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Oslo, Norway - Getting One's Sea Legs

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:06 pm

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Norway has a lot of sea shore, so a lot of what's happened up here has happened on or near the sea. Let's look at a few examples:

Fritjof Nansen sailed north, froze his ship, crew and himself into the ice and drifted past the North Pole. More or less. From 1893 to 1896 they lived on the ship "Fram" bar the little 120 km ski trip they took in 1895 to reach the North Pole. They didn't quite but it was close enough. The polar ship "Fram" sits at a museum in Bygdøy, Norway:




Nansen's ship "Fram" ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Roald Amundsen also wanted to go exploring so he took "Gjøa" through the north-west passage. They left Oslo in 1903 and reached Nome, Alaska in 1906, so he got to prove that it could be done. This is the "Gjøa" in Oslo:




"Gjøa" ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )


Mr. Amundsen then decided to go for the magnetic North Pole and borrowed "Fram" from Nansen in 1910. Unfortunately for Amundsen Robert Peary beat him to it so he decided to pull a fast one. He sailed to Madeira and there informed the ship's owner (Mr. Nansen) and the crew that they were going to the South Pole instead and those who wouldn't go could leave the ship and hitchhike home to Norway. None left and Amundsen reached the South Pole on December 14th 1911.

Mr. Nansen had observed the sea's currents and had thought to himself that there had to be a current past the North Pole. He proved himself right, and thereby inspired a chap called Thor Heyerdahl. Mr. Heyerdahl didn't much care for the accepted scientific theories as to where the Polynesian's ancestors came from so he decided to prove his own theories, which he did on the balsa raft "Kon-Tiki" in 1947. He floated across the water from Peru to Polynesia and that was that.

Then Mr. Heyerdahl pondered the idea that Africans and South-American natives had a lot in common. To prove that they could be related he decided to sail from Morocco to the Caribbean on a papyrus raft called "Ra". He succeded there too, albeit on the second try.


These brave sea-faring men did a lot in order to prove their theories, but my guess is that they also got their inspiration from the Norwegian sea-faring tradition. Norway is very long and it's coast line is even longer (if you count the fjords - going in and out of them takes forever, at least in a sail ship). We know that Norwegian Vikings went to England, France, Spain and Turkey. They also went down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea. One of our chiefs even went to Jerusalem.

We're fortunate enough to have some splendid viking ship specimen in our museums, and also written sources about the vikings, their day-to-day life, trade routes, ships, beliefs and so on. The Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy near Oslo show some very nice examples of viking culture and ships.

This is the rear end of the Oseberg ship, dug out near Tønsberg in 1904:




The Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Believe it or not, but this ship was used as a coffin. A prominent lady was buried inside it in 834, along with a younger woman, animals, crockery, food, jewels, clothes and things one might need for a comfortable after-life. It's not a small ship at all:




The Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Nobody knows who the lady is but there are many theories. The ship itself was built in 820. Since it's very decorated and hard to manuever the scientists think she was built for show rather than for sailing long distances. The carvings are wonderful:




The Oseberg ship - decor ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



The ship as it can be seen now is 90% original wood-work, which is pretty amazing when you think about how long it was buried for.

Another well-preserved ship is the Gokstad ship which was dug out in 1880:




The Gokstad ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



This ship had a man inside. The archaeologists found horses, dogs and miscellaneous weapons and clothes with him, and he must have been an important person. He was placed in a funeral chamber onboard the ship. You can see the funeral chamber behind the remains of tht Tune ship:




Burial chamber and two small boats ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



In addition to being good navigators at sea the vikings also appreciated good handicraft. These nice items were found inside the Oseberg dig:




A wagon found by the Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






From the Oseberg dig - sleigh ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






From the Oseberg dig - nice dragon's head ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Close-up of replica of part of the Oseberg ship ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Whoops, I thought I was going to rant about Norwegian cultural life today, but it seems I'll have to leave that for another day. I need my beauty sleep. :D Sorry for getting carried away like this. I always do.

