After my meetings at National Theater I had two full days to explore the city. It may sound like a lot of time but believe me it's not enough for Oslo. The city offers tons of museums, architectural landmarks and sights you wouldn't expect from a small place with a population just over half a million. Bygdoy Peninsula hosts five museums and can be easily reached with a pleasant ferry ride from Radhusplassen. My first stop there was the Maritime Museum which is a quite interesting place to follow Norway's integrated life with the ocean throughout the history. But I have to say I was so overly excited to cross the street and see the Polar Ship Fram I rushed it a little bit. For so many years I was obsessed about Fram. I even had a small scale model of her on my desk when I was a kid. When I walked in the Fram Museum and saw her right there I literally squeaked out loud... She was standing in front of me looking like ready for her next expedition. The building is simply built around the ship. There are two high galleries around her where you can stroll around a big exhibition about Norwegian explorers like Nansen, Amundsen, Sverdrup and Wisting and their glorious expeditions with Fram. From the top gallery you can walk in the ship and get around the rooms. Simply fantastic... I couldn't be more satisfied. After dragging myself out of the museum shop I walked to Kon-Tiki Museum next door. As you will remember Kon-Tiki is the famous raft used by Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl in his legendary expedition from South America to Polynesian Islands in 1947. The museum is dedicated to Thor Heyerdahl, his expeditions and his life time work. It's a quite interesting and inspiring place...
When you are done with all of the three museums even if you are feeling deadly tired you have to walk up the hill and visit the Viking Ship Museum. The museum houses three ancient viking ships in almost perfect condition uncovered from burial grounds at the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries. Hard to believe that they are not replicas. Fascinating... I have to say I skipped the Norwegian Folk Museum and took the ferry back to the city to use my time to visit the Oslo Opera House. As another architectural wonder of the city and the home of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet the building looks like a glacier slowly sliding to Oslofjord. You can climb up to it's roof from the raked facade and watch the city from there. Another very impressing beautiful building making the city look like an open air art and design museum.
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