Kent in the Center of Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Garden

Norway Parliament Building in Oslo

Oslo Street

Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo

Viking Museum Ship

June 9, 2014   Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway was founded in 1049 by Harold III, although scientists have found evidence of earlier habitation. The name Oslo is generally interpreted to mean “meadow at the foot of a hill.” Around 1299, King Haakon V took up residence in the city and Oslo became the capital and center of commerce for Norway. In the 14th century, Oslo came under the dominance of the Hanseatic League. After a great fire in 1624, the city was rebuilt and renamed Christiania (later also Kristiania) until 1925 when the name Oslo was made official again. In World War II, Oslo fell (Apr. 9, 1940) to the Germans, and it was occupied until the surrender (May, 1945) of the German forces in Norway.

Oslo is still considered one of the great maritime centers of the world and is Norway’s most populous city with about 635,000 inhabitants. The population including the surrounding suburbs climbs to around 1,500,000. Oslo is the economic and governmental center of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important center for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world’s largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers.

Oslo is a beautiful city featuring both old traditional stone buildings as well as modern glass construction. The main square is comprised of a wonderful park with water fountain, colorful landscaping and great sculpture. Surrounding the park is a classic old hotel, the parliament house and a variety of shops and restaurants spilling out into the street like you would find in Paris.

In the afternoon we took a tour, which took us to the Viking Museum where we found the remains of several Viking ships that have been uncovered from the times of the Vikings between 800 and 1100AD. The ships were used in burials of kings and queens. The ships would be filled with everything that the person buried might need in the afterlife (The Kingdom of the Dead) including horses, food, jewelry and servants.

Our next stop was at the Kon-Tiki museum where we learned more about Thor Heyerdahl who wanted to prove that inhabitants of South America and Polynesia were indeed trading goods and knowledge using small boats or rafts. He proceeded to build several rafts from reeds and balsa wood in the 1900’s and travelled from South America to Polynesia only using the wind and the ocean currents.

The last stop of our tour was at the Vigeland Sculpture Park. Gustav Vigeland was a stone sculptor of the human form. In this park you find more than 200 of his sculptures representing human life from birth to death. He sculpted babies, children, young people, adults, older people and people at death. In addition to the granite sculptures he also sculpted in bronze representing the human life cycle as well. On this day the park was filled with people of all ages enjoying the sunshine, as it was some type of holiday and most people had the day off from work.

The evening’s entertainment back onboard the Ryndam was a comedian by the name of Tom Sutton. His thoughts and jokes were very well thought out but not especially funny.

June 8, 2014 Sea Day

We enjoyed a fairly quiet day at sea today: breakfast in the dining room, lunch in the casual Lido Restaurant which is more like a cafeteria, afternoon tea in the dining room and a formal dinner in the dining room complete with tuxedos. As you can tell we are not getting off to a very good start with the diet.

There was an art history lecture, shore excursion lecture, port lecture for Oslo and Kristiansand.

The entertainment this evening was a show called “Aces High” performed by the Ryndam singers and dancers. The music included songs from the Big Bands to the Beatles.

June 7, 2014 Dover, England

We departed from Victoria Station by train at 8:22am bound for Dover, England where we would board the Holland America Line ship the Ryndam for our cruise of the Norwegian Fjords. When we had booked the train tickets months ago there appeared to be a direct train to Dover but by today that was not the case. We had to take one train most of the way, get off of the train and board a bus for a twenty minute ride to another town. There we were able to catch a second train to take us into Dover where we would need to take a short taxi ride to the port. We arrived at the ship shortly before noon.

We had sailed on the Ryndam in 2002 from San Diego to the Mexican Riviera, but the ship has luckily been renovated and remodeled since then. The cabins have been updated with new bathroom finishes; the cabin has newer carpeting, drapes, and bedding, light fixtures and sofa.

By 4:00pm we had set sail for Oslo, Norway.

On this voyage we have what they call open seating dining which means that we have no assigned table for dinner but instead can arrive at the dining room for dinner anytime between 5:30 and 9:30 and be seated similar to how you would be seated in any restaurant. On this night we shared a table with three British couples that were all very nice.

The entertainment on this night was a variety show introducing the ships singers and dancers, as well as the different groups of entertainers who perform around the ship in different lounges.