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Oslo, Norway

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:23 pm

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I suppose most of you have heard about our capital through the news during since last Friday. We're not used to people knowing where Oslo is. We're not even used to people knowing where Norway is. I've heard people stating that Norway is the capital of Sweden. Close, but no cigar. We were governed by Sweden until 1905 when we decided we wanted a divorce, but made our constitution in 1814. We had a long separation process. I'll leave the old stuff for now and return to the present. We went to Oslo for some children's education regarding government, royalty, polar researchers, semi-mad explorers and old vikings, with a bit of art in between.

When we landed at Gardermoen airport we got 16°C (61°F) and rain. We left sun and 36°C (97°F) behind. Reality check! Our camping car was waiting for us at the airport so we drove to Oslo and found a nice camping site with good public transport to Oslo center. This is what we managed to cram into our four days' stay.

Oslo's main street, the Karl Johan:




Karl Johan - Oslo's main street ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Stortinget:




Stortinget - the Government building ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )




Spikersuppa got it's name because it was created by a nail manufacturer, Christiania Spigerverk, in 1956.


Spikersuppa - The Nail Soup ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Oslo was named Christiania from 1624 to 1925 when we decided we wanted the proper name back. 600.000 of Norway's 5 million people live in Oslo.

The tower of the City Hall has Europe's largest clock, or so we've been told. It's 8 meters in diameter. It also has a nice bell tower. This is where the Nobel Peace Price seremony is held on December 10th every year.



The City Hall ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )





Then for the royalty bit. What we grandly call a castle would fit into one of the wings at Windsor, London. The castle was intended to house the Swedish-Norwegian king Karl XIV Johan, in Norway Karl III Johan, after whom the main street's named. He never saw it finished, and his successor King Oscar I made some changes to it before it was declared fit for a king in 1849


The Royal Castle ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Here is aforementioned King Karl Johan on his horse. Evil tongues have it that this French general was offered the throne of Sweden (including Norway) because he was rich, and Sweden needed the money. When serving as a general under Napoleon Bonaparte his name was Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. He took a Scandinavian name when accepting the crown but never managed to learn Swedish. The court had to speak French instead.




King Karl III Johan of Norway/Karl XIV Johan of Sweden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



The following photos are from Akershus fortress. It started out as a medieval castle but was rebuilt in the 1600s into a reinforced renaissance castle. It was expanded and modified from when it was first built until around 1750, but it still had it's uses. It served as a prison for years after. The restauration started around 1800 and isn't done yet. *lol* Today Akershus is a banquet hall, the royal mausoleum and several museums. I have to add that while Akershus was still a fortress no enemy power managed to take it:






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Akershus fortress ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Gosh, it's late. I have to continue with Nansen, Amundsen, Thor Heyerdahl, Munch and Vigeland some other day.


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We Left the Lovely Weather Behind

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:15 am

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I wish I could have packed some sunshine and temperatures in my suitcase. We had to leave it all behind in Rhodes, and I don't like it. Anyways, we've had two lovely weeks of sun, sea, sightseeing and super food so I guess I shan't complain too much.

And we've got the memories. This is Rhodes town:




Rodos town ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






King of the road in Rhodes ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



A part of the Old Town wall:


Rhodes - old town wall by the harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Gate to the old town from Mandraki ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Mandraki harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Mandraki harbour ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






The outer moat ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






The Templar Knights' palace ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



A trip to Monte Smith is mandatory. We do it every time we visit Rhodes and we never tire of it:




The Temple of Apollo on Monte Smith ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Amazing stonework ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






The ancient stadium ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



As for the food, well, we've got photos! *lol* My family always criticize me for photographing the food, but how can I resist? It looks too tempting not to:




Fish plate for two at Captain's Garden ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Dessert at Pearl ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Tiny Symi shrimps - yummy! ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Serrano ham and melon ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Kokkinisto ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Not only the climate and food is different from here. The plants are too, and I touch them, smell them and admire them:




Pretty wildflower ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






This bloom has lovely scent but I don't know what it is ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Frangipani ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )






Flowering agave ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Sometimes we find some very strange "plants":




A peacock in an aqueduct - Rodini park ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )



Now I'm hoping for some nice weather so we can enjoy our garden for the rest of the summer. If last year's anything to go by the frost might start in mid-October. Until then I'll either dig, weed, dead-head or stay inside, look at the rain and wish that I could garden without getting soaked. *lol*

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