6/23, Sunday. Transfer in Reykjavik. Fields of blue lupine by the runway. KEF airport has long seats with no armrest: good to lie down. Airport has no view at all. Seems very flat outside. No concourse. We piled onto a bus, then walk up to the plane. Our flight to Reykjavik got in late, but the connecting flight waited for us. Arrived at Oslo on time, ~3:30pm.
At the VY (national train) ticket booth, someone took/stolen my partner's purse with cash, on the counter.
NOK 124, 23 minutes, with one extra stop, every 20 minutes.
There is a fast train, 21 min, but costs NOK 240.
We got off at National Theatre, short walk to our hotel.
Hotel Verdandi has self checkin, a small magnetic machine to program the room key card.
Our room is small, so cheap (under $100/day). However, quite clean, efficient. The location is perfect.
It's surprising warm in Oslo, in the 20s°C (70s°F).
Walked out to the city along Karl Johan gate. Two long rows of large flowering planters. Quite pretty.
Parlement is closed by then (after 5pm).
Nice fountains and pools. Many tourists.
Continued walking east, until the harbor. Walked up the Opera House on this wide walkway for a very good view.
When we got back down to the waterfront, more and more people were converging.
Asked around. There's a mid-summer bonfire, starting around 6:30pm.
So we waited with all the rest. It took some time for the fire to catch up enough for all the see.
More smoke than actual fire.
Walking back along the waterfront, around Akershus Fort, to the ferry terminal.
Saw the building for Nobel Peace price.
6/24, Monday. Another sunny and warm day. Didn't get up early.
Took a ferry (NOK104/RT) to Bygdøy Peninsular for the museums. Other museums in the city center are closed today.
It's a pleasant and short ride, terminal close to the hotel.
Got off at the first stop for the Folk Museum (NOK180).
3 (somewhat connected) buildings with artifacts (clothing, furniture, earthware, religious items) in exhibition.
The essense of this museum is the old homes transported here.
Many have plants growing out of their roofs. Most of them are locked, unable to see inside.
Quite a few are on stilts.
They are not very old, 17-18 century, and very much restored.
One of the oldest here is the stave church. Looks new-ish to my eyes.
Once an hour, there's a short (~10 min) performance at this intersection.
Employees here are dressed in traditional outfits, quite pretty.
Even a group of kids in timed costums at this school house.
My most recent memory of a folk museum is the one near Cardiff, which has older houses, more varied, and larger ground.
Walked to the cluster of 3 museums near the 2nd ferry stop. You can purchase combo tickets for these: 1 for NOK140, 2 for NOK250, 3 for NOK350. We chose to see Kontiki and Fram, both are inspirational.
Kon-tiki museum exhibits not just Kon-Tiki expedition (a 1947 journey on raft crossing Pacific from Peru to the Polynesian islands) but also Ra #2 (1970 journey on papyrus crossing Atlantic from Morocco to Caribean).
Kon-tiki sailed for 101 days with a crew of 5 Norwegians + 1 Swedish on Humboldt Current.
Ra II sailed with an international crew, sailing on Canary Current.
Fram museum is on polar exploration. So many explorers that I hadn't heard of.
Fram was designed to be frozon in the Arctic ice sheet.
This Fridtjof Nansen's expedition drifted with the ice for 3 years.
Nanthan produced many sketches of the ship and surrounding landscape.
The ship is large. We were allowed to walk inside and on the deck.
Another ship in the museum is Gjoa, slightly smaller.
Amundsen sailed it through Northwest Passage in 1905.
We can also walk onto this ship.
The museum exhibits other polar explorations (including the race to South Pole by Amundsen and Scott), as well as original arts by Nansen.
Took the same ferry back.
At the dock, saw some barnacle and pink footed geese.
Near the ferry dock, along the waterfront, lined with restaurants and bars, open terraces. A lot of people.
We had dinner at Robua restaurant.
Tried the Taste of Norway (skewer of 4 meats: reindeer, deer, beef, whale, ~$55), and a game stew (reindeer, moose, mushroom ~$40). Both were decorated with lingonberry.
Quite tasty, expensive.
Beer: ~$13.
6/25, Tuesday. SAS flight to Longyearbyen.
The ticket I bought includes lounge access for the outbound leg (a different class).
So, this is where we had breakfast,
After inquiring at lost and found, registered a search at missingX.
We will be spending the next 2 weeks on an ice-breaker named M.V.Ortelius, visiting Svalbard's various islands.
