Europe, 1998 -- Silja Cruise to Oslo, Norway

When packing for the return trip to Helsinki, Bev and Marguerite realized that they had accumulated enough souvenirs that they needed to downsize before venturing on the remainder of their tour. Marguerite had packed for colder weather, and because of the unusual warm temperatures in Russia, she did not need a lot of her heavy clothing. So when they arrived at the train station in Helsinki, they secured their luggage in lockers and headed out to find some shipping boxes. The post office was not far from the train depot, so they took the boxes back to the lockers and sorted items that could be send home. Then off to the post office once again

After having everything sent home, they again picked up their luggage (a lot lighter) and headed to the dock area in Helsinki. Here they would board an overnight ship to Stockholm, Sweden. The remainder of the tour they would be on their own. Bev had worked out the itinerary and then worked with a travel agent in getting the reservations in place. They were to board the ship at 3pm. While sitting in the terminal they realized that the vessel was considered a ‘ferry’, and there were passengers of all types waiting to board. It appeared to be a school holiday, and there were several students with backpacking gear. Bev and Marguerite also found out that there was an international dog show being held in Stockholm, and many of the passengers had brought along their dogs to be shown. It made quite a menagerie when everyone started to board. 

The vessel is the biggest ferry in the world. The Silja Line ships are built like cruise ships, and are just as luxurious. On board one will find gourmet restaurants, sidewalk café, seafood bar, sauna, pool, bars, disco, entertainment, and tax-free shopping. When Bev had made arrangements with the travel agency for this portion of the trip, the agent had delayed getting the reservations made; and, in order to stay on their scheduled, caused Bev and Marguerite to upgrade their accommodations on the ship. After getting through the menagerie at boarding, and they had gotten to their ‘suite’ (which was located in a pass-coded hallway), they were thankful that they had made the upgrade. Their suite was at the front of the ship and they had a solarium where they could sit, have refreshments and watch the scenery go by.

The ship sails through the Finnish archipelago into the Baltic Sea and past a myriad of islands, rocks and skerries. The ship makes a brief port of call in the city of Mariehamn at the island of Oland, before sailing through the night to Stockholm.

Since Helsinki is the capital of a country of 188,000 lakes, it too, is best seen from the water. The cruise navigates around peninsulas and passes innumerable small islands. Once out into the archipelago, the ship passes the Suomenlinna Fortress. Known as the Gilbraltar of the North, it is an 18th-century fortress guarding the maritime approaches to Helsinki. Built when part of Sweden (named Sveaborg), it was later taken over by Russia and Finns (known as Viapor). Name was changed again when it was fully under Finnish control. 

After passing through the archipelago, it was time to tour the ship. The central area where the elevators were located was like a first-class hotel. The deck area provided many areas where one could watch the scenery. They purchased sandwiches from the deli and took them back to their suite for a quiet evening.

The next morning they wanted to make certain that they were awake early enough to pack and have the breakfast buffet before it was time for the ship to approach Stockholm. They were using Marguerite’s watch to track time; however, she did not want to change it from Colorado time, so they had to add and subtract hours based on the time zones. They thought they had calculated correctly and set the alarm accordingly. When they arose, they thought it was awfully early, but they did their packing and headed to the restaurant. They were the first to arrive. As others entered the restaurant, they realized that they had miscalculated and had gotten up an hour earlier than was needed. 

This did, however, give them the opportunity to have time for a full view of the Swedish archipelago as they approached the Stockholm pier. The Stockholm archipelago has 24,000 islands that begin right outside the city center. Upon arrival, everyone needed to clear customs before leaving the terminal. 

After an expensive taxi ride from the Stockholm Pier to the Stockholm Airport, Bev and Marguerite were greeted with another surprise. In checking the flight board for their flight to Oslo, Bev noticed that the flight listed at their reserved time of department was noted as cancelled. Without panicking, they waited until the next departure for Oslo was shown on the board. It too was cancelled. By then, they had arrived at the counter and asked the clerk what was happening. He explained that there was an Air Controllers’ strike in Norway, and all plane flights had been cancelled. He recommended that they check with the customer service desk. So back across the terminal they went. They were then referred to the bus ticket counter. They were lucky that all of these were in the same terminal.

They were told at the bus counter that a bus would be leaving in 45 minutes. However, it was full and they would need to leave later that afternoon. Bev and Marguerite, with luggage in hand\cart, went to find where they needed to catch the bus. Afterwards, Bev decided to check on the airport storage area (which they would be using later in the trip) As Bev was crossing the terminal, the lady from the bus counter caught up with her and told her that if they could get out to the loading area, there was room on the bus that was leaving now.

