Norway - part 1

Day 1 - arrival in Oslo
Where else in the world can you walk and lie on the roof of an iconic piece of modern architecture? The opera house in Oslo.

It was 24 degrees and humid on our arrival. A bit of a shock after the freshness of Iceland. We checked into our hotel mid-afternoon and spent the next four hours doing a bus tour and walking the streets. 

I think this sculpture near the opera house is inspired by icebergs. There were floating saunas nearby too and people were swimming on the harbour next to them. The water didn't look very clean to me.

This fountain looks familiar. Think of Kings Cross in Sydney.

There were a lot of people, too many, walking the streets. Oslo has over 1.1 million people compared to Reykjavik's 130,000. We also saw some beggars sitting on the footpaths, something we did not see in Iceland.

There is a mix of older and new architecture.

Day 2 - Trondheim 

Six hours and forty minutes on the train, travelling almost 500kms north to Trondheim.

At first and towards the end of the train journey, rolling hills and wheat fields that almost looked English.

In the middle, some of rivers reminded me of Canada.

The highlands almost look like Tasmania's central highlands.

We passed a number of pretty wooden train station buildings dating from the early 20th century.

Arriving in Trondheim at 2.40pm, we checked into our centrally located hotel and went for a walk. In the wide city square, a tall statue of Viking King Olav Tryggvason is also a sundial clock.

Shops and restaurant streets surround the square. No tourist souvineer shops though.

The old wharf area is now beautified into apartments and restaurants. Very nice.

Colourful old wooden houses.

We had a pleasant stroll along the river bank.

One of two cathedrals, this one resembles Notre Dame in Paris.

We like Trondheim more than Oslo. It was more relaxed and easy to walk.

Day 3

We took a taxi at 8.20 am to the Hurtigruten cruise terminal to board a ship a little smaller than the Spirit of Tasmania. These ships travel up and down Norway's long coastline delivering cargo, some vehicles and the mail. They lowered one of the lifeboats and did a test sail just after disembarking. Good to know they work well.

We mostly sat inside looking out at the view. We did walk the outside deck a few times too. There were three restaurants on board.

The ship stopped briefly at a few ports but we stayed on board.

Joel really wanted to eat king crab while in Norway. Dinner on the ship fulfilled his wish. Happy chap. I helped him eat 2.1 kilos of crab,  followed by chocolate fudge desert with raspberry icecream. Delicious. The things a mother does....🤣

We retired early to our cabin after all that crab. The sailing was mostly, but not entirely, smooth. We woke a couple times when the ship stopped at ports during the night. In the morning, the views became more interesting.

We arrived in Bergen at 4pm. Norway's second largest city with over 291,000 people plus a lot of tourists. Apparently the wettest city in Europe, but no rain today.

The famous row of UNESCO- listed wooden warehouses from the Hanseatic League's trading operations. They were German merchants who dominated trade here for 500 years from 1360. Mostly tourist shops snd restaurants now.

Narrow wonky lanes between the buildings which are in danger of falling down due to rotting timbers. Renovations are ongoing.

Some serious boats in the harbour.

We ate dinner at the fishmarket under the red tents. Lots of different seafood options.

Waffles for desert.

After all, we have to keep our strength up for more touring tomorrow!