Oslo, Overnight

Oslo is yet another wonderful city we visited as we head North. Oslo is the capital city of Norway. There are 'only' 343 lakes within this city. I could see why Oslo was rated number one in terms of quality of life among European cities in 2012. Too bad it is super expensive to live here! $11 for a Big Mac? I'll have two, please..... :). I don't know how anyone can sleep in the summer with 18 hours of sunlight. And then the reverse in winter with almost total darkness. They were having a 'heat wave' on the day we visited. Lucky us.
We are fortunate with weather when we visit these cities. It rains a LOT here. It was a beautiful sail-in with tons of colorful wooden homes clustered on the greenest tree lined islands. Beautiful in the summer. Bet it is as lovely in the winter if you are on a ship in a down parka looking out from your enclosed heated cabin.

Touring Oslo I found they treasure green living. You can rent a bike anywhere in the city. Pick it up here and drop it off there. If you buy an electric car you get benefits, Free parking and hook ups (the ELECTRIC kind...not the definition of hook up by the new generation guys...) , as well as numerous tax benefits. Problem is so many people are buying these cars, they may soon take the benefits away.
We had two days in Oslo. All but 50 some people got off and more got on. We are sailing almost full again with tons of Repeat Regent cruisers. I had time to walk around town and sit in the park. I found a place with free internet so I could finally send my blog. It was shorts and sandals weather.

My tour was Oslos' Maritime Highlights.

I visited three museums, all related to seafaring from the past. Life at sea is what it is all about in this part of the world. The Viking ships are held in the Viking Ship Museum! We were told many times Vikings were actually nice guys. People like us. They loved to tour, see new sites, discover new countries and bring home souvenirs. Easy to remember. Three ships are housed here. These ships were discovered in large burial mounds. The Captain was buried with his ship on land with his treasures and everything he would need in his final journey to the afterlife. Ships were not set on fire at sea as some may think. The ships on display are The Oseberg Ship 820 AD; a ship used as a burial ship for a powerful woman and her maidservant;

The Goktad Ship 890 AD;

and The Tune Ship 900 AD.

Kon-Tiki Museum was next. Here we saw Thor Heyerdahl's famously built and original balsa raft and learned about his adventure in 1947 across the Pacific. It has a little less luxurious accommodations then we have on Regent.






















The Fram Museum was our last visit.





Ian never told me he too spent time on the Fram ..... !! Or, maybe it was in a past life?




Yikes! My flip flops would not be helpful here.

Unlike the Viking ships which we could not touch or breath on, we were actually able to board this huge ice breaker, the strongest wooden ship ever, built in 1893. This ship is famous for its expeditions to the North and South Pole (1893-1912). It still holds the records for sailing the farthest North and the farthest South It was hard for me to even think about life onboard and the why and who of the people who volunteered to do this kind of exploring in treacherous waters and conditions, through storms, unknown waters, freezing cold........I don't think I would have said "Sure, I would love to see the world on one of these."

Especially seeing the size of their "Penthouse Suite"......



Sail Away? A Sail Away Cocktail? Oh my! Let me think about it.... After thinking of the bitter cold at both the North and South Pole, I definitely needed a warm up drink.




Captain did a bit of a 'show off move' as we left Oslo. He did a 360 degree turn so we could have a good view of the new Opera House in Oslo.


Oh and the BEST PART OF THE DAY? Dinner on deck 11 at the back of the ship, Sette Mari, watching the Fjords go by. I have read many negative reviews about this newest addition to Regent, an alternative to eating in the dining room on deck 5. David and I like it here. It is quiet and less formal. It is faster, half buffet, help yourself, and half served by a waiter. We like the break form Compass Rose, and the food. We think is good. A perfect day, 81 degrees, no breeze. This was my idea... :) and I loved every minute of it. This is what cruising is all about, these moments. We just sat for two hours ..... a very very very slow dinner.....and I didn't mind a bit.



11:30 PM ...... who can sleep?