Day 8 is Oslo, Norway.
Inside the Freestyle Daily.
The forecast has been wrong the past few days. It's definitely not 81 in Oslo in September. In Kiel, as soon as we left the boat, we saw some guy in a t-shirt and shorts ask where he could buy a hoodie.
Port info.
Tourist map.
Passing land.
Some parts of the Dawn had been updated a few months ago, such as carpet, mattresses, and the internet.
This carpet on the stairs is still old.
But the carpet in the Cellars wine bar is new.
A couple of other ships following us.
This woman had a nice top.
Many identical small houses.
A fitness class had only a few attendees.
Most people were here for the free tour for cruisers with Platinum status.
First we saw the stage.
Markers for items.
Some of them glowed in the dark.
Like this one.
Microphone list.
The performers used these numbers to help be aligned properly.
Each of these sections can be raised.
Then onto the laundry room.
The machine that puts the stickers on.
So many pool towels.
The machine that cleans them.
Huge washers.
Lots of sheets.
Bags of them.
Last stop is the galley.
The chef giving us the tour.
Room service platters.
More orders coming in.
Large ovens.
Everyone listening.
While the staff stays busy.
Exiting the galley. This galley is between the Venetian and Aqua dining rooms. They have the same menu, so it serves them both.
The paid ship tour also goes to the bridge, engine control, and provisions area, but the free one doesn't.
Arriving at Oslo.
Cool buildings at the port.
T-Mobile is still going strong.
It was just barely sprinking a bit.
Vendors at the port.
More cool buildings.
Even more.
A big fake tree.
Little park area.
With fake palm trees.
And interesting murals.
A bear.
A lion.
Ogii with a palm tree.
Many ride-share bikes.
Crossing a small waterway.
A sculpture in the water called Utferdstrang (urge to travel).
"The woman on the pier" sculpture by Skule Waksvik.
A playground composed of a lobster.
"What's Next" by Brendan Murphy.
Some wire men.
Below flowers.
A Mexican restaurant.
Smil: I like their logo.
A large mall, but it's closed.
Aasta Hansteen.
Monument to honor the Pelle group, Norwegian World War II resistance fighters.
A small clock tower.
Mom giving Dad his "award" in front of the Nobel Peace Center.
Family holding hands.
Above a fountain.
Workers.
While Mom went shopping...
... we checked out the outside of City Hall.
A gargoyle to the side.
Gold woman in the center.
Clock.
Floor tiles.
Gold carvings in the columns.
More.
Fighting birds fountain.
There were many carvings along the side...
... depicting Norwegian history...
... and mythology.
Thor driven by his goats.
The norns (three powerful goddesses of destiny) water the world tree's leaves every day.
Nidhogg, a dragon-like serpent beast who gnaws at the roots of the world tree, and Froy (a god) and Gerd (a giant) meeting in the barley grove.
A family.
Peter Jansen Wessel, who rose to Vice Admiral in the Great Northern War.
Ogii petting a colorful zebra.
Neat toilet.
Franklin D Roosevelt.
Us with the port behind us.
An entrance to Akershus Fortress.
They have wild foxes.
Thick walls.
Walking down a path.
View of the city.
And the port.
You can just see the tops of the cruise ships.
Through a tunnel.
Into a courtyard.
us.
Down the hill.
Through a gate.
To an open area.
With cannons.
Out the side.
A garden.
Another gate with a bridge.
National Monument for Victims of the War 1940-1045 by Gunnar T Janson.
Glory Glory with Crutches sculpture, of a soldier with one leg and luggage on the way home from war.
Ministry of Defence.
Man with Little Hand Movement by Istvan Lisztes.
Headed north in a shopping district.
Me with a lion.
A very tall door.
I like their name.
Nice To Meet U.
Tourist shops. I bet they have magnets.
A square.
Christian IV statue.
Domkirke.
Chickens.
A bathroom.
Except we couldn't get it to take payment for the toilet.
The urinal is free, though.
And works fine.
Down Karl Johans street.
That's interesting.
Antique shop.
Looking for restaurants for lunch.
Sor av Nord had good reviews.
You order at the counter.
Mom and Dad with food.
Ogii with hers.
Lefse.
Lentil stew.
Fish.
Pasta salad.
Statue in the Borshagen park.
This statue was once the figurehead on the Fred Olsen ferry M/S Bretagne.
A library.
Which has bathrooms.
It's very large.
Neat ceiling.
Many cool stations.
The Opera House is very modern.
You can walk up the roof.
Starting.
Halfway.
Almost there.
The view from the top.
The port to the southwest.
Ogii with a seagull.
The Munch Museum.
With a bird.
Ogii with both of them.
These walls on top had this pattern.
It's old weaving patterns.
Turning the corner.
Neat buildings.
And a Minion.
Back down.
"Secret" license plate.
Our next stop, the Vigeland Sculpture Park, was 3 miles away, so we took an Uber.
Skiing supplies.
Dr. Dropin.
People playing tennis.
Gustav Vigeland.
Bike tour with viking helmets.
Mom mailing her post cards.
Everyone getting pictures of Mom mailing her post cards.
A bridge.
With many sculptures.
Most of the sculptures are of couples and children.
Many seem quite violent.
An unhappy baby.
Everyone rubs his hand.
Couple in a ring.
A man with many kids kicking a baby.
Lots of past rubs.
My turn.
Some flowers.
Lots of grass to the sides.
A large fountain.
With people under trees.
And small sculptures on the sides.
I don't think he likes kids.
Or people in general.
Hmm.
Finally a person winning.
Looking back to the southeast.
Mom with some flowers.
A pillar.
With multiple sculptures around it.
A couple with a child.
The gates had men and women.
Just women.
A pathway.
A circular sculpture of people at the end.
Looking back from the pillar.
Small dog.
We could take a tram, but we'd still have to walk a bit from the drop off to the ship.
So we took another Uber instead.
Holding hands mural.
Our ship. At 6:30pm, we were still waiting for four people, but we left on time at 7pm.
Ogii and I ate at Teppanyaki for dinner.
Everyone sat around the central chefs.
Who provided entertainment while they prepared the meals.
The chefs threw food at people, who tried to catch it in their mouths.
Here comes the meat.
It was pretty good.
Ogii's dessert.
Mine.
A British comedian, Alex Boardman. It was supposed to be an adult show, but as the crowd was quite old, he didn’t get too dirty, although he did have some fun with this guy in the front who is holding up his beer. The Glow Party was tonight, but we skipped that.