Our first day in Oslo started at the Viking Planet experience. This is a virtual reality immersion into Viking history that takes you back more than a thousand years to the time when the Vikings were a force to be reckoned with. It has an interactive timeline that shows when and where the Vikings travelled with the aim of conquering those lands. I had no idea they had ventured as far east as Russia, but also into Spain and France. My only knowledge was their raids on Great Britain. There are also 270 degree theatre presentations which reenact aspects of the Viking way of life. Because the Viking Museum, with its actual Viking ships and artifacts is closed for renovations until 2027, there are also interactive displays of the two ships as well as artifacts discovered with them. It’s not the same as seeing the real thing, but it does allow you to get a sense of the Vikings’ expertise in shipbuilding and innovative use of their environment to create what they needed to survive. Also part of the experience is a VR session where you don the headsets and become part of an ambush of a Viking ship from the land. You are virtually on the boat, feeling the movement as the men row and watching the activity from the stern. You find yourself ducking as a bird flies past your head, as well as when the onslaught of fiery arrows begins pelting down on the ship and men fall dead at your feet! You also duck at the end to avoid the attack of one of the marauders as he swings at you with his meaty fist! Another interesting part is a hologram exhibit wherein you experience meeting a significant array of people from the Viking age from all walks of life, presented as if they were appearing live before your eyes. All in all an amazing experience and one not to be missed.
Next goal was to find Christian IV’s glove, a monument to that king who was responsible for re-establishing the city of Oslo after a huge fire destroyed most of the town in 1624. It is literally a giant hand that represents Christian pointing at the place where the rebuilding would begin. The city was named Christiana until 1925 when it reverted back to Oslo.
Since the Akerschus Fortress was nearby with its castle and church, we decided to explore that. Pam and I wandered through the grounds while the boys chose to visit the Resistance Museum. We walked up to explore the castle and church, stopping to take in the memorial to the Norwegian Resistance members who were executed there when the Germans invaded and occupied Norway. We then wandered down to where they were setting up for the Medieval Festival to be held this weekend. It was good fun watching them set up the tents and hang out their wares to be sold during the festivities.
After grabbing a quick bite, the boys decided to head back to the hotel for a quick nap, while Pam and I hoofed it over to the Oslo Opera House. It is a most impressive building on the harbour all glass and concrete with sloping walls that you can climb to get a panoramic view of the harbour. As we walked there we saw people availing themselves of the little floating saunas that you could rent. You take a plunge into the cold waters of the harbour, then duck in to the sauna to warm up before another dive into the frigid waters. Great fun! We also saw people in kayaks who were busy cleaning up the floating debris in the harbour. Also in the harbour, but not debris, is a sculpture called “She Lies” constructed of glass panels and steel supports. It floats on a concrete base tethered to the harbour floor which allows it to turn with the tide and currents. It is based on a painting of an Arctic shipwreck, called “Sea of Ice”.
As we drew closer to the opera house we could make out figures on the façade of the building that look like they are coming through the glass. Turned out it was part of an art installation consisting of four parts. The figures were meant to be dancers and was titled “Moving Still”. The other three parts were somewhat less straightforward. One was a collection of photos of a woman interacting with an apple, the second was a hall of warped mirrors and the third was a display of light shining on the floor and a screen hanging in the middle. My appreciation of modern art is obviously not as finely honed as to perceive the significance of these three!
Back to the hotel to get cleaned up before heading down to the harbour for our three-hour fjord dinner cruise on a sailing ship. It was a little chilly once we got underway, but fortunately we had chosen seats directly under the overhead heaters, so with that and the provided blankets we managed to stay warm. The dinner is an all-you-can-eat shrimp bar with bread and lettuce. It was good but a lot of work shelling those little suckers. Pam does not eat shrimp, so hey provided a hearty bowl of soup for her. It was interesting to see the variety of homes along the fjord, from impressive mansions to small cottages. We sat next to a tableful of people from Bemidji, Minnesota who were over visiting their father/grandfather. Another guy at a table nearby was wearing an Oilers hat and when Geoff and Irv chatted him up, they found out he was from Germany and a big fan of Leon Draisaitl! It was a fun way to spend an evening!