What is the 'Must See' attraction in Oslo ?

[the hornsea potter]

Our visit to Oslo is a short one - 7am arrive. 2pm depart.In view of this can anyone advise as to best utilisation of our time whilst we are there.

[birders]

We thoroughly enjoyed the Viking Ships museum and did that first thing in the morning just as it opened. We were back to the main part of the city near ship pier by noon. http://www.ukm.uio.no/vikingskipshuset/indexe.shtml

 

Rick Steves' book on Scandinavia had good advice for ferry transportation and walking to the museum. Recommend it for own-your-own touring in the Baltic port cities.

[houtex]

I agree. Viking Ships museum is the most interesting thing in Oslo.

[juliejoe]

You must be on the Grand. We'll be there the same hours. These are the notes I've made for what we'll attempt to see/do during our short visit:

 

07:00am – 02:00pm

 

Average temperature in August 61 degrees

Currency: Norwegian Krone – NOK

Language: Norwegian

Time Zone: GMT +2

 

Be on deck early a.m. as the ship enters the 60 mile long Oslo Fjord. Sailing into the fjords was lovely, at times both sides of the ship had beautiful country side in view. Or -stay on deck for about 3 hours following sail-away. This is a beautiful area. As the ship left Oslo harbor, we were able to see the Holmenkollen Ski Jump on the hills overlooking the city. It holds a special place in the hearts of Norwegians. The 1892 jump was rebuilt for the 1952 Winter Olympics and is still used for international competitions.

 

24 hr. Oslo pass – 195 NOK (approx. $28 USD) buy at ship terminal for 20% less that getting it at main Tourist Information center in town

(or purchase online) http://www.visitoslo.com/index.php?S=93&Hid=2&Aid=2

 

Tourist Information Office at the cruise ship terminal is open whenever cruise ships call in the summer.

 

The one unique and inexpensive thing to take back from Oslo is a troll. Trolls are found everywhere in shops in Norway. A nice sized troll costs about $20. Norway is truly linked to the sea, and even its name comes from the 1000 year old Viking word, Norvegr, meaning "the way north". Oslo is one of the oldest Scandinavian capitals, having been founded in the mid-11th century by a Viking king. Oslo has become a popular city for tourism in the last decade, and Norwegians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.

 

Go to Vigeland Park & Sculpture Garden first. Take tram #12. It stops at Frogner Park then it is about a 5 minute walk to the Vigeland Sculpture Garden. From the road directly in front of the park take #20 to #30 line. The drivers will help you if you ask which stop to get off at. Take bus #30 straight to Bygdoy Peninsula to the Folk Museum & the Viking Ship, Tiki & Fram Museums.

 

The sea and ships were very important to the Norse as you see when you visit the three museums, all covered with the Oslo pass. At the Viking Ship Museum (opens 9:00 a.m.) you discover that their ships carried them not only to distant lands but also to the next world, the heavenly Vallhalla. Once sunk and buried in blue clay, the ships were essentially perfectly preserved graves. The Kon Tiki Museum, (opens 9:30 a.m). celebrates the ancient style rafts used by Thor Heyerdahl to sail the Pacific, and at the Fram Museum (opens 9:00 a.m.) you are able to walk through the strongest vessel ever built for Polar exploration. Walk from KonTiki and Fram to Viking- approximately a 20-minute walk through a beautiful suburb. The Outdoor

Norwegian Folk Museum is about a 5 – 6 minute walk from the Viking Museum. The Norwegian Folk Museum (opens 9:00 a.m.) is a collection of traditional and 19th century architecture. King Oscar II started the collection in 1898. The collection has grown to 153 buildings.

 

Take the ferry back to town and if there’s time walk to city hall. Tour the castle and resistance museum (located near where the ship docks) before returning to the ship.

Akershus Castle and Fortress (Opens 10:00 a.m. free entrance Changing of the guards daily at 1:30 p.m.)

 

The ship may dock at the foot of Akershus Castle. Dating from 1299 Akershus burned and was rebuilt in the 16th century as a "Renaissance" castle by King Christian IV. Beautifully restored, the castle currently functions as a site for ceremonial dinners and other royal events. The castle is captivating but its twentieth century history is sad. During World War II Nazis used it as their headquarters and executed Norwegian resistance fighters in what is currently the park surrounding it and the adjacent Resistance Museum.

