Oslo, Norway

Grant and J in front of the ship.

During Easter Break--I love that in Denmark holidays are referred to by their Christian names--our family took a mini-cruise to Oslo, Norway. We boarded the ship on a Friday afternoon and arrived in Oslo, Saturday morning around 10 a.m. We had a lot of fun that first night on board. We had been warned by many people that the ship was really more of a glorified ferry, so we were pleasantly surprised by what we experienced. We had two rooms with large windows overlooking the sea, several bunk beds to sleep in, and two little bathrooms with showers. The ship even had a few activities for kids that Ben and Grant took part in. We all really enjoyed sitting on the back sun deck watching Sweden and Denmark roll by as we headed north to Norway. The restaurants on board were quite pricey, so we ate the homemade pizza and snacks we had brought for our dinner and otherwise enjoyed relaxing on the ship together. We played several card games we had brought. And our favorite activity of the night was sitting in the hot tub on the back deck. It was a little surreal that night as we sat in the hot tub and sailed under the full moon to Norway--something I never imagined I would do.

Sailing into Oslo port early Saturday morning.

Good morning Oslo!.

Vigeland Park

Oslo is a neat city, although it was a bit quiet that weekend. (We learned that the locals had nearly all left town for Easter break to go skiing up further north.) We only had six hours in the city, but it's fairly small so that felt like enough time. We spent our first two hours on a bus tour. We learned a little of the history of Oslo and Norway and saw the main sights of the city, including a large park with 212 bronze and granite statues sculpted by the famous Norwegian, Gustav Vigeland. Unfortunately, the park was not our favorite as all 212 statues were nude, but it was a beautiful spring day to walk through any park. In the city, I thought it was especially interesting to see the Nobel Peace Center where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.

So happy Mom and Dad finally splurged for a bus
instead of all the usual walking :)

Our favorite part of the tour included a trip to the famous Oslo ski jump. Called Homenkollbakken, this ski jump is massively tall and steep and can have 30,000 spectators. It has hosted the Olympics, the Nordic Ski Jump World Cup, and is a regular part of the Ski Jumping World Cup. It's size absolutely blew my mind! Skiers travel down the "hill" at 130kph (over 80mph) and then literally launch for flight. The official record on Homenkollbakken is 141 meters (463 feet). Wow. During the summer months they open a zip line you can ride from the top that simulates an actual ski jump. That would have been fun, although I'm not sure I would have had the guts to do it!

The start gate and decent to the jump.

The spectator stands at the landing zone.

Holmenkollen

Nordic stud

Looking up to the top of the jump.

View of the Oslo Fjord from the ski jump.

At the end of our guided bus tour, we had a few more hours to explore the city. We ate at a fun restaurant overlooking the fjord. We walked along the city's walking street. And we walked around the Akershus Fortress--originally a medieval castle and later used as a fortress to protect Norway, it is now a beautiful place to walk and enjoy views of the fjord and city.

Parliament building

Love how they use our breakfast for dessert!

Akershus Fortress

View across the bay from fortress.

OSLO

We boarded our mini-cruise ship again that afternoon. We stayed on the sun deck for quite a while that time. The sun was so warm and the city so interesting to look at as the ship began sailing back to Copenhagen. It was a nice welcome back to spring and sunshine, something we have missed through the long, dark winter. Sailing through the tight places in the fjord was particularly beautiful. It wasn't quite what I had expected. I imagined steep cliffs and mountains right up against the sea. Instead, the fjord is full of small, tree-covered islands (similar to the San Juan Islands in Washington). It was beautiful, just less dramatic than I was expecting.

It has been such a privilege to see so many places in Europe this year. I think travel is contagious. We have a giant map of Europe on our wall in our living room and another map of just Denmark. It's really fun to mark the places we've been and to see the maps filling up with highlighter. The more places we visit, though, the more places we WANT to visit. Again, I have to say, the world is SO cool!