Fire & Ice

Yes, that is the name of a Pat Benatar song (from the 70's) -- but also a common theme here in the city streets of Oslo.

We knew we were headed into the cold, so we were not surprised to see the sidewalks, staircases, streets and just about everything else that's outside covered in ice.  What we didn't expect was the fire.  Almost as if to compensate for the bitter cold, many restaurants and museums have torches lit outside even during the day.

In her jet legged and "so excited to be in Oslo" state, Mom had some trouble navigating these obstacles.  I spent much of the afternoon trying to keep her from accidentally giving herself a viking funeral.

Mom has already been bested by the ice, let's hope she doesn't get bested by the fire.


Now onto the rest of the day...

Checked into the hotel, and immediately went searching for bus #30 so we could visit the Viking Museum.





After about 45 minutes of wandering and finding every bus stop except #30 we were successful.

Scandinavian design is simply beautiful, smooth lines . . . an interesting contrast to other cities we've visited in Europe.

The Viking Museum was located in a building which looked like a large church.

It was incredible to see three Viking Ships that were built around 890.  It's also incredible to imagine the vikings sailing the ocean in boats similar to these.

The ships in this museum were all discovered on farms near Oslo buried in clay.  These ships had been used as burial caskets for wealthy men and women.  If you were wealthy or a brave soldier, you would be put on a ship with your riches, set on fire, and set afloat.  The museum also had some of the riches that were found with the ships; axes, harnesses, sleighs, and textiles.

We successfully, found the bus stop and returned home without incident.