Sept 1, 2015 Oslo, Norway

I boarded the tour bus and we drove by the 13th century Akershus Fortress which is a national landmark and military building. We then drove past Stortorget the big market square. I saw the magnificent Oslo Cathedral with it's ornate bronze doorway built in 1697, the Parliament Buildings and then proceeded down Karl Yohan St, named after an early 19th century Swedish-Norwegian king. We passed by the oldest part of Oslo University which dates back to 1813.
The Royal Palace then came into view.This beautiful new classical building was originally built in 1848 and has now been upgraded and modernized with the advent of a new monarch and is now the primary residence of the Royal family.
We drove past the gates to Vigeland Sculpture Park which holds the largest and most noted sculpture in the world and then began the climb up Holmenkollen Hill. Perched high above Oslo Holmenkollen is the cradle of ski jumping and was the site of the 1952 ski jumping competition. Returning to the town center we passed the Bygday Penninsula where all the seafaring museums are located; the Viking ship Museum, the Fram Polar ship Museum and the Kon Tiki Museum. We then had a pic op of the Oslo harbour. Travelling back we passed we passed the City Hall which is renowned for it's unique architectural design and it is here that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year on Dec. 10th. Each hour a 49 carillon can be heard cheerfully ringing from the east tower. The tour guide was very good; his commentary informative and interesting. Besides the history and politics, royalty and stats on everything he also talked about general life and issues of the average people. The Norwegian people seem happy and content with their lives and I think Norway would be a great place to live.
Back onboard the ship we we headed for the buffet as we hadn't had time for breakfast yet. I ate a lot of fruit that included very tasty melons of all sorts and then I tackled the deserts.....oh my....rum balls,Neapolitan squares, pavlova and ice cream. Hey, i'm on vacation! After resting awhile I walked the entire Lido deck taking pics of the beautiful harbour of Oslo both from the windows and the very wet deck outside.