Bev went back for Marguerite and the luggage and headed to the parking lot. Marguerite had commented that she wished she had had the movie camera at that time to take a picture of Bev wheeling the cart through the parking lot barriers in the rain. Anyway, they were able to catch the earlier bus. 
     Instead of an hour and half flight, the bus ride took eight hours. It did give them a chance to see the Norwegian and Swedish countryside. They did stop at a small Swedish town and the airlines treated everyone to dinner. When they had boarded the bus, Bev and Marguerite had not seen a lot of passengers; but, the bus was a double-decker and most everyone was sitting on top.
          They arrived in Oslo late that evening. The bus dropped everyone off at the bus terminal. Bev and Marguerite had not exchanged any money before leaving the airport. They did get a luggage cart and were able to get the luggage from the bus terminal to the train station. Here, Marguerite was able to convince one of the clerks behind the counter to cash a travelers check. They were then able to catch a taxi to the hotel.

OSLO – The Oasis under opulent hills – the oldest of the Scandinavian capitals and going back more than a thousand years when the Vikings settled on the banks of the Oslo fjord. Only minutes from downtown one could trek and bike in pristine forests. Oslo combines a small town atmosphere with the status as high-tech oil capital of Europe. If any place or city deserves the name a place of all seasons, it is Oslo – interesting museums, galleries and theatres and a night life that rivals the day of sports.

           Bev and Marguerite stayed at the Cecil Hotel, which is located in downtown Oslo, across the parkway from the Grand Hotel and Parliament. Because they had arrived later than planned, and the sun had not set yet, Bev ventured out to get a feel for the city. What they had planned on seeing that afternoon would need to be combined with the next day’s itinerary.

The next day, Bev was able to maneuver to the locations that she and Marguerite were wanting to see. Although being a Scandinavian capital, the core of the city was easy to trek while looking at the historic sights. First was the Stortinget (Parliament) building. Constructed in 1861 to 1866, the Norwegian Parliament in the center of the city was richly decorated by contemporary Norwegian artists. The style is neo-Romanesque. 

The Grand Hotel is Norway’s leading hotel, located on the wide boulevard that leads to the Royal Palace. This stone-walled hotel with its mansard gables and copper tower has been an integral part of Oslo life since it was built in 1874.

On the way to the pier for their scheduled tour, they passed several fountains and statues. One of the statues was that of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Norway was under German control through most of World War II. The statue is in honor of Roosevelt in ending the war. 







 
Close to the pier is the Akershus Castle. This is the largest fortress overlooking the harbor, and one of the oldest, historical, medieval monuments in Oslo. The castle was built in 1300 by King Haakon V Magnusson. It was a fortress and royal residence for several centuries. 

If one is by the sea in Oslo, they cannot help noticing Aker Brygge, the Aker Quay, not far from City Hall. This fully modernized centre houses specialist shops, good restaurants and cafes. Bev and Marguerite did some shopping and then stopped for lunch before checking in for their afternoon tour. 

According to Norwegian legend, some trolls were giants and others were small. They had long crooked noses, only four fingers and toes on each of their limbs, and most have a long bushy tail. The trolls lived to be hundreds of years old. They were mostly good-natured, but you didn’t want to face the wrath of a troll. Remember, when you go into the forest at night, you aren’t alone. 

After staying on the dock for a period of time, Bev and Marguerite walked into the Information Centre to verify their tour. They were told that the tour had boarded on the other side of the centre, and it had already left. The clerk was nice enough to arrange for another boat to take them to the area where the group was now touring.

 

The boat ride brought them to the Kon-Tiki Museum. Kon-Tiki is the world famous balsa-log raft that young Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl and his five comrades sailed in for 4,300 miles in 1947 – all the way from Caliao, Peru to Ravoia, Polynesia to test the theory that South American Incas may have settled the South Pacific. 
Besides the raft, there are other exhibits from Heyerdahl’s subsequent visit to Easter Island; casts of stone giants and small originals, a facsimile of the whale shark, and an Easter Island family cave, with a collection of sacred lava figurines hoarded in secret underground passages.

The museum also houses the original papyrus Ra II in which Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic in 1970. This was a reed boat that he built in Egypt to test the theory that this sort of boat could have reached the Americas before Columbus. It was believed that if the reed ends were tied and kept above the waterline, the reed would not absorb water and the raft would float.

The weather turned rainy, so the trip through the open-air Norwegian Folk Museum was rushed to keep everyone was getting too wet. The Norwegian Folk Museum is considered an exciting meeting with Norwegian cultural heritage. You can both see and feel how people lived in both town and country, from the Middle Ages to modern times. The Museum is a living museum, with numerous activities. It is Norway’s largest cultural historical museum. There are 153 buildings and around 230,000 exhibits available for viewing. Unfortunately, this tour could only touch upon the highlights. 

One highlight was seeing the Gol Stave Church, which had been built around 1200. Researchers believe there were 2000 stave churches in the 13th century; only 30 originals remain. There are two replicas of this church that can be found in the United States; one stands in the Norwegian Pavilion at Epcot in Florida and the Gol replica which stands in Minot, North Dakota. Where as the Disney stave church is an 80% scale model and lacks many details, the Minot church is full scale and fully carved. 
This open-air folk museum, the oldest of its kind in the country, includes a number of medieval buildings. The rural buildings are grouped together by region of origin, while the urban houses have been laid out in the form of an old town.