 

Kon-tiki museum is located in the suburban area of Oslo, across a bay from the harbour area. The Kon-tiki Museum celebrates Norway's most famous 20th-century explorer, Thor Heyerdahl. He made a voyage in 1947 from Peru to Polynesia on the Kon-Tiki, a balsa raft, to confirm his theory that the first Polynesians originally came from Peru. He sailed the Ra I, a papyrus boat, across the Atlantic Ocean but the boat disintegrated short of his goal of reaching Barbados. The next year in 1970, he sailed the Ra II from Morocco and this time, did reach Barbados. His successful voyage proved his theory that ancient societies could have traveled by the papyrus boats they used to settle in new worlds, primarily in South America. The Kon-tiki raft and The Ra II boat are both on display and it’s quite remarkable to think that people sailed them across vast stretches of ocean – and survived to tell about it.

 

The Fram Museum - The entire original Arctic exploration ship Fram, built 1892, is exhibited with its original interior and inventory. The ship was used for three expeditions by Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. A comprehensive history of arctic exploration is presented around the ship.

 

The Viking Ship Museum Great Viking-ship discoveries as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord. The world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships built in the 9th century. Small boats, sledges, cart with exceptional ornamentation. Implements, tools, harness, textiles and household utensils.

 

Vigeland Park Formal name is Frogner Park, contains works by sculptor Gustav Vigeland. In 1921 the townspeople of Oslo provided Georg Vigeland with a free house and studio, in exchange for which he began to chip away at his life's work, which he would ultimately donate to the city. Included was the 470-ton monolith that is now the highlight of the park and over 600 other stone statues, all dedicated to the theme of “lifeâ€. The grand fountain shows people holding up the cup of life with water (another reference to life) running over them. The fountain is surrounded by sculptures of the trees (they too represent life) each with a person or people in various stages of life. For instance, there’s a grandmother and her granddaughter under one tree – pondering on their futures. Another shows an old man with his arms around the base of the tree – clinging to life. The monolith depicts men, women and children, young and old, some passive, some active – all in various stages or acts of life. In a circle around the base of the monolith are 11 groups of three statues – again showing people in all stages of life, such as an enraged baby boy stamping his foot and scrunching his face in fury or another - a mother on all fours with her two children on her back and they’re using her braids as reins to play “giddy-upâ€: Truly a remarkable place!

 

Norwegian Resistance Museum. Akershus castle was German H.Q. in the war and saw many resistance fighters executed in the grounds. The small resistance museum there tells the story in pictures and writing. There are Norwegian troops in ceremonial dress on guard with a traditional hat with high feathers.

 

Deuteronomy 4:29

<')))><

Grand Princess 8/17/04 Baltic B2B with 8/27/04 Transatlantic & 11/27/04 Western Caribbean

 

 

[the hornsea potter]

Thank You so much for your comprehensive notes.

We are,in fact,on the Constellation sailing a week today out of Dover.

[aqua]

Horsea potter, Please be sure and post a review after you return. We are on the June 19 sailing of the Constellation and would love to hear about your trip! thanks

[the hornsea potter]

Will do.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aqua:

Horsea potter, Please be sure and post a review after you return. We are on the June 19 sailing of the Constellation and would love to hear about your trip! thanks<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[gf]

Hands down the Vigeland Park Sculptures!!! We took a ship's excursion(Marco Polo '01) which included downtown Oslo. Kon-Tiki, Viking Ships' Museum and the Vigeland Sculptures. Had seen a library video re: Oslo, so were familiar with subject matter, but were still blown away by the Vigeland sculptures! Today, that is my memory of Oslo!!!!

[Brahmama]

Our 2nd cruise to Oslo is coming up in August.

 

Here's how we rate the sights:

 

1. a VERY big number one is the Vigeland Sculptures in Frogner park. If we could only do one thing, it would be this one! Read up about it.Bus 30 will get you there or it's just a few minutes walk from the ferry.

 

2. Norwegian Folk Museum - an open-air museum but you will see it all - the stave church, a good museum with translations in eng if you need that, folk art, guides, colstumes, etc.

