Day 56 Oslo, Norway

We woke to a cloudy day as we cruised into Oslo but I am excited to be visiting Norway.  It is almost their Autumn and I expect to see lots of beautiful colour as the leaves start to fall and I also expect to see some magnificent fjords.  

It had to happen I guess, that we would get a very rainy day for one of our tours but of all the tours we have done, this is the one where we didn't want the rain as we were hiking along the Akerselva River.  The description says that it is a 6.5km walk and will take around 4 hours.  We did in fact walk 10km.  The first two thirds was light annoying showers but the last third it really pelted down!  The walk began and ended at our ship that is docked very centrally in the heart of the city.  From our balcony we have a magnificent view of the Oslo Opera House.  It is magnificent with its grand show of the use of marble.  Many people are walking all over the building but our guide says that it is shut in winter as it is too icy.  We walk past the saunas on the waterside and watch many people jump in the very cold water and dive straight into the sauna. This is very much a Norwegian tradition. Not for me…..

Our guide leads our small group of eight (many pulled out of this tour because of the weather) through  the town square and onto the railway station where we board a train that takes us to the Akerselva River.

We travel by train for around 15 minutes before alighting and heading to the river.  We pass by some wonderful architecture.  The outside of this building is clad in timber.  Whenever I pictured Norway in my mind it always featured timber buildings but this one is way beyond impressive.

As this tour was called a hike, I imagined walking through dense forest but this river winds its way through the city of Oslo and flows into where our ship is docked.  The town planners very smartly placed parklands along the banks of the river with houses built well back from the river.  The homes that were close to the river were heritage listed and had to remain exactly as they are.  We walked past schools where the kids were enjoying playing the mud.  They were all decked out in rain gear but pity the poor teachers who had to remove those items before heading back to class!  There are a couple of waterfalls along the way where we stop to take photos and also a few tunnels and bridges to cross.  The swing bridge was built in the 1800's and is the sturdiest swing bridge I have ever seen.

Oslo is quite proud of its street art and it pops up everywhere on our walk.  I love street art.  I find it very clever and this is some of the best I've seen.

After a few hours we now leave the river and head towards the city centre.  It is really bucketing down by this stage and our guide wants to show us some of the old town but by unanimous vote, and to our guides relief, we decide to head back to the ship.  We are tired and hungry as it is 2pm and we haven't stopped, apart from photo shots, or eaten since we started our journey at 10am.  We did pass through a large food hall where our guide suggested we get something to eat but I couldn't see anything that was takeaway apart from these fresh oysters but who is going to shuck them for me…...

By this stage I was wondering just how far away our ship was. Turns out quite a distance as we traversed back streets and passed by some awesome sculpture before finally our ship was in sight.

Once we were back onboard it was a quick snack at the Pool Grill and then up to our suite for a nanny nap as our day had not ended.  All the Grand Arctic travellers, around 70 of us, were invited by Regent to a dinner and show at a museum. We were taken by buses to the museum and Philip was beside himself as he realised we were going to a galleon museum.  Not only could we walk around the ship but we were taken up four flights of stairs and invited onboard for drinks and canapés.  No doubt about it.  Regent do it with style.  Excuse the photos as it was difficult to photograph anything under the blueish tinged lighting.

After canapés it was a short walk to an adjacent building for our dinner and entertainment.  It was another ship sitting proudly in the middle of the room with tables set up all around.  It was really a lovely venue.

This is the menu.

The entree was really delicious and I could happily have eaten another serve.

I decided on the reindeer and Philip chose the duck.  I did not enjoy my reindeer at all.  Way too gamey for my taste.  Philips duck however, was very delicious.  Yes we shared plates.

The entertainment was excellent.  The band that was playing throughout the meal was maybe a little loud, but then again our table was right beside them, and the dancers, who changed costumes numerous times, were also talented (and gave the men a bit of a thrill :-)

All too soon our night ended. It seemed to fly away in a cloud of food and wine but it was almost 11pm.  We boarded our bus again and by this time everyone was on a bit of a high, including our Aussie friends

We were exhausted after our very long and strenuous day but I still had time to take one more photo from our ships balcony.