Scandinavian and Baltic Cruise – Our first day (Copenhagen) and first port (Oslo, Norway)

What a wonderful cruise.  We visited 7 countries in 11 days.  We boarded our ship in Copenhagen, Denmark.   We only had a 1 ½ hour flight so we didn’t suffer from jet lag like some of the people we met who had flown over from the US.   Our ship was the Emerald Princess.  As we walked around the ship, Jay commented that this was déjà vu, since it was exactly like the Star Princess (from our Alaskan cruise).   Our room was great.  We originally thought we would have a totally obstructed view, which usually means looking at the life boat, but the life boat was below our window and we had a great view.

July 8 – Oslo, Norway

As we left our cabin the next morning for breakfast, we had a surprise outside the door.  They decorated our door with a “Happy Birthday” sign and balloons. 

The first port we visited was Oslo, Norway, which we had about 8 hours in port.   Travel tip – You should buy the Oslo Pass since it allows you to ride all public transportation, including the ferries, and free admission to most of the museums.  We took a short ferry ride over to the Bygdoy Peninsula, where we visited the Viking Ship Museum.  In the museum there were three Viking Ships that were from 800-900 AD.   These ships were used as tombs for the noblemen, who were buried along with jewels and furniture for the afterlife.  You can still see some of the detailed carvings on some of the items that they found in the ships.

Our next stop was to Norsk Folkemuseum, which was an Open-Air Museum which presents life in Norway from 1500 until today.  The Open-Air Museum has more than 150 historic buildings.  The Stave Church from Gol dates back to around 1200.  We also saw the typical home, barn, schoolhouse with children in traditional dress enjoying the day.

Stave Church

School children having lunch

We then went to The Kon-Tiki Museum.  This museum houses original boats and exhibits from Thor Heyerdal’s world famous expeditions.  He sailed his raft, which was made from balsa wood, from Peru to Polynesia in 1947.  I don’t think I would have taken any of these boats on a couple hour cruise, let alone for 101 days, which is how long their voyage took.

Our next stop was to the Fram Museum.  The Fram is the most famous ship in polar history, known for its expeditions to the North and South Poles.  We were able to go on to the restored ship and even go below to see how they lived on the ship. 

Next we visited the Akershus Castle.  This is medieval castle from the 13^th century that is still used today for state events. 

Inside Akershus Castle

Our last stop was to City Hall.  You wouldn’t think going to City Hall was something you would want to do but, the inside is decorated with murals showing Norwegian art.  The main hall was huge.  The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded at City Hall.

It is amazing how quickly 8 hours can go by.  We managed to walk about 12 miles and the hot tub felt very good for the tired legs and feet when we got back to the ship.  We met 2 couples from Massachusetts and they gave us an idea for what to do when we stop in Germany.