Oslo, The magical mystery tour.

This weekend, on account of our visitor, it was neccesary for us to step into the real world and remind ourselves why our quiet and peaceful world is so much better. Where better to indulge in this opportunity to clarify the stark contrast of our rural life than on the streets of the capital itself.

It was a grey day all in all, the greyness being added to occasionally with a spot or two of rain and equally occasionally broken by the suns rays glinting through gaps in the cloud. This weather was pretty good for us as it reduced the dehydrating and jading effect of the night befores Thai banquet served with a suitable quantity of homebrew and washed down with an equally inapropriate quantity of Ardbeg.

After the hour long drive we arrived in the capital at about 11:30 a.m. Our purchase of 3 Oslo Cards for 195 Kr promised us access to most Museums and attractions and free transport on buses, trams, tube and trains inside Oslo. Always a worth while investment. Whilst most likely only a moderate financial saving the time and effort saved in not paying everywhere you go is worth the cost alone.

Our first stop was the reptile park. The name doesn't give any clues that this comprises of the 4th floor of the small building in one of the main streets. The lack of size and absence of parkland is a bit of a let down. However, the array of snakes, lizards, multicolour frogs (blue, lime green and orange...), spiders and even the odd alligator (who amazingly co-habits with two large terrapins and a large catfish and doesn't seem the least bit interested in eating them) are excellently presented and most interesting. Enough to please, not too much to overwhelm.

Next was a trip up Karl Johanns to the subtle and understated castle. A magnificent building but not quite on a par with the national monuments of the UKs royal family. The Thoughtful Scotmans was understandably apprehensive about getting his photo taken standing beside the guard on duty, so it was up to Myself and Mrs VL to brave it out beside some-one who looked barely out of school and was equipped with a machine gun.

The city hall was our next host, it's' dull brown 70's architectural statement on the outside gives no indications of the breath taking splendour of the main hall where the nobel peace prize is handed out, or of the Munch room with it's almost lifesize Munch painting "Life". The splendour and detail of the full room murals depicting Urban and Rural Norway would require days to take in every detail and the decor is a clear indication of the way that the wealth of oil has breathed new life into this once poor country.

After the city hall we took a short boat trip over to Bygdøy, to get a flavour of Norways ocean going history in the maritime museum, then on to the Viking ships, one of which is almost perfectly preserved after being buried with it's dead owner (to assist in the journey to the new life) by people very skilled in natural preservation techniques.

T'was a good day, with good company in a beautiful and cultured filled city, capped off by a quick swim in the fjord at the Viking-in-Laws chalet.