Tuesday, 11 September. A pilot boarded at 6:00 a.m. to guide the ship the last 20 miles through the beautiful Oslo Fjords, but the sun wasn't up and skies were heavily overcast so we didn't get up for the view. Instead we slept in, recovering from the lack of sleep on the flight over. It was after 10:00 before we got to breakfast in the Horizon Court (a collection of cafeterias). The ship was docked right next to the old Akershus Fortress (about 1300 but much modified).
Norway is relatively young as an independent nation (1905). For five centuries it was joined with, and subservient to, Denmark and/or Sweeden. Although a city called Oslo was founded around 1048, it was destroyed by fire in 1624. A new city, called Christiania, was built across the bay to replace it. In 1924 Christiania was renamed Oslo. In recent years, Oslo is often ranked number one in quality of life among large cities, but it also is ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Sailing ship near Opera House City Hall (L) across the harbor

Parliament Building National Theater fountain

At 12:40 we finally arrived at Frogner Park, site of the world famous Vigeland Sculpture Arrangement. Here we had a one hour stop. Unfortunately, the rain, which had been off and on since we left the ship, was coming down hard for the first part of our visit. Then the sun came out and the rest of the day was beautiful.

The Arrangement features 212 large bronze and granite sculptures. Personally, I was more impressed with the quantity of the sculptures than their beauty. Most of the more than 200 statues, all nudes, depict people engaging in various ordinary activities, such as running, wrestling, dancing, hugging, and so on. The original plan for the Arrangement included only the fountain and the "human trees" around it, but obviously the city fathers got carried away with their enthusiasm for Vigeland's work.


The highpoint of the Arrangement now, though, clearly is the Monolith Plateau. It's a circular platform surrounded by steps lined with 36 groups of figures depicting the "circle of life." In the center at the top stands the 46 foot tall Monolith totem made up of 121 climbing bodies.


Shortly after the rain had stopped, a woman from our group lost her footing on the lower steps of the Plateau and fell backwards. Her injuries didn't seem serious, but she was taken away by ambulance. The tour was only slightly delayed. We left through the impressive iron gates, also by Vigeland, behind the Monolith Plateau.

Who needs a hill for a ski jump? Looking up the ski jump

There were many farm buildings, some solitary and others in clusters. Except for Stave Church, our guide did not take us into any of the other buildings. We were able to explore a few small ones on our own, and in others cases we could view interiors through windows or doors.

Nobel Peace Center