Norway – A Traveling Fool

January 7, 2025

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Post Cruise Extension – A Day in Oslo

We needed to meet up in the lobby with our tour guide at 9:45am for a three hour tour of Oslo. Fortunately my early night helped me to feel better by the time I needed to get up. I had a good breakfast (a buffet included with the room) and was ready to see Oslo.

Oslo has been the capital city of Norway since the 1830s and is the most populous city in Norway. It was originally founded as a trading place named Anslo at the end of the Viking Age in 1040. After burning down in 1624, a new city was built closer to the Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in honor of King Christian IV. In 1925, after incorporating the remaining village of Anslo, it was renamed Oslo. Oslo is a very important center for maritime industries and trading in Europe as well as being a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping.

The Akershus Fortress/Castle was believed to have been built sometime around the late 1290s by King Haakon V. It first saw battle in 1308 when it was besieged by a Swedish duke. In 1449 – 1450 it was besieged again; this time by the Swedish King Karl Knutsson Bonde. In 1502, Scottish soldiers in the service of a Danish-Norwegian king, besieged the castle in order to get it out of the hands of a Norwegian nobleman. The fortress has managed to survive all sieges throughout its long history.

The Royal Palace was built in the first half of the 19^th century for Charles XIV John, who was King of Norway and Sweden at the time. It is still the official residence of the Norwegian monarchs.

While the Viking Ship Museum is undergoing an extensive rebuilding project, the three Viking burial ships that it normally contains are on display at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. We started off our visit with the video “Maritime Norway”. Then we continued our visit by viewing the exhibits. I was especially interested in the archaeological finds, the figureheads, and the Viking ships. There was also a good-sized model of an old schooner.

One of the Viking Ships, the Gokstad Ship, is a 9^th century (around 890) ship found in a burial mound in Vestfold County. It is the largest preserved Viking ship in Norway. The ship is 23.80 metres (78.1 ft) long, and 5.10 metres (16.7 ft) wide. The ship was the final resting place for a rich and powerful man, in his mid-40s, who died a violent death probably in battle, and who was accompanied into the afterlife by twelve horses, eight dogs, two goshawks, and two peacocks. Also found within the burial ship were three small boats.

Discovered in 1880, the ship is mostly oak and what they call “clinker-built”. This means that the planks overlap at one edge and are riveted together. The advantages to this style of ship building was that freshly felled trees could be used without sealing them first, plus the ships were lighter and therefore faster.

The Oseberg Ship was found in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tonsberg also in Vestfold county. It is considered to be one of the greatest Viking artifacts as yet found. It has been determined to have been buried no earlier than 834 although portions of the ship appear to be possibly from before 800. It is almost entirely of oak, clinker-built, and is 21.58 metres (70.8 ft) in length, 5.10 metres (16.7 ft) broad, with a mast of approximately 9-10 metres (30-33 ft) in height. It would have taken up to 30 people to row it. The bow and stern are elaborately decorated with beautiful woodcarvings. The oars were made of pine and have painted decoration on them. They are in such excellent shape that it is thought that they were never used and were created for the burial.

Inside of the ship, the remains of two women were found along with a large number of grave goods, including clothes, shoes, combs, various farm and kitchen tools, a wooden cart, three ornate sleighs, one working sleigh, several chests, five carved wooden animal heads, two cows, fifteen horses, and six dogs. The older of the two women is thought to have been about 80 when she died. The other woman is of undetermined age and thought to have possibly been her servant. This type of burial for women was not normal practice at the time.

The Tune Ship is a small type of longship, known as a karve. It was found on the Haugen farm on the island of Rolvsøy, in the parish of Tune, in Ǿstfold, Norway in 1867. This ship isn’t complete, just in fragments. It was clinker-built around 900 AD of oak. It is 4.2 metres (14 ft) wide and would have had 11 or 12 pairs of oars. The length of the keel is approximately 14 metres (46 ft). The Tune Ship must have been a fast sailboat that also worked well as an oared vessel. It was likely a quick-paced courier ship, built not to last, but to move many men quickly over short or longer distances.

