Woolly says – We’d arrived at the main train station in Oslo just as dusk was arriving, having acquired a map from the information stand we headed out into the teeming rain to find our accommodation. A wet walk ensued not helped by having to stop and ask people the way as the human seemed incapable of actually following the map, I despair sometimes.

Oslo is the capital and most populalated city of Norway, during the Viking Age the area was part of Viken and was founded as a city at the end of the Viking Age in 1040 under the name Ánslo. It became the capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300, being as Kristiania. It wasn’t until 1925, the city, after incorporating the village retaining its former name, was renamed Oslo. I had been looking forward to all things Viking but as we had checked opening times the night before we had found the devasting news that the Viking Museum was closed, not just for a day or so but until 2026, I obviously couldn’t wait that long to see it, so I had decided to sulk for the night.

I knew he that he continued to sulk through the night, mainly due to him kicking me every half hour or so to remind me, I however had a plan which I would reveal when the time was right.

The morning was dark, and the rain had intensified as we left the hostel and headed towards the harbour area of the city. We paused at the parliament building to take a snap and admire its architecture before hurrying on, the weather was not going to let us linger.

Arriving at the waterfront the light was starting to brighten the day and having looked our across the water and appreciate a fine Statue of Tordenskjoldof, a Norwegian nobleman and flag officer who spent his career in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy we scurried up the path and into Akershus Fortress.

The Fortress is a medieval that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress had been the namesake and centre of the main fief and later main county of Akershus, which was originally one of Norway’s four main regions and which included most of Eastern Norway. The fortress itself was located within the Akershus main county until 1919.  

It has also been used as a military base, a prison and is currently the temporary office of the Prime minister of Norway. The opening times had said it was open at 6am hence our arrival at 8am, sadly they had failed to mention on the website that the actual castle part was only open on a Saturday and Sunday, of course it is I thought. Rather than a wander round the inside I had to content myself with admiring the outer walls and climbing over the cannons on display.

The grounds were lovely and provided a fine display of autumn colours, Alfie the Dog would have enjoyed a good walk round there meeting up with the many residents who were taking there mutts out for there early walkies.

Having exhausted the grounds and taken a sneaky picture of the army barracks, we headed towards the port. Daylight was now fully upon us but sadly the rain had decided to stay and in the interests of giving Jo a break from stepping in and around puddles we hurried into a small café for a reviving cup of coffee and our morning croissant

Fully refreshed and with the rain now at a steady drizzle we crossed the road to take a look at the Oslo Opera House, home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, it had opened in 2008 and was very different to any buildings we had seen before. The angled exterior surface of the building is covered with marble from Carrara, Italy and white granite to make it appear to rise from the water, I couldn’t really see it, but it certainly stood out. We could have gone on one of the many guided tours that they offered but it didn’t hold much appeal to either me or my carer, heathens I know.

Next to it was another strange looking building, The Munch Museum, holding the work of Edvard Munch (12th December 1863 to 23rd January 1944) a Norwegian painter. His best known work, The Scream (1893), has become one of Western art’s most iconic images. Again, we had considered a visit but with 13 floors of modern art it wouldn’t have left much time to see anything else of Oslo.

Heading back into the centre we arrived at Oslo Cathedreal with several minutes to spare before its doors opened which gave us enough time to wander through a small flower market that seemed to be stocking enough ferns to cover a complete moorland.

Oslo Cathedral, formerly Our Saviour’s Church is the main church for the Church of Norway Diocese of Oslo, as well as the parish church for downtown Oslo. The present building dates from between 1694 and 1697. Its high tower would have given a brilliant view over the city if you were allowed up there.

Pushing through the large doors we were greeted by row after row of pews decorated in a lovely blue and finished with goldleaf. Even better however were the ceilings which were beautifully painted depicting scenes from the bible.

The Royal box was a lovely green with its own gilding, although it didn’t look particularly large, so I hoped that the Norwegian Royal family wasn’t a big one. A very grand pulpit was oozing with gold.

The altar was small but beautifully done and was surrounded by incredible stained glass windows that we stood and admired for quite a while