Baltic Cruise 2019, Part 13: Can't Fjord to Miss Oslo

Just like that, two weeks had zipped by, and it was our last full day as residents of the Regal Princess. We woke to find ourselves docked in front of Akershus Castle, a medieval castle and fortress dating back to 1299. 

From the balcony of our stateroom.

Ground view

Tour Bus Selfie

We met up with our tour group and left to find our bus. Again, we had a very congenial, knowledgeable guide, who showed us interesting points and bits of history as we drove to our first destination. Of course, along the way, I took pictures out the bus window. 

Our first stop was outside of Oslo, in the hills above: The Holmenkollen Ski Jump, built for the 1952 Olympics ski jump competition.  It is perched in a lovely area overlooking Oslo and Oslo Fjord.

After a few minutes here, we drove back down the hill to visit Oslo's famous Vigeland Sculpture Park. It features over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland, depicting the human life cycle. It was a gorgeous morning by this time.

The sculptures are, obviously, lovely, showing the range of human feeling through life. Tenderness, grief, despair, love.

We wandered from one end of the park to the other, stopping to look at and discuss the sculptures.

This fountain again depicts the cycle of life, so we walked around it to see the various stages.

As we continued walking, we saw more statues, and, of course, a lot of flowers. (Happy Meg!)

Our bus had driven to the other end of the park to meet us, and we were whisked away to the current Munch Museum. Oslo's National Gallery, home to the famous "The Scream," is closed this year for major renovations, but we were able to see that famous work in its temporary location.

The Madonna, another of Munch's famous works.

There are actually three versions of "The Scream" in existence, and two of them have been famously stolen (the third sold privately in 2012 for $119.9 million, so, you know, it's worth a lot of money). The version I saw in Oslo is the one that was stolen in 2004. It was missing for two years and then recovered with some tears and a little bit of what appears to be water damage in the bottom left corner.

Sadly, our time in Oslo was only three-and-a-half hours. The ship had to sale in the afternoon to make it back to Copenhagen, so my visit to Norway's lovely capitol was a whirlwind. 

I took more bus pictures as we returned to port.

Because our tour of Oslo was so rushed, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as the ship set sail. I had plans to attend a spin cycle class later in the day with my new trainer friend, but until then, I was left to my own devices.

Then I looked outside the stateroom and realized what I was seeing. The Oslo fjord is absolutely beautiful, and the weather was perfect for sitting on the balcony and taking it all in. 

Content

I spent at least an hour (I lost track of time) out there, watching Norway go by and listening to seagulls. Later in the day I'd have one last killer workout, one more lovely dinner, and then spend time packing my suitcase to leave outside the stateroom door for pickup. But on this lovely afternoon in Norwegian waters, I just relaxed and took it all in.