Oslo - 59 54' 52" N 10 44' 27" E

By Kate and Sean -
Proving the brilliance of our planning (or quite the miracle according to Mum), we all arrived at the luggage carousels within minutes of each other! And thus The 80th Birthday Trip commences!  Our hotel proved central and fabulous with a breakfast buffet fit for the princesses we are! Further to our fine planning, we all arrived with more wine in our luggage than clothes which certainly paid off - wine is excessively expensive in Norway!

And so we all meet - thanks for a fancy 'cruising glasses' Suz!
Mum wanted to come to Norway to see the fjords she had learnt about in high school geography.  Norway has 1190 fjords and we intend her to see many of them!  To help our quest, we discovered that geologically, a fjord is how we imagine it, a long, narrow saltwater inlet with steep sides created by a glacier.  In Norwegian, however, a fjord has a more general meaning referring to any long, narrow  body of water.  It can even refer to long, narrow lakes.  So whilst we might consider Oslofjord a lovely bay, it is to a Norwegian, a fjord. Tick, one fjord down!

We discovered we all have a good dose of that great malaise TFOMO (the fear of missing out) so after missing the first morning, Wendy was up and joining Susan and me on our morning run.  Those Pilate classes are obviously paying off as she didn't miss a beat for 7km. Our morning runs gave us opportunity to explore the city and plan our days.
The Royal Palace - Det Kongelige Slott

Akershus Slott

Vigelandsparken at Frognerparken

Clinging to the roof of the Operahuset

Under sparkling, cloudless skies, we spent our days sightseeing around Oslo - visiting the Vikingskipmuseet (Viking Ship Museum), a hike along the Akerselva River, a whip around the Historical Museum, changing of the guards at the Royal Palace, a look at The Scream (and the Monets, Picassos, Rodins, Degas... we are not a Chinese tour group after all!) at the National Gallery, a clambour up the Opera House and a picnic in the Botanical Gardens.

Vikingskipmuseet - over 1000 years old, this ship was built for
the open ocean.  May the rape and pillaging begin! 

Vikingskipmuseet
Not my first choice of vessel to weather a North Atlantic storm
Roald Amundsen succeeded where Scott and Franklin failed
Made from flotsam and jetsam plucked from the sea
Parkland along the Akerselva River
So Girls, we are where?
Slottsplassen - the palace forecourt and
gardens are open to the public
Contemplating 'Brudeferd i Hardanger'
(Bridal Procession in Hardanger) - absolutely stunning. 
ARRRRGGGGHHHH - yay Wendy for elbowing
the hoards of tourists out of your way!
A throne for a princess - at the Botanical gardens
The weather was remarkably hot, so we took the plunge and leapt into the Oslofjord at Sørenga Pool, bracing against the cold. What we hadn't factored in was The Gulf Stream! The water was remarkably warm and we could comfortably stay in the water for extended periods.  As Oslo remained hot for our stay, we made several visits to Sôrenga.


Sørenga Pool
The open fjord
Three girls in a fjord...

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