Get there on bus 30.

 

3. The Viking ships and the Bydgoy Neighborhood - again reacheable by bus 30.

 

So much more - but not enough time.

 

Enjoy!

[Andee]

I agree--the Vigeland Sculpture Park should be your number one sight to see.

 

There were four of us, so to save time, we took a cab from there to the peninsula with the Viking Ship Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum and Fram Museum. We really liked all three.

[stingraynz]

We were on the Constellation last June and the day in Oslo is a short and sweet one. We wanted to see the Vigeland Sculpture Park & Viking Museum. We were off the ship right away when it docked and we picked up a bus tour right there at the pier. It was inexpensive and went to all the same places as the ships' tour and was $20 vs.$60. We really enjoyed it. It ended at the Bygdoy penninsula where the Folklore, Kon Tiki, Fram & Viking ship museums all are. The museums weren't part of the tours but you could get let off there and go to a museum (there is probably only time for one). Then take the ferry back to the ship it was very easy.

 

If you go back to the ship area on the tour bus there is a museum of the Resistance that got excellent reviews it is right by the ship but I am not positive where as we did not have enough time. Everyone that saw that small museum thought it was very well done.

 

There is also a national gallery in Oslo that is very good as well.

 

Enjoy it!

[Globaliser]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stingraynz:

It ended at the Bygdoy penninsula where the Folklore, Kon Tiki, Fram & Viking ship museums all are. The museums weren't part of the tours but you could get let off there and go to a museum (there is probably only time for one). Then take the ferry back to the ship it was very easy.

 

If you go back to the ship area on the tour bus there is a museum of the Resistance that got excellent reviews it is right by the ship but I am not positive where as we did not have enough time. Everyone that saw that small museum thought it was very well done.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If you want to do Oslo entirely independently, then it's very easy to get to the Bygdøy peninsula by ferry from the piers outside the town hall, literally a few minutes' walk away from the Akershus quay where many (most?) cruise ships dock. The first stop is Dronningen, near where the folklore museum and the Viking ships museum are. The second stop is Bygdøynes, which is right where the Kon-Tiki, Fram and Norwegian Maritime Museums all are, right next to each other. When I did that last week (to fill in time between disembarking the Jewel of the Seasin the morning and my 8.15 pm flight), the ferry left every half an hour at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour, and left Bygdøynes on the hour and half hour - it'll leave Dronningen a few minutes before that as it's a circular (triangular?) route.

 

If your ship has docked at the Akershus quay, you will get some fabulous views of her across the harbour during the ferry ride.

 

Also, for the less energetic/adventurous, right next to the quay there is the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum in the Akershus castle.

[Brahmama]

Just what I needed to know! Thank you so much for being so generous with your information.

 

I have a couple of questions if you have time to answer.

 

We want to go to 3 sites - the Vigeland area, the National Museum to see the Munch exhibit and one of the Viking Ships. (In order of importance to us) We especially want to see the Munch and the Vigeland Sculpture Park, but would enjoy the Viking ship if time permits.

 

Can we catch that bus right off the ship and will they take payment in USD? If not (I rather doubt it!) did you find an ATM or already have Norwegian currency? It is a short day and we don't want to waste a bit of time!

 

Also, we are on Celebrity - what cruiseland were you on? Do they all dock at the same port area? And (!) was that bus a "hop-on,hop-off," or were you limited at each place? I'm sure we will spend the most time at the Sculpture Park.

 

Thank you again for your post.

 

Carol

[drwong]

On the sailaway, try to remain topside for at least an hour after you leave the pier. The scenery in Oslofjord is spectacular, and you may see little cross-strait ferries darting in front of and behind your ship. Depending on the tide, you might be sailing with up to a half dozen cruise ships all following in line ahead. Every time you turn a bend in the fjord, you could get some spectacular shots of the other ships all lined up, only a few hundred yards off your bow (or stern).

 

About an hour south of Oslo (on your starboard side as you depart) is the famed Oscarsborg Fortress, where a couple of 19th century cannon held off the entire German Navy during the invasion of Norway in April 1940, sinking a 10,000 ton heavy cruiser and damaging a pocket battleship in the process.

 

Richrad

 

From the Insignia's Inaugural sailing (4/3/2004)