HELSINGOR
We took a drive to Helsingor wherein lies the famous Kronborg Castle (made famous as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet). We had a walk around the quaint streets, along the water and then a walk through the huge library there. The Culture Yard is the new community centre in Helsingor and now houses a ship yard museum, library and concert hall. The library is huge and on many floors. We walked through and came across these unusual chairs. (See below.) We had lunch at the Helsingor Golf Club overlooking the fairway.
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| Wobbling in these chairs |
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| Richard on a Wobble |
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| By the water with the castle in background |
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| We had lunch at this golf club |
OSLO
We
leave for our mini trip of visiting Oslo and Stockholm. So it's
train into the city from Vaerlose, then walk to the quay area where
we are getting the overnight ferry to Oslo. We board and are
directed to our cabin, very comfortable with view out to the water.
The ferry is more like a mini cruise liner with five restaurants to
choose from, nice lounge area with free drinks and snacks, live music
on deck, large kids' games area, duty free shopping. We chose the
Italian restaurant for dinner, good meals. We slept comfortably, had
breakfast and then took in the stunning views of the Oslo fjord and
little villages as we arrive in Oslo. A great experience.
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| The Ferry |
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| On deck |
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| Oslo Fjord |
Sightseeing in Oslo
Munch
Museum
Just
a couple of stops on the Metro and a short walk down to the
Museum/Art Gallery. The Munch
Museum's collection, left to the city of Oslo by the artist, consists
of paintings, graphical prints and drawings. There was a Van Gogh
exhibition showing at this time so we were able to see a collection
of his work too. The Scream
( Edvard Munch's most renowned painting) is on display here. It was
painted in 1892. Munch admits (like Van Gogh) that he struggled
with insanity during his life. Perhaps today it would be called mental health disorder. So what is the meaning of The
Scream? This
is Munch's personal interpretation:
"I
was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set;
suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned
against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and
blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on
walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard
the enormous infinite scream of nature."
An
interesting morning.
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| The Scream - Artist Edvard Munch |
Oslo Opera House
We walked down to the Oslo Harbour and around the Opera House. Quite an impressive building with lots of glass but it doesn't compare to the Sydney Opera House.
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| Oslo Opera House |
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View over the harbour from the Opera House
(Ferry in the background)
We
meet Richard's old schoolfriend Johnnie Harper who lives in Oslo for
dinner, starting in The Scotsman then a very nice French restaurant
for dinner. A good evening.
Two Scotsmen in The Scotsman
|
THE FRAM MUSEUM
The
Fram
Museum
is a museum telling the story of the Norwegian polar exploration. It
is located on the peninsula of Bygdoy. We took the ferry from the
city and Bygdoy is just a short distance away. The
Fram Museum was inaugurated on 20 May 1936. It honours Norwegian
polar exploration in general and three great Norwegian polar
explorers in particular— Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen.
The museum also exhibits images of the fauna of the polar regions,
such as polar bears and penguins.
The
Fram Museum centres on the original exploration vessel Fram. The
original interior of the ship is intact and visitors can go inside
the ship to view it. There are many exhibits around the walls that
tell the stories of the expedition
and the hardships endured. A very interesting couple of hours were
spent here.
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| The Fram Museum |
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The impressive ship The Fram
|
Richard and the Polar Explorers
THE
VIKING SHIP MUSEUM
A
short distance away is the Viking Ship Museum. This
Museum presents Viking ship discoveries from Gokstad, Oseberg and
Tune as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord.
The
museum displays the world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships
built in the 9th century, as well as small boats, sledges, a cart
with exceptional ornamentation, implements, tools, harness, textiles
and household utensils. Fascinating to see these exhibits preserved
from so many centuries ago.
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| One of the Viking Boat exhibits |
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| Another Old Exhibit |
VIGELAND
SCULPTURE PARK
THE ROYAL PALACE
The
Royal Palace is situated on a rise at one end of Oslo’s main
thoroughfare, Karl Johans Gate.
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| Pretty walk to the Royal Palace |
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| The Royal Palace, Oslo |
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| Puma Statue at Square in front of Central Station |
We
enjoyed our three days in Oslo. After breakfast in the very modern
station building, lots of good inexpensive eateries here, we caught the train to
the airport and just a 45 minute flight away and we were in
Stockholm.
Some things we did in Stockholm
STOCKHOLM
OLD TOWN
The
Old Town dates from the 13th century and is a glorious labyrinth of
charming cobbled streets, alleyways, faded mustard and rust coloured
town houses and meeting squares, many cafes and
restaurants and tourist shops.
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Part of The Old Town
|
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| Dinner in the Old Town |
ART
IN THE STOCKHOLM METRO
The
metro stations in Stockholm have
been decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations,
engravings by over 150 artists and known as the world's longest art gallery. We bought a Metro ticket, googled
searched the best subway stations to view and got off at several
stops to view the sculptures and artwork. Some photos below.
HOP
ON HOP OFF BOAT TRIP
We
found the hop on/hop off boat trip a great way to get around. The
ticket lasts for 36 hours and so we used it over two days to sightsee
parts of Stockholm.
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| Hop On/Off Boat |
ABBA MUSEUM
The music, the clothes, the lyrics, musicals, and films of ABBA have been gathered in Stockholm and are on display in a permanent exhibition. We spent a fun hour or so here. Thank you for the music!
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| A sit down in the park with ABBA |
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| The Royal Dramatic Theatre |
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| Beautiful Flowers |
An enjoyable time spent in Stockholm taking in the sights and sounds. We got the train from Central Station in Stockholm to Copenhagen, a five hour trip in a comfortable carriage, watching the scenery, snoozing and reading.
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