Take a funicular ride up Bergen's Mt. Fløien for a spectacular view.

Land of fjell (mountains), fjord, and foss (waterfall)

Our Transatlantic cruise aboard Holland America's Amsterdam included three Norwegian ports--capital city Oslo, Kristiansand "The Floral Town of Norway", and charming Bergen, Gateway to the Fjords. 

OSLO 

From Fearless Viking Warriors to the Nobel Peace Prize

The oldest of the Scandinavian capitals, founded over a thousand years ago, Oslo was an important center of wood trade. In the 1600s, after yet another devastating fire, King Christian IV, ruler of Denmark and Norway, rebuilt the city in brick and stone closer to Akershus Fortress and named it Christiania after himself.   The original name was not restored until 1925.

At the head of a 60 mile long fjord, surrounded by forested hills, lakes, and farms, the approach is superb. Oslo proper is easy to tour on foot or with public transportation.

The sculptures by Gustav Vigeland in Frogner Park, Oslo, are one the country's top attractions.

Our recommendation?  Take one of the ship’s city tours or, for the energetic, go early-- before the crowds—out to Vigeland Sculpture at Frogner Park. The park includes Vigeland’s nude granite and bronze sculptures on the theme of human relationships and the cycle of life, including the over-50 foot tall Monolith of Life. (Bus 20, tram 12, metro to Majorstuen)

	Open Air Folk Museum—Stroll amidst 155 traditional buildings from all over Norway, including a 13th century stave church, and watch traditional crafts demonstrated.
Oslo's Open Air Folk Museum's Stave Church dates from approximately 1200 AD.

Kon Tiki/Ra Museum—See the original vessels from Thor Heyerdahl’s expeditions testing the possibility of early migrations of man.

Norwegian Maritime Museum—Art and artifacts showcase Norway’s seafaring history from Viking times.

Polarship Fram Museum--The world’s strongest wooden vessel, designed to float with an ice sheet, went farther north and south with its polar expeditions than any other.

Return by ferry and, time permitting, take a guided tour or at least a look inside City Hall (Rådhuset), decorated by leading Norwegian artists with impressive murals depicting Norwegian culture and history from its rural beginnings.  The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded here.

Head back toward the cruise port and climb to Akershus Fortress.  Built high above the harbor area by King Haakon V in the 1300s as a medieval castle, and rebuilt in Renaissance style three centuries later, it is Oslo’s oldest and most historic building.  It was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, a time archived in the onsite Resistance Museum.

Been there, done that? How about:
 

Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum— Site of the 1952 Winter Olympics. Enjoy fantastic views from jump tower and visit the world’s oldest ski museum. Try the ski-simulator of the toughest downhill runs. .

Museums--—The National Gallery, Historical Museum, and Museum of Applied Art, are found behind and to north of the university. There is also Edvard Munch Museum and the Ibsen Museum, the playwright’s last home.

Nobel Peace Center—Oslo’s newest cultural attraction, in a former railway station, presents the work of prize winners and interactive exhibits on war, and peace, and conflict resolution.

Shopping—Expensive in Norway, but high quality. Look for Norwegian sweaters, pewter, woodenware including some with Norwegian decorative painting known as rosemaling, skiwear, and trolls. Karl Johans Gate is the shopping major boulevard, mostly pedestrian-only, with exclusive store Paleet, Parliament, the National Theater, the University and the neoclassical Royal Palace (Changing of the guard, 1:30; Gardens open in summer.). There’s more shopping by the harbor at lively Aker Brygge.

Back onboard after a busy day, we relaxed on our veranda and listened to the narration by Port Lecturer Abilio as we sailed away along scenic Oslofjord. 

KRISTIANSAND

“Floral Town of Norway”

Founded by King Christian IV in 1641, Norway’s second largest harbor is a major Norwegian port for fish and wood products and a seaside resort.

Ship excursions include city tours, boat trips to charming Lillesand, scenic train rides on a narrow-gauge steam engine, or a visit to Setesdal Mineral Park.
 

Kristiansand is easy to explore on your own. We browsed the fish market, strolled past the traditional wooden houses in the old district of Pasebyen, visited Norway’s third largest church, and enjoyed the view from the Christiansholm Fortress area .There is a ferry harbor, plenty of shopping, and superb seafood in the harbor area restaurants.

Later, we would celebrate our anniversary with a romantic meal by candlelight at the Amsterdam’s Pinnacle Grill, known for Sterling Silver beef, fine wines, and elegant creations beautifully plated and served with style on Bulgari china.

Bryggen's colorful wooden warehouses were trading headquarters of the Hanseatic Leaguein medieval times.

Cosmopolitan Bergen is a cultural and commercial center rich in Old World charm. Built around a colorful and historic harbor, this westernmost city in Norway is a World Heritage City and one of the most visited cruise harbors.

A chief shipping center of Norway, and its first capital, Bergen was one of Scandinavia’s most important cities in the Middle Ages.

dried cod

Shore excursions include tours of Mt.Fløien, Bryggen and the famous Fish and Flower Market, quaint villages, scenic forests and cascading waterfalls, and Troldhaugen and Fantoft Stave Church.

On your own?  Take the Fløibanen Funicular up 1050’ Mt. Fløien for a birds-eye view of the city and harbor. You can hike one of the paths or take a break at the café before heading down to the colorful wooden waterfront warehouses of Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, the Hanseatic League, a German medieval guild of merchants, dominated Northern trade routes for 400 years. 

Visit the Bryggens Museum, site of archaeological finds from the Middle Ages. Meet at the entrance for guided tour of the carefully preserved area.

Hanseatic Museum

The Hanseatic Museum, recreated living quarters of a 16th  affluent merchant, is the oldest and best preserved wooden houses of the Hanseatic period.

St. Mary’s Church is the city’s oldest building still in use. Romanesque and Gothic, built in the 12th century, inside are a late medieval gilded triptych and a pulpit of fine Norwegian Baroque decorative art.

Torget

Sample smoked salmon or fresh shrimp open-faced sandwiches at this thousand year old fish market, or buy souvenirs handcrafted throughout Norway.

There is also Rosenkrantz Tower and Håkons Hall, the royal residence when Bergen was the political center of Norway, an aquarium, art and natural history museums, the home of Norway’s best-known composer, Edvard Grieg, and even a leprosy museum. Leprosy is also known as “Hansen’s disease” for the Norwegian doctor’s discovery of the bacteria that caused the disease. These will have to wait until our next visit.

We departed through Hjelterfjord, passing Norwegian oil rigs on port side in evening.

We would be tracing pathways across the Atlantic  taken by the Vikings over a millennium ago, continuing a voyage that would far exceed our expectations.

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