Off we go...

After three fabulous days in Oslo, we're setting off for Grimstad and Kristiansand today. Not sure when I'll have Internet access again, but stay tuned for more...

Ski Museum

Holmenkollen also has a ski museum that recounts the 3,000 year history of skiing. When we got to the display of antique wooden skis, Dad pointed to the tiniest pair and told us that they were like the little wooden skiis he learned on, leather strap bindings and all. No wonder he's such a good skier today. Can you imagine trying to maneuver those things?

Holmenkollen

After Munch and lunch, we took a short train ride through the countryside to Holmenkollen, which is home to the world-famous ski jump and former site of the winter Olympics. No picture can do justice to this unbelievable structure. We climbed all way to the top and peered out over the edge to see what the skiers see before they take off. From the top you can see all the way out to the Oslo fjord in one direction and the peaks of snow-capped mountains in the other. The shoot and the landing hill below are so steep that you cannot even see where the skiers land. What's even crazier is that the skiers fly off the jump head first and maintain a position that's horizontal to the earth (nose to your ski tips) going 130 km/hour. We asked Dad if he would try it for a million bucks. Nope.

Getting our Munch on

Yesterday was another full day of sightseeing, good food, and laughter. As Cheryl put it, "we got our Munch on" at the Munch museum, which displays the works of famous painter, Edvard Munch. One of his most famous works, The Scream, along with The Madonna, were stolen right off the walls in 2004. They were recovered in 2006 and restored by the museum. Sadly, they had been mistreated during the two years they were gone, especially The Scream, which now has visible scratches and a water stain in the lower left corner.

Real estate

The real estate here is charming. Most of the houses have wainscoating exteriors and black tile roofs to absorb the heat from the sun.

The Kroner

The Norwegian currency is called 'the Kroner.' Here is a picture of 5 Kroner, which is equivalent to about USD 1.25. Unfortunately, 5 Kroner doesn't buy much of anything...a cup of coffee costs 20 Kroner and a gyro costs 60.

The beers of Norway

To fully explore any culture one must taste the native beer. The two Norwegian beers we've tried so far are Frydenlund and Ringnes. Interestingly enough, they serve their beers in glasses with the name of the beer on the front and diagrams on the back that measure each beer's sweetness, fruitiness, and bitterness. They obviously take their beer VERY seriously!

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History

This museum took us by surprise. At first we weren't even going to go, but at the last minute we decided to stop in and were pleasantly surprised. We toured the outdoor portion of the museum, which featured a restored town with little shops, tiny homes, and an apothecary, where travelers could find a drink in Norway's "dry" days.

Another section of the museum featured dozens of tiny wooden farm houses that had been relocated here from Telemark. Inside there were no more than two rooms. Wood burning stoves provided heat and tiny beds, not much bigger than a twin, slept an entire family. We also found a little farm with a charming pony, who we adopted and named, Gretchen.

Viking Ship Museum

The Norwegian Ship Museum featured enormous wooden boats that were sailed by Viking Chieftans and required 30+ oarsmen. My favorite boat was the Oseberg - you might recognize it from that popular credit card commercial where the father and son go to Norway to explore their heritage. This magnificent boat was built in 820 AD and after sailing for about fifteen years, it was used as a burial ship for the Queen of Oseberg. She was buried with her life’s belongings, including jewels, clothing, food, and even her slave girl, as the culture of that time believed that those items were needed for the journey to the grave. The ship was then buried deep in the ground in and covered in clay, forming “burial mounds.” These boats were discovered hundreds of years later with many of the artifacts still intact. The restoration of this nearly 1,200 year-old ship was absolutely remarkable.

Kon-Tiki

"Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people." - Thor Heyerdahl

Then we strolled over to the Kon-Tiki museum where we learned about the great Norwegian scientist and explorer, Thor Heyerdahl. Some of his life’s greatest accomplishments included building boats out of papyrus and successfully sailing them across major oceans to prove that the New World was likely influenced by contact from the Old World. He proved this by sailing his Ra 2 boat from Morocco to Barbados and later, he sailed Kon-Tiki, which was a raft made of balsa leaves, from Peru to Polynesia using nothing more than the wind and the ocean currents. He also did a lot of work to raise awareness about the increasing pollution levels he was witnessing in the oceans and went on to win an Oscar for his documentary on the Kon-Tiki expedition. We all shook our heads in utter disbelief to think that a crew of men survived 101 days on the ocean on such anemic looking water crafts.