Norway’s history dates from the Viking era of 1,000 AD. Their vast domain extended into Russia and west into mainland Europe. Ships and fascination for the sea have always been a part of Norwegian lore. Ancient Viking queens were buried along with their ship and servants and provisions for the afterlife. The Vklingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum) has lots of historic ships and interesting stories. 
Displayed here are three Viking burial vessels that were excavated on the shores of the Oslofjord and preserved in clay. In 1904, when they excavated the famous Oseberg ship, dating from about 850, the archaeologists were amazed at what they found. No photo can do justice to the elegance of this ship. The ship has become a national symbol. This 64-foot dragon ship features a wealth of ornaments and is believed to have been the burial chamber of Harald Fairhair’s grandmother and her slave.   
The Gokstad find is an outstanding example of Viking vessels because it’s too well preserved. The smaller Tune ship was never restored. Also on display is the Oseberg’s head post, the elegantly carved sleigh used by Viking royalty, and the Oseberg four-wheeled cart. 

The tour continued with a drive to Holmenkollen. The world famous ski jump located just behind the city, and has a view of the capital, its surroundings and the fjord. The facility is open for use all year. The first jump was built in 1892 and has since been modernized and expanded 14 times, including use of the main arena for the 1952 Winter Olympics. There is a statue along side of the ski jump is that of King Olav V, known as the skiing king.
 

One of the highlights of Oslo is the 75-acre Frogner Park. Nearly 211 sculptures of human beings and animals in granite, bronze, and iron can be admired. Here, the 193 life-size granite and bronze sculptures of Gustav Vigeland depict the human life cycle and human relationships. It is a representation of wonderful work done by a man without formal training. 

The angry boy is perhaps the most photographed statue in the park, but the really celebrated work is the 52-foot high monolith, composed of 121 figures of colossal size – all carved from one piece of stone.

Bev and Marguerite returned to their hotel after the tour. Tomorrow afternoon Marguerite’s sister Althea and her daughter Donna are going to join them for the rest of the trip. When Marguerite heard of the Air Controllers’ strike in Stockholm, she was concerned that Althea and Donna would not be able to fly into Oslo from the United States. However, when they had arrived at their hotel in Oslo, they had been informed that the strike was over.

The following morning Bev and Marguerite had time to explore before Althea and Donna were to arrive. Bev wanted to see more of the palace, so she agreed to meet Marguerite later. Karl Johan Gate is the wide street that runs from the Parliament to the Palace. Here one finds fountains, parks, street musicians, and businessmen. Bev bisected the street at the Grand Hotel. 
The first buildings she saw were those of Oslo University. The Library was one of the prominent buildings. It is also in one of these buildings that the decisions are made who the recipients are for the Nobel Prize.

Following the street to the west, Bev began to see a better view of the palace. Slottsparken (Royal Palace) was constructed from 1825-1848. Unlike Bukingham Palace, the park surrounding the Royal Palace is open to the public year round. You can walk through the grounds, but cannot go inside except by invitation. There were tents and added military security today because the German President would be visiting. 

The statue at the front of the palace, at the end of Karl Johans Gate, is of Karl XIV Johan himself, who ruled over both Norway and Sweden. He ordered the palace constructed, but died before it was finished.

On the way back to meet Marguerite, Bev passed both the National Theatre and the Opera House. The national stage was inaugurated in 1899 in the Rococco theatre with 800 seats. Outside the theatre were statues of Ibsen and Bjornson.

Called everything from “aggressively ugly” to the “pride of Norway”, this modern Radhuset (City Hall), inaugurated in 1950, must be seen to be judged. This lavishly-decorated building has become a symbol of Oslo.

The City Hall was decorated by the most prominent Norwegian artists of the first half of the century. The frescoes in the ceremonial halls form a grand setting for the city’s official representation. The motifs are taken from Norwegian culture, history and working life. In December every year The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony takes place at the Oslo City Hall. The fountain garden and the harbor can be seen from the Hall’s windows.  Its central hall contains the largest oil painting ever done, and the other rooms glitter with the best of Norway’s crafts and art, including the painting “Life” by Edward Munch, Norway’s most famous artist. 

Marguerite and Bev decided to take a closer look at the Akershus Castle. Having stood as the oldest, historical, medieval monument is Oslo, it still had its damages. A fire in 1527 devastated the northern wing, and the castle was rebuilt and transformed into a royal Renaissance palace under the Danish-Norwegian king, Christian IV. Now it is used by the Norwegian government for state occasions. 
Military units were on the grounds of the castle preparing to march in the parade for the German President’s welcome.

On their way to the parade route, Bev and Marguerite passed by the Oslo Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral). The cathedral at Stortorvet (the Marketplace) was originally built in 1699 and then restored in 1950 when its modern tempera ceiling decorations were completed by Hugo Lous Mohr. The cathedral contains works by 20th century Norwegian artists. The altarpiece and pulpit date from 1690.


The parade procession was led by the Royal Band; and then, followed by the marching military personnel. The German President drove by quickly in a limousine. After the parade, Bev and Marguerite went back to the hotel to have lunch. They then took a taxi cab to the Oslo Train Station where they were to meet Althea and Donna.