06/11/2015

This is the year to spend a summer back in Canada. We haven't done so for 12 years. So it will allow us to re-acclimatize to the moderate heat of Vancouver Island after having spent so many summers in the non-stop sun and heat of the Med.

We decided that flying via Norway and Iceland would split up our flight into more reasonable flight lengths and also make for new and interesting stops.



Our first morning we toured the waterfront where the boats come and go with the fjords a highlight for anyone choosing to see parts of Norway via water.



Right at the top of the sites to see in Oslo, is the Vigeland Sculpture Installation in Frogner Park. It sounded rather unique so we headed in that direction.



All sculptures are the creation of Gustav Vigeland (11 April 1869 - 12 March 1943), né Adolf Gustav Thorsen, was a Norwegian sculptor. He was also the designer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal



The Vigeland Park was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949.




View from within the park




Surrounding the modern condos are shops, restaurants, bars and cafes with marinas and canals.




We happened to arrive to a perfect evening with the outdoor bars and restaurants full of people enjoying the long evening light; one of the first such evenings of the year so naturally everyone was taking full advantage.



My source for info on the ship was WIKI.

In 1903 a Norwegian farmer by the name of Rom had dug into a large burial mound on his property, Oseberg farm, and had come across what he believed was a ship.

Under the direction of professor Gabriel Gustafson of
the University's Collection of National Antiquities in Oslo, the ship was excavated which itself took less than three months, but it took 21 years to prepare and restore the ship and most of the finds. The ship was dried out very slowly before being put together. Great emphasis was placed on using the original timber and more than 90% the fully reconstructed Oseberg ship consists of original timber.





It is believed that in the year 834, two prosperous women died. The Oseberg ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial ship for the two ladies. A burial chamber was dug right behind the ship's mast.
Inside, the walls were decorated with fantastic woven tapestries and the dead women lay on a raised bed. The women had a number of burial gifts with them. There were personal items such as clothes, shoes and combs, ship's equipment, kitchen equipment, farm equipment, three ornate sledges and a working sledge, a wagon, five carved animal heads, five beds and two tents. There were fifteen horses, six dogs and two small cows.

Both of them must have held a special position in the community to have been given a grave.


For whoever built the Oseberg ship, it must have been very important to make it a particularly handsome vessel. Beautiful animal ornamentation has been carved from the keel, down below the waterline, and up along the bow post, which ends in a snake's head of twisting spiral. Such a richly decorated ship must surely have been reserved for special members of the aristocracy.




The Vikings were very skilled and travelled far as shown on these two maps.




The Oseberg ship could be both sailed and rowed. There are 15 oar holes on each side, so fully-manned the ship would have had 30 oarsmen. There would also have been a man at the tiller and a lookout in the bow. The oars are made of pine.




The Royal Palace in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of King Charles III, who also reigned as king of Sweden. In 1905, Norway gained independence from Sweden and became an independent monarchy. Today it is the official residence of the Norwegian monarch.



The hotel is situated downtown near the pedestrian mall and parliament.



Above is just a small sample of some of the architecture. Oslo is a beautiful city.




It wasn`t hard to determine that wine and liquor sales are controlled via a state monopoly in Norway. And there is no attempt to hide the fact!



We couldn`t help but take photos of a group of nursery school children out for a walk. We didn`t hear a peep from any of them....they were enjoying ice cream cones. I loved the little guy with ice cream on his ear!


Oslo, like most of the northern European countries, is full of bikes. We found this unique bike one afternoon while walking past an outdoor cafe. A fully functional blender however you do have to burn a few calories before enjoying your blended drink!


We stopped and spoke to a Tesla owner as he plugged in his vehicle. He told us that the Norwegian government highly encourages electric vehicles with no import taxes, no sales tax, free parking throughout the entire city and numerous free charging stations throughout the city. He mentioned there are over 8000 Teslas in a city of approx. 600,000.

A little google research on my behalf revealed a few more facts:
- 10% of vehicle sales today in Norway are electric vehicles (source: WSJ)
-By most measures, Norway is among the greenest countries on Earth. It gets virtually all of its electricity from hydropower; it plans to cut its greenhouse emissions by 30% by 2020; and it has more electric vehicles per capita than any country in the world. But Norway is also the biggest oil producer in Western Europe and the world's third-largest exporter of natural gas. All that petroleum money allows Norway to subsidize its green lifestyle. (source: freakonomics.com)

I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of our trip to Norway. Next I`ll post our Iceland visit with lots and lots of photos!