Oslo is the capital and most populated city of Norway and was founded in 1040. As a major international city there is a wide choice of things to do, to see and explore. We had a busy day with a number of different options, from museums to food markets, so everybody got to choose something for their own taste.
An adventurous group of guests took the culinary experience and at the Mathallen Food Market were faced with a challenge from the school chef: “You have 4 cooking stations, 4 traditional Norwegian dishes to be prepared, plated and served on a specific time frame, so hands on and go!” A lovely smoked salmon and king crab waffle appetizer was served followed by ceviche and halibut with hollandaise sauce as an entree. The galley staff back on board were very proud of us and, wearing our much deserved aprons from the successful Masterchef challenge, we shared our experience with the other guests.
Oslo has many interesting museums and some of us started the morning exploring the largest cultural history museum in Norway, the Norse Folkemuseum. We got to learn how Norwegians lived from 1500 to the present while visiting 160 buildings representing different regions, time periods, art, costumes, toys and even Sami culture. At the Resistance Museum we learned about the German occupation of Norway during the Second World War, from the invasion through to liberation and peace, we got an important perspective on all of these events.
After lunch, touring along the Frogner Park many people enjoyed the sunny summer afternoon admiring Gustav Vigeland’s world famous statues installation from the 1920’s to 1943 in a lovely flowery park full of life. At the Fram museum we explored this famous exploration vessel and learned about the Norwegian polar exploration stories. This side of town is full of interesting museums to explore including the Kon Tiki with the original rafts from the adventurous Norwegians who defied everyone and everything sailing and crossing the Pacific Ocean on a balsa-wood raft. We were very privileged to get Heyerdahl Junior to share with us in the lounge the stories from his father and all the adventures his family has faced, a truly enthralling experience.
The weather was fabulous and there were still many other options to choose from: to go on our own, take a bicycle ride from the ship, visit the National Art Gallery or the city hall where the Nobel Price ceremony takes places every year or try some local restaurants. So, we all got a full day of activities but there was still some time in town that some audacious guests took the chance to use by exploring Oslo by night.
