Next, Norway! Part I

The weather has changed! The torrid heat we experienced in Italy has let up here in Scandinavia and we are having a fair amount of rain. It is NOT unwelcome! We don our macs and wellies and keep moving!

Our first stop in Norway is Oslo. Originally founded in 1049 by King Harald Hårdrad (Harald the Hard Ruler). It was considered a major seat of defense for Norway until bubonic plague wiped out half the population of Norway in the mid 14th century. Following that devastation, Norway united with Denmark from 1397 to 1624 and while Copenhagen handled the politics and defense of the country, Oslo slipped into obscurity. In 1624, the city burned to the ground and was rebuilt as Kristiana by King Christian. In 1814, Sweden unified the two countries, although not willingly on Norway’s part. This lasted until 1905 when Norway broke away and became a separate kingdom with Oslo as its capitol.

Today, Oslo is a vibrant, modern city with some fabulous architecture, an efficient public transportation system and a restaurant scene that is bringing a fresh approach to Norwegian ingredients and culinary traditions. It is home to the Nobel Peace Center and many outstanding museums.

We stayed in an Airbnb in the hills above the center of Oslo. Walking from our apartment to the bus stop we felt we could have been in the Berkeley hills! The geography and architecture felt so familiar! Plus, all the plug-in hybrids and electric cars!

Our first day in Oslo was a rainy one. Walking to the main station, we were DRENCHED! We got a map and a bit of tourist information, had a cup of coffee and started our touristing! First stop, Frogner Park, the site of a sculpture garden by Gustav Vigeland. This sculpture park has more than 200 sculptures by Vigeland (1869–1943) in bronze, granite and cast iron, including The Angry Boy (Sinnataggen in Norwegian), The Monolith (Monolitten). It was stunning to us to see the raw emotion Vigeland was able to evoke in granite and bronze. Look closely and you can see that many a visitor has stroked the boy to allay his fury. On the monolith it is stunning to see so many naked bodies but not a shred of anything salacious!

The next day was cool and intermittently rainy – but not the downpour of the day before. So we decided to take the ferry to Bygdoy, a peninsula about 20 minutes across the Oslofjord. This is the home of the Kon-Tiki museum, the Fram Museum and the Viking Ship Museum. We had gotten a late start, so we missed the Viking ship exhibition, sadly.

The Fram was the first ship specially built in Norway for polar research. She was used on three important expeditions: with Fridtjof Nansen on a drift over the Arctic Ocean 1893-96, with Otto Sverdrup to the arctic archipelago west of Greenland – now the Nunavut region of Canada – 1898-1902, and with Roald Amundsen to Antarctica for his South Pole expedition 1910-12.  And an amazing ship she is! Built to be able to withstand the crushing pressures of the pack ice in the Arctic Ocean for several years, she is huge and sturdy. We went aboard to observe the crew quarters, the galley, the engine room and a workshop with tools for carpentry as well as a sewing machine for the repair of sails and crew clothing.

Next, the Kon-Tiki museum. The Kon-Tiki expedition was a 1947 journey across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian led by Norwegian explorer and writer, Thor Heyerdahl. Heyerdahl believed that South American people could have settled in Polynesia in Pre-Columbian times. Using only the materials and technology available at that time, he and a crew of five built and provisioned the raft and proceeded to sail from Peru to the Tuamotus atoll in the southern Pacific.

After a week or so of searching for shrimp sandwiches, the cold rainy weather brought on a search for fish soup. Happily, after a chilly afternoon on the deck of the ferry, we managed to find a waterfront restaurant (Lofoten Fiskerestaurant) that served an amazing example of this Scandinavian speciality! The fish broth was mildly flavored with basil, turning it a lovely shade of green. Shrimp, ling and salmon filled the bowl. It was pure heaven for Donna while Sam ordered a lobster gratinéed with butter. Two happy campers! Right, only two. Norway has rules that interfere with LuLu’s liberty to go where she wants.

The rest of the Norway post will come soon. We were enchanted by the countryside – the fjords, the waterfalls and the mountains – and look forward to sharing it with you.

Love to all of you,

Sam, Donna & LuLu

August 11, 2019