June 6, 2014 London, England

Thom invited us to meet him this morning at the Burrough’s market near London Bridge, a short subway ride from our hotel. This enormous market is open only three days a week and features anything and everything you may want to eat. You’ll find gorgeous meats, fish shops, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, flowers and more. You can find things to take home and prepare yourself or you can stop for a huge variety of ready to eat stands selling meat pies, sausages, hot dogs, sandwiches and salads. This market has been on this site for over one thousand years and still going strong.

We explored the neighborhood a bit including a walk along the River Thames where we saw London Bridge and Tower Bridge. We enjoyed George’s Inn, which dates back to 1542 and was frequented by Shakespeare and Dickens. The city of London is filled with grand old architecture mixed with new high-rise towers and everything in between. There are public parks throughout the city filled with art, sculpture and monuments of historical people and events. With more than eight million residents the city is a bustling, noisy place but at the same time you are able to find out of the way quiet spots to enjoy as well.

In the late afternoon we met our Friends Paul and David who live near Blenheim Palace in Woodstock for afternoon tea. They had driven into the city just to see us, staying over night before returning home the next day. We had a delightful afternoon and evening catching up with them. We had not seen them since 2010 when we had the opportunity to visit them in their home but we picked up where we had left off just like it was yesterday.

June 5, 2014 London, England

On this day we took in a matinee play called Handbagged, a play about the relationship of Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The play was based on true historical events with a great deal of humor. The play has only a cast of six; a younger and older Queen, a younger and older Margaret Thatcher and two gentlemen who played a variety of characters including Nancy and Ronald Reagan.

After the theater we met up with Thom and Tabor for a drink at a local pub, The Duke of Wellington, in the West End, not far from the theater.

Dinner was shared with our friend, John Gowan, from San Diego who lives in our building and was visiting London as well. We met at a restaurant called The Henry Root that is in the beautiful neighborhood of Chelsea. Chelsea is an affluent neighborhood filled with lovely restaurants, shops and homes. You can find chain shops here like Tiffany and Cartier as well as unique one-of-a kind shops.

June 4, 2014 London, England

This morning we were greeted at out hotel by a friend Thom who we had met on the Queen Mary cruising from New York, around the British Isles and back to New York in September 2011. Thom and his partner, Tabor, currently live in London although they are Canadians. They have lived in London several times over the past thirty years and so they know the city well. Tabor has a Canadian government position
in London.

Thom had graciously asked if we would be interested in having him show us around London, which we were happy to have him do. Our first stop was outside Buckingham Palace where Queen Elizabeth was making one of her rare public appearances of the year. In grand fashion, complete with a parade including regimen of horses, gilded carriages and Rolls Royce’s, she made her way from the palace to the House of Parliament where the Queen would open Parliament. Although the weather was cool and drizzly, thousands lined the streets to get a glimpse of the Queen in her recently acquired gilded horse drawn carriage in honor of her Diamond Jubilee.

Next we toured the Banqueting House near the Prime Ministers residence that has been the setting for many formal government dinners, parties and ceremonies. The grand hall’s ceiling is comprised of nine oil paintings done by the artist Reubens.

We walked the West End and Covent Garden enjoying the beautiful architecture and great shops. We stopped into the Savoy Hotel for a look at how the rich and famous might enjoy London. Tea at the Savoy will set you back about fifty British Pounds and reservations well in advance are required.

Late afternoon found us picking Tabor up at the Canadian High Commissioners office where he works before heading to Thom and Tabor’s flat for a lovely home cooked meal.

June 2-3, 2014 Depart San Diego

We departed San Diego at 8:30pm on British Airways bound for London, England. The flight takes approximately ten hours, arriving in London at about 2:45pm the following day. Once we had cleared immigration control and collected our bags we made our way from Heathrow Airport to Victoria Station in downtown London on the Underground. We had to change trains once to reach our destination but the two trains were on the same platform so it was fairly easy.

Our hotel for the next four nights was a Best Western Hotel located a few blocks from Victoria Station. We set out on foot with a map and suitcases in tow, dodging traffic and many pedestrians on the small narrow sidewalks. Our room was small as is common in Europe, but not as small as some rooms we have had. The bathroom was so small that it was not possible to sit on the toilet without your knees hitting the wall in front of the toilet.

After settling into our hotel, we headed to a pub near Victoria Station for a dinner of fish and chips and sausages before going to bed early.