Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Oslo, Norway

On Monday, 4 August, we docked in Oslo, Norway for about 9 hours. My family took a walking tour in the morning, during which we saw Akershus Fortress, City Hall, the residence of the royal family, etc. After the tour, we took a ferry across the bay to visit the Kon-Tiki museum, which is really more of a Thor Heyerdahl museum, as it also includes the Ra II and Tigris boats. If you have no idea what I'm writing about (I was pretty clueless before we visited), Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian who basically re-created ancient styles of boats and sailed them for long distances. The Kon-Tiki, a big raft made of balsa wood, is the most famous as a result of a bestselling book and Oscar-winning documentary. Heyerdahl and five other men sailed on the Kon-Tiki from the western coast of South America to Polynesia in order to prove that the original inhabitants of Polynesia could have come from South America. Their journey spanned 101 days and over 4300 miles, but they were successful.
^View of Oslo from Akershus Fortress
^In one part of town, there are quotes of famous Norwegians on the sidewalk.
^ Oslo City Hall

^The Kon-Tiki!


^View of Oslo as we were leaving port






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