"The Noddy Train"
"View from the Fortress over the Pipervika Waterfront"
"An expensive glass of Pinot at the Aker Brygge"
"An equally expensive glass of Carlsberg"
"View from the Fortress across the Oslo Fjord"
"The M314 Sauda class minesweeper was financed by the U.S. Government as part of the rearming of its European allies. M314 Alta was taken over by the Royal Norwegian Navy in May 1966 and is the only one of her kind left in Norway. It is now owned by the Alta Society who are responsible for her maintenance and operation"
"Akershus Castle is a medieval castle that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo. The castle has also been used as a military base, a prison and is currently the temporary seat of the Prime Minister of Norway. Construction of the castle started around the late 1290s, by King Haakon V and first used in battle in 1308, when it was besieged by the Swedish duke Eric of Södermanland"
"Roosevelt's statue on the Fortress overlooking the waterfront (left). A clock tower modeled after a lighthouse is the centerpiece of the Pipervika waterfront in Oslo's downtown harbor (right)" />
"Canons protecting the Fortress"
"Statue of Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold ((left), who was a Norwegian nobleman and eminent naval flag officer in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral and won a name for himself through audacity and courage; his greatest exploit came in 1716 when he destroyed the supply fleet of Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Dynekilen. In 1720, he was killed in a duel. The photo (right) was taken in the Akershus Castle"
"Trolls are a well known part of Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore; they have been described as living in caves and mountains, in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. I guess it keeps the tourist trade going and the money rolling in"
"Returning to the ship by Noddy Train"
"Sailing up the Oslo Fjord"
Oslo, Norway
(21st May 2018)
We took the Noddy train from the ship into the harbour area which was teaming with people, mostly locals I think, as it was Whit Monday in Norway. The area we were dropped off is known as the Pipervika Waterfront which has many cafes and restaurants and is overlooked by the Akershus Fortress. The fortress was completed in the 1300's by king Håkon V and throughout history, with its strategic location at the end of the headland, has withstood many sieges.
Museum of the WW2 Resistance
After a very pleasant (and expensive) drink in a waterfront cafe we went up to the Fortress and I found a very interesting museum (inset right) of the activities of the Norwegian resistence movement during WW11. This museum (right) is full of documents, photos and exhibits that show the incredible courage and selfless efforts of the Norwegian people to help the allied cause during the war years. The scenes depicted include the sinking of the German cruiser "Blücher" in the Oslo fjord (the wreck is still down there!), the capturing of Stavanger airport by German paratroopers, and grim scenes of burning cityscapes after air raids. There is also a video screen showing Vidkun Quisling of the Norwegian right-wing Nasjonal Samling party after his coup d'etat to take over the government, when he basically ordered his fellow Norwegians to go along with the German invasion.
You can press a button to listen to Quisling's radio speech to that effect. The labelling on the panel does not mince its words: they call it "betrayal" and Quisling a "traitor" and his name did indeed become synonymous with the meaning of traitor after 1940. For anyone interested, the Resistance Museum is next to the memorial for Norwegian patriots executed during the war.
There's a large statue of Franklin D Roosevelt adjacent to the fortress which does seem to be a bit incongruous but in 1940 Roosevelt praised the Norwegian Resistant Fighters and declaired in a speech:
"If there is anyone who still wonders why this war is being fought, let him look to Norway. If there is anyone who has any delusions that this war could have been averted, let him look to Norway; and if there is anyone who doubts the democratic will to win, again I say, let him look to Norway"...(stirring words for a courageous people.
I must admit that I did get a bit wrapped up in this important part of Norway's history and kept Jane and our friends waiting for some time before coming out, much to her disgust. We took the Noddy train back to the ship after a fairly relaxing but interesting day in Oslo.
