In Oslo, there were many museums. There are a freaky amount of museums, and there’s just NO WAY you could visit them all. During our time there, we visited
the Norwegian Folk Museum, which is a great place to see rustic Norwegian buildings and folk craft. Fun facts: Norwegians use sod roofs on some of their old buildings, and the grass keeps right on growing on the roof; when in doubt, rosemale it, and Norwegian barns are thinner on the first floor than they are on the second floor.
the Viking Ship Museum, which is, as you might expect, full of Viking Ships. Catrina asked the question, Why would the Vikings leave Norway, especially after we saw the beautiful fjords? And the answer is because the food is so darned expensive!
the Norwegian National Gallery, where there were some amazing pictures in a variety of styles. Alas, the pickpocketing problem has gotten out of hand. No, we weren’t sticky fingered, but we were warned. Here you can see The Scream , and a wide variety of gorgeous landscapes. Also, some art of the fantastic.
Akershus Fortress. Rick Steve’s said to not visit. What the hell does he know? It was GREAT! The free English travel commentary added a lot, as did the ghost story track.
Now, did we like Oslo? Well, to be honest, we found Oslo to be a bit spread out. I mentioned that the Oslo pass was a good buy. It’s a necessity if you want to get around Oslo for anything like a reasonable price. Food was the most expensive we encountered during our trip. One save grace was that we found our way to the grocery store, and we got to experiment in cold cuts and cheese to help with our traveling lunch and breakfast.
Food questions for travelers–can anyone tell me what’s up with the ubiquitous pink donuts in Scandinavia? How’s about the convenience store spaghetti cups?
At this point, we journeyed to the fjords, and I’ve written a heartfelt entry about that. I will weigh in on Bergen next, and then I will try to start getting some photos posted. Catrina has some amazing mountain photos that are to die for, so I’m looking forward to sharing her skills with you.
Catherine
Pink donuts? Convenience store spaghetti cups? I must have missed those in Sweden. However they sell an alarming number of food products in tubes. Like toothpaste tubes. Fish paste in a tube, who doesn’t need THAT?
Right. Or ham paste in a toothpaste tube. That’s another produce of high need.
Cath