Day Three: Museums

I would be in heaven if I could start every morning with a leisurely breakfast in the Carolina breakfast room. With the marathon yesterday morning, my nerves were too wired to fully enjoy the experience. With the race behind us, I could now eat all the meats, cheeses, and chocolate croissants that my heart desired. The entire ambiance of the room was charming. It is located on the second floor of the Hotel Continental and had small intimate tables adorned with white linen, elegant china, and candlesticks lit in the windowsills. My heart was satisfied.

With Oslo pass in hand we had unlimited access to public transportation and all the museums we could handle. Surely a trip to Norway wouldn't be complete without a history lesson of the country. What better place to begin, than the Bygdoy penninsula, home of the Viking Ship Museum, and the Norsk Folk Museum. We walked down to the harbor and boarded the ferry to Bygdoy (part of Oslofjord).

I was stunned when we walked into the Viking Ship Museum. The hall was divided into four wings, three of the wings had over 22-m viking ships as the sole exhibit. The long dark ship commanded the room, and as I walked around, I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect and awe of the craftsmanship it took to create these ships in the 9th century. I was also was awed by the manpower and skill it took to sail these vessels. The fourth wing contained burial sleds, carts, tools, and cloth recovered at the grave site where archaeologists found the ships.

After the Viking Ship Museum we walked a few blocks to the Norsk Folk museum. We visited exhibition halls of Folk art, modern art, and the open-air museum. We had another perfect day to explore. Fall in Norway is a beautiful time of year. The maple, and chinese chestnut trees were turning bright yellow, their leaves littering our path. I love the sound of the leaves crunching and rustling under my feet as we explored the traditional Norwegian architecture. There were over 150 buildings from all over Norway. So much to see! We saw a one room school house, a stave church, many barns and homes with some roofs covered in birch bark and then planted with various wild grasses and plants. We also saw stables, lofts, and traditional storehouses. Our wanderlust outlasted the batteries in both our video and digital cameras; so we finally headed back on the ferry to recharge both electronically and physically.




To top off our third day in Norway, we dined at the elegant Theatercafeen restaurant for a taste of the fine local fare. Chris had oven baked trout and fried cauliflower with a truffle flavored mustard-tarragon sauce. I had Braised neck of Beef, Potato purée with Truffle and a Red Wine Glaze. For dessert we shared the confectioner's special chocolate cake, cinnamon-caramel, orange salad and orange sorbet. To say this was dinner doesn't do it justice. This was an experience. We made it back to our hotel room exhausted, but excited. We have packed a lot into the last three days, and we will have to finish strong tomorrow, as it will be our last full day in Oslo.