Dutch Cafe for our coffees. We were cruising into Oslo as the day began to lighten. Can’t say at sunrise because it was so overcast. The forecast was calling for heavy rain for Norway for the next 3 days. Sigh.
We ate breakfast in main dining room since our tour was not to start until 10:30. I ordered the fresh squeezed orange juice which has an upcharge. It used to come in a large glass, and you could see the pulp.
This one looked and pretty much tasted like Chuck’s regular OJ and served in the same small glass. I didn’t order it in the main dining room again. I did order it at the Juice Bar on the Lido deck several times. They served it a large cup and the juice tasted very fresh.
Since today’s forecast called for rain most of the day, we put on our hooded rain jackets and rain pants. We went to the world stage area for our HAL tour.
Today’s tour description: VIGELAND SCULPTURE PARK, HOLMENKOLLEN & MARITIME MUSEUM
About the Excursion: Departing from the pier, you guide will provide an interesting commentary as you pass Akershus Fortress and the Opera House.
You’ll take a guided tour of Vigeland Sculpture Park, created and built by Gustav Vigeland. The park is home to sculptured figures together with the landmark ‘Monolith’, fountain and bridge. Your guide will escort you through the park, and explain the different sculptures and monuments along the way.
At the end of the park, your waiting coach will take you through beautiful residential areas of Oslo. From the elevation of the Holmenkollen Hills, take in excellent views over parts of the city and Oslofjord.
Head to the Bygdøy Peninsula for a visit to the Maritime Museum, which houses the 9th century Viking boat from the largest Gokstad Viking ship findings, and a wide range of Norweigan maritime cultural heritage including the country’s oldest vessel (2200 years old).
On the return drive to the pier, view Oslo’s busy boat harbor.
Notes: This Tour requires approximately 45 minutes of walking, including several steps at Vigeland Park. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The road journey may pass through two tunnels.
We had enough people to fill up three busses. We were Bus #8. You always wanted to know the bus number and name of the tour as there could be lots of busses at the same site. People have gotten on the wrong bus before. HAL always has the sign in the front window of the bus.
The bus had comfortable seats, enough legroom, a decent sound system, and two exits – one in the front and one in the middle. Having the two exits was great for expediting everyone on and off the bus relatively quickly.
Our guide was funny and informative. However, by the end of the tour, I think she was losing her voice. It got very high and squeaky sounding.
Our first stop was the Holmenkollen ski jump. We only had about 30 minutes here and it was also our bathroom break since there would be no bathroom when walking through the park. The view was marred by the heavy fog and mist but it was still impressive.
Our guide told us about the history of the ski jump before we arrived. Once we got there, we were free to wander around until our time to board the bus. There was not enough time to go through the museum or try out the ski jump simulator, but the area was still interesting.
Wikipedia info on Holmenkollen: Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1892, which since 1980 have been part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup and 1983 the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. It has also hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011.
The hill has been rebuilt 19 times; important upgrades include a stone take-off in 1910, an in-run superstructure in 1914, and a new superstructure in 1928. During the Second World War, the venue was used as a military installation, but upgraded in the late 1940s. Further expansions were made ahead of the 1966 and 1982 World Championships, as well as in 1991. Between 2008 and 2010, the entire structure was demolished and rebuilt.
Our next stop was the Vigeland Sculpture Park designed by Gustav Vigeland who also designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal. It was the stop I was most intrigued by. The bus dropped us off at the back of the park and picked us up when we reached the front of the park.
Wouldn’t you know that the heaviest rain came down just as we started walking. I had a rain cover for my DSLR camera, but it was awkward to use, and I still got drops on the lenses. The stone pathway and steps got really slick in the rain, so you had to step carefully to not slip down. The sculptures were impressive.
The guide told us that the 212 bronze and granite sculptures depicted all stages of the human existence culminating in the Monolith.
Our next stop was The Maritime Museum. The building had two levels of Viking and maritime exhibits. We also got to hear about a Viking ship restoration project and a short video about Viking travel from Norway. On our 2022 HAL Voyage of the Vikings cruise, we saw the first North American settlement – L’Anse aux Meadows – so it was interesting to see the beginning of the trip.
By the end of the day, we were tired of being wet and were ready to get back to the ship. A number of busses arrived back at the ship at the same time making the line move slowly into the ship, so we still had to endure the rain for a while longer.
Once the ship was ready to set sail, the Cruise Director announced that she would be giving scenic commentary as we sailed away from Oslo. We decided to watch the sailaway from our balcony instead of the Crow’s Nest or Lido.
We could hear her commentary but realized that most of the sites she was pointing out were on the starboard side and we were on the port side. Oh well. It wasn’t long before dense fog settled in, and it began to rain hard again. Time for us to go in and get ready for the evening.
We had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. I chose the filet mignon and a 5 ounce lobster tail. Chuck had the halibut. We each had a piece of key lime pie, but we should have just shared one. I was stuffed. It was a very good dinner.
We spent some time in the Casino until it was time for the show in the World Stage – Stephen Barry, an Irish singer. He had a great show with a lot of audience participation.
After the show, we called it a night.
Travel Trivia
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Free Trade Association, the Council of Europe, the Antarctic Treaty, and the Nordic Council.
Among the many films that have been filmed in Norway include Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Spies Like Us (1985), Die Another Day (2002), The Golden Compass (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Tenet (2020), No Time to Die (2021) and Black Widow (2021).
Norway’s culinary traditions show the influence of long seafaring and farming traditions using salmon (fresh and cured), herring (pickled or marinated), trout, codfish, and other seafood, balanced by cheeses (such as brunost, Jarlsberg cheese, and gamalost), dairy products, and breads (predominantly dark/darker).
Norway first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then, except for the 1904 Games and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow when they participated in the American-led boycott. Norway leads the overall medal tables at the Winter Olympic Games by a considerable margin. Norway has hosted the Games on two occasions: 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
Norway’s national symbol is the lion.
The cheese slicer was invented in Norway in 1925 by Thor Bjørklund.
The Lærdal Tunnel is the world’s longest road tunnel at 15 miles.
In Norway, you can buy alcoholic beverages only from stores named Vinmonopolet. There are only two in each city, and none in the countryside.
The pop band: A-ha is Norway’s only international music success.
Oslo, Norway
During the Viking Age the area was part of Viken. Oslo was founded as a city at the end of the Viking Age in 1040 under the name Ánslo, and established as a trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada.
Oslo was destroyed several times by fire, and after the fourteenth calamity, in 1624, Christian IV of Denmark and Norway ordered it rebuilt at a new site across the bay, near Akershus Castle and given the name Christiania. The original name of Oslo was restored in 1925.
Oslo is the economic and governmental center of Norway being the hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping.
Oslo is built in a horseshoe shape on the shores of the Oslofjord and limited in most directions by hills and forests.
Fifty different museums are located around the city. One of the most famous is The Munch Museum that contains The Scream and other works by Edvard Munch, who donated all his work to the city after his death.
Since 1947, Oslo has sent a 65-to-80 ft-high, 50 to 100-year-old spruce, as an expression of gratitude toward Britain for its support of Norway during World War II.
In addition to Munch, other famous people from Oslo include Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), playwright, theatre director and poet; Jo Nesbø (born 1960) author, musician, economist, and former soccer player; and Sonja Henie (1912–1969) three-time Olympic champion figure skater and actress.
The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony is held every year in Oslo City Hall.