The Nordic Explorer - Oslo

The sea journey from Copenhagen to Oslo is not very long, which gave us the opportunity to arrive in the early hours of the following morning in brilliant sunny weather. It was like sailing up the Derwent River to Hobart.

Even a naval escort?  Keep dreaming!

This introduction augured well for a great visit, and with Jan feeling so much better, we were looking forward to the day ahead.

The ship docked close to the city right in front of Akershus fortress (see below). We explored this fortress later in the day and I will tell you more toward the end of this blog chapter.

'Marina' in Oslo - a lovely setting!

Views of the fortress Akershus from the 'Marina'

The brochures will tell you that 'Oslo radiates with natural beauty and sophistication'. We would like to add that it also has a rich and colourful history, especially the viking era with its fascinating seafaring experiences. You will remember that we spoke a little about this in the last blog chapter about Copenhagen. It really is a fascinating story and to walk through the corridors of that history is a special experience to the point where it dominated our Oslo visit.

But to get a feel for the city we began our sightseeing on an open tourist bus, finally getting off at the Viking Ships Museum:

Looks like a church, but really is a kind of 'time warp' that transports you back to the Viking era.

The ships on display here are well preserved and serve as excellent examples of the Viking period, including the Viking daring initiatives and ship building craftsmanship.

For the history of Viking ships, I prefer to quote from those who have studied the history of these various finds, beginning with the Gokstad. 

On the Gokstad farm in Sandefjord, there was a large burial mound. In the autumn of 1879, the two teenage sons on the farm were bored and began to dig into the mound to see if they could find anything interesting. And they certainly did!

The Gokstad ship was built in about 850, at the height of the Viking period. The ship could be both sailed and rowed. There are 16 oar holes on each side of the ship. With oarsmen, steersman and lookout, that would have meant a crew of 34. The ship is made of oak and is clinker-built. At the time of burial, 32 shields were fixed to each side of the ship. Museum of Cultural History

The Gokstad at the time of excavation and below

On display in the Oslo Viking Museum

 

There is no doubt that the centre piece of this museum is the Viking boat Oseberg. It is a majestic sight and surely was the pride of the viking fleet in its day. 

 A truly majestic creation!

Its origin and history make interesting reading:

The Oseberg ship was built in western Norway around the year 820. It is made of oak.

For whoever built the Oseberg ship, it must have been very important to make it a particularly handsome vessel. He or she used great resources in having the ship decorated. Beautiful animal ornamentation has been carved from the keel, down below the waterline, and up along the bow post, which ends in a snake's head of twisting spiral. Such a richly decorated ship must surely have been reserved for special members of the aristocracy. Museum of Cultural History

  Its prow and stern are elaborately carved.

The details above gives you a real idea of the craftsmanship of the vikings.

 

At the excavation more than a hundred years ago!

The Museum of Cultural History tells us that in the year 834, two prosperous women died. The Oseberg ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial ship for the two ladies. A burial chamber was dug right behind the ship's mast. Inside, the walls were decorated with fantastic woven tapestries and the dead women lay on a raised bed. The women had a number of burial gifts with them. There were personal items such as clothes, shoes and combs, ship's equipment, kitchen equipment, farm equipment, three ornate sledges and a working sledge, a wagon, five carved animal heads, five beds and two tents. There were fifteen horses, six dogs and two small cows.

Investigation of the skeletons showed that the older woman was about 70 to 80 when she died, probably of cancer. The other woman was younger, a little over 50. We do not know what she died of. Both of them must have held a special position in the community to have been given a grave such as this; were they political or religious leaders?

Other websites give slightly different versions of what may have been the history of the strange burial. Suffice to say, it is an intriguing story!

What we can say with certainty is that we saw some of the relics recovered, including:

 

Not bad looking boots, considering their age!

 

Above: what was found

Below: The restored item on display

 

 

A set of weaving tablets threaded to an unfinished strip of woven cloth 

was discovered in the Oseberg burial 

In this amazing collection, one could not help but be impressed by both the original minds and craftsmanship dating back some 1200 years. Equally, we were just so impressed by the excellent restoration work and how well the art effects are  cared for . This museum is worth a visit, allowing plenty of time.

To complete my ravings about this part of our story, let me leave you with more photos of the things that we so enjoyed seeing:

 

Beautifully carved sledge 

 

And not to be outdone, this amazing carved carriage.

Good to see teachers making excellent use of this education exhibit

The final pic in the Museum. We have many more, but are sure 
you got the message that we really enjoyed the visit to the Viking Ships Museum

After that, one could reasonably presume that what we have seen and learned is enough for one day. Not so! We chose to walk to the commuter ferry terminal and catch a ferry back to the ship. All very pretty:

 

 And yes, it is still sunny!

Overlooking the main harbour

Look at that collapsed pier!!

We completed our sightseeing of Oslo by exploring Akershus. This fortress dates back to the 13th century and is a good place to relax, enjoy the views and be in touch with a previous era. It has mostly been a military establishment and was also occupied by the Germans during World War II.

And finally back to our ship, patiently waiting and carefully guarded by a very old canon

We hope that you have enjoyed this blog chapter. We certainly enjoyed the history lesson in the Viking Museum and now look forward to a day at sea before entering the Noord Willems Canal to Amsterdam