This ship was the first Viking ship to be found and excavated. This happened at a time when modern archaeology was only just developing. It was extracted from the mound quickly and roughly. This resulted in the loss or destruction of the remains of the man who was buried in the ship and the artefacts that remained after earlier intrusions. These items are described in notes that were made during the excavation, but most of them disappeared during or just after the excavation and never arrived at the museum. The few artefacts that still exist include fragments of fine wooden carvings that suggest the tomb had probably been richly equipped.

After the visit to the Maritime Museum, I began to feel that I was going downhill health-wise again. Once we returned to the hotel, I ventured back to the train station to purchase some items for both lunch and dinner at the grocers I had seen when we arrived the day before. That way I wouldn’t need to leave the room again until the following day when I needed to fly home. I had originally planned to walk over to the Akershus Fortress to check out the inside of the place. But I was running a fever and had chills by this time, even though it was a very nice, warm day. I pretty much just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep. So I put the “do not disturb” sign on the door, ate some lunch, and did just that.

Fortunately, I did perk up again by the next morning and was able to fly home through Reykjavik, Iceland without anybody thinking I might have Covid or some other potentially serious illness. The plane was delayed getting into Reykjavik and I had to move quite quickly to make it to my connection. So, very glad I was feeling better and more alert.

I really enjoyed the trip and wouldn’t mind doing it all again while just making different excursion selections so I can see and do new things. Except for Jarlshof, I would want to do that one again.

December 31, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Post Cruise Extension – Scenic Train Ride from Bergen to Oslo

The cruise ended in Bergen. Many people, including Christine and Sherry, were heading home. Others had post-cruise extensions. I had booked an extension that included a scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo and then a day in Oslo.

The following day, everybody had to be out of their staterooms by 8am at the latest. Then we waited around in the ship’s atrium to have our group called to journey to the train station. Just had my carry-on with me as well as the shoulder bag I used when going on the excursions. That held my camera, my cap, and my jacket.

The route included the following locations where we stopped for passengers to get on or off the train:

Bergen to Voss – scenery of high mountains, deep valleys and narrow fjords.
- Arna
  - Dale
- Voss – a place for skiing and high adrenaline extreme sports.
Voss to Geilo – includes a 35 km long, distinctive mountain ridge (Hallingskarvet) and Norway’s sixth largest glacier (Hardangerjøkulen).
- Myrdal – from which the train to Flåm could be taken. The Flåm Railway is one of the steepest railway lines in the world and passes through some of the wildest and most spectacular scenery in Norway’s fjord country.
- - Hallingskeid
- - Finse – the railway’s highest point.
- - Haugastol – considered to have Norway’s most scenic bike path (Rallarvegen).
- - Ustaoset
- Geilo – one of Norway’s leading ski resorts.
Geilo to Oslo
- - Ål – the train starts coming down from the mountains.
- - Gol – has a replica of a stave church from 1200. The original was moved to the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo in 1884.
- - Nesbyn
- - Flå – has a bear park that can be visited. This is an ancient bear habitat.
- - Hønefoss
- - Vikersund – has the world’s largest ski jump.
- - Hokksund
- - Drammen – has an excellent salmon river that can be viewed from the tracks.
- - Asker
- Lysaker – spotted a group of seals hanging out here.

The trip was about six and a half hours with 182 tunnels and the highest point 1,237 meters above sea level (roughly 4,058 feet). There was a café on the train, although lunch was included for those of us who were sightseers. A bag with a sandwich, some crisps, a brownie, and a bottle of water were delivered at lunchtime.

I didn’t really venture from my seat other than to visit the loo a couple of times. Our carry-ons were on a rack above our heads.

I had been expecting one of those domed cars that I have experienced with other scenic train rides and was disappointed that, although the scenery was quite lovely, the train’s car was just a standard car. Since I was in the aisle seat, I found it difficult to see out of the windows that well, much less take photos. I tried and deleted several photos as I mostly had pictures of reflections of the train’s interior. I also felt tired and like I was fighting a cold (likely from being chilled in Shetland), so I was getting grumpy about the time we arrived at Finse.

In addition to being the railway’s highest point. This was also where some of the scenes in the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back were filmed. Polar explorers Nansen, Amundsen and Shackleton used the area around Finse as training grounds due to the area’s extreme conditions. This was also where I decided to take a photo of my seatmate’s foot. It was, after all, the only clear photo I could get. He gallantly offered to switch places with me. Although I still got some reflections, the level of my photography improved immediately. We did switch back later after we began to come down from the mountains. By that time, I had some good shots that I could keep and share.

Once we arrived in Oslo, we just had a short walk from the railway station to our hotel, which was the Radisson Blu. Then we needed to get our rooms. By the time I got into my room and got settled in, I was feeling like I was starting to go downhill health wise. I took some cold meds, had some dinner, and went to bed.

Next time – Post Cruise extension – A Day in Oslo

December 23, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Touring Bergen and Bryggen

Located between the Hardangerfjord and the Sognefjord in western Norway, Bergen was officially founded by King Olav Kyrre in 1070. There was already a trading settlement there as far back as the 1020s or 1030s. By the early 13^th century Bergen (Bjorgvin) had become the capital of Norway and remained so until the 1830s when Oslo became the capital city.

The afternoon excursion for which I had signed up was called Panoramic Bergen. It was a combination of riding on the tour coach and walking around to explore parts of the city more thoroughly.

Just a short walk from the ship was Håkon´s Hall. King Håkon Håkonsson built Håkon´s Hall between 1247 and 1261 as a royal residence and feasting hall. It was the first of its kind built in stone. Good thing too as the mostly wooden Bergen has tended to have a lot of fires and has burned down several times.

Standing a short distance from Håkon´s Hall is the Rosenkrantz Tower, which is regarded as the most important Renaissance monument in Norway. It was built by Magnus the Lawmender in the 13^th century. The original building has been extended several times to increase the fortification of the building and to create offices for the governors of Bergen. In the 16^th century it became the governor’s castle.

When visiting the Rosenkrantz Tower, it is possible to see King Magnus Lagabøte’s bedroom, the chapel with its original altar, and the room on the ground floor where the guards lived. Underneath the guardsrooms are the dungeons, which were in use until the first half of the 19^th century. Up in the attic are several cannons. These were used only once in war, during the battle of Vågen in 1665.

During World War II, in 1944, the Rosenkrantz Tower was badly damaged when a cargo ship loaded with explosives blew up just outside. The upper floors collapsed and were rebuilt in the 1960s.

After a passing glimpse at Bryggen, we headed over to the Nordnes Peninsula to have a wonderful scenic view of much of the city. After taking some photos, we headed to the Nykirken i Bergen, which is the parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen. The name Nykirken literally means “new church”. It was consecrated in 1622. The church has burned down a few times and rebuilt in the same place on the medieval foundations of the Archbishop’s Palace.

We started with the grave, just outside of the church, of a former pastor of the church who died in the early 1800s. Then we went under the church to take a good look at the old foundations.

Back up inside the church were mainly closed box pews that could seat over 750 people. Plus, there was an angel hanging from the ceiling aways in front of the altar that could be lowered by a pulley system to be just above the baptismal font whenever a baptism was performed. Composer Edvard Grieg was baptized in this church when he was a baby.

After leaving the Nykirken, we boarded the coach again and drove around more of Bergen until we got to the National Theater. The theater was founded in 1850 by Norwegian violinist Ole Bull to develop Norwegian playwrights. Henrik Ibsen was one of the first writers in residence and became an artistic director of the theater. There is a statue of Ibsen in front of the theater in the photo I have included. He looks a bit scary.

Ole Bull (1810 – 1880) was a virtuoso violinist and composer who was considered by some to be on the same level as Niccolo Paganini. Much like Mozart, he showed his talents at an early age. He was only four years old when he could play everything he heard his mother play on the violin. He was just nine years old when he became first chair in the orchestra of Bergen’s theater and was a soloist with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. By the time he reached adulthood, he had also become a major sex symbol of his day. His statue stands in a park a leisurely stroll away from the theater.

When Bergen was founded around 1070, the area in which it began was essentially where the part of the city called Bryggen (Tyskebryggen) is located today. The Hanseatic League was established there in about 1350. Although the area has been burned down many times over the centuries, it has been rebuilt each time on 15^th century stone cellars. Today Bryggen houses mainly museums, shops, restaurants and pubs.

The buildings visible from the water have several more buildings behind them (about 67 in all). Access to these buildings is via walkways through the buildings in front. The area behind is quite interesting – especially the museums, which give an idea of what life was like at the time in Bryggen.

Due to the likelihood of fire, there were ordinances against flames of any kind. This meant no candles or oil lamps. No heating. I would think that cooking wasn’t allowed either.

There was a hospital for lepers with a church next door. The church had a separate section for the lepers to keep them apart from the rest of the congregation.

Some of the houses date as far back as 1703 when they were rebuilt after the 1702 fire. However, there was another fire in the 1950s, so some houses were rebuilt at that time. There is a Radisson Blu hotel there. If I were to return to Bergen without benefit of a cruise ship, that might be a good place to stay.

Headed back to the ship to get packed. Those of us going on the Scenic Train Ride from Bergen to Oslo were supposed to have our large cases outside of our rooms by 10pm so they would be picked up and sent on to our hotel in Oslo. I was done by 6pm and so headed for the World Café for my last dinner onboard the ship. Sherry and Christina met up with me after a bit. They were flying home from Bergen the next morning. I still had a couple more days to go before I flew home.

Next time – Post Cruise extension – Scenic Train Ride from Bergen to Oslo

December 17, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Farming on a Norwegian Fjord

Our morning expedition in Bergen was called A Taste of Norwegian Farm Life. This was a small farm just outside of Bergen. Ǿvre Eide Farm on Jorval Lake was located on mountainous terrain and had some horses and sheep. They also had some buildings with sod roofs. The roots of the farm date back to the 16^th century.

The first horse to which we were introduced was a Norwegian Fjord horse. It is believed that the Fjord is one of the world’s oldest horse breeds and that they migrated to Norway and were domesticated over 4000 years ago. They were used as war horses by the Vikings and have also been used as farm animals in western Norway for hundreds of years.

Fjord horses tend to be very strong and agile. They are not as small as the Shetland Pony, but they are still relatively smaller than most other horse breeds. They are always of a dun color. I felt that this particular horse and I bonded immediately since we were both small and blonde. But it could have just been because her breed tends to be quite friendly.

Another one of the girls working at the farm brought a lovely Shetland Pony by to say “hi”. He was 30 years old and still looked quite healthy and youthful. He was taken to an area where he could hang out on his own for a while outdoors.

The last horse to which we were introduced was a Dole horse. This is a Norwegian horse breed that was likely descended from the Friesian. The breed is used mainly for agricultural purposes. I thought this particular fellow was quite handsome with his braided mane.

After being introduced to the horses, we were taken to meet some sheep. These were Spælsau sheep which consist of roughly 22% of the sheep in Norway. They are a Norwegian breed that has been domesticated since the Iron Age.

This sheep breed gives both milk and meat of good quality. The wool has two layers. The underlying layer keeps the sheep warm while the outer layer helps protect the underlying layer against the wind and rain. The wool from Spælsau sheep, which is long and glossy, tends to have a beautiful shine. It was used in old Norwegian tapestries during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Viking ship sails were also made from Spælsau yarn. In clothing it is light, stable, and absorbs very little moisture.

The sheep were much more interested in the food the girls were offering them than in us. One of the males was apparently quite dominant and tended to butt the others out of his way. Their interaction was fun to watch.

After watching the sheep being fed, we were taken to an indoor area often used for weddings. Here we were given some fruit juice as a greeting. I had raspberry. Then we were seated and fed some almond pralines and some pastries with berries and cream while sipping coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

After we had our fill, a couple of the girls showed us their traditional national costumes. These were called “bunads”. The color and style of the bunad was based upon where the mother of the girl was from. Each one is specially made for the female, in Norway, of Norwegian materials, and is supposed to last a lifetime.

When we returned to the ship, we had about 45 minutes before I needed to leave for the afternoon excursion. But I was feeling pretty full from the pralines, pastries, raspberry juice and hot chocolate, so just had a small salad before heading off from the ship again.

I was really liking this part of Norway. It was around in this area and a little further north that my Norse Viking ancestors came from. I have always loved mountains and water. Put me in a location with a mountain on one side and a lake, river or sea on the other and I am content. Up until this point I had felt that it was most likely from my Scottish, Welsh and Swiss ancestry. But obviously, the Norse ancestry has a part in it too.

Next time – Touring Bergen and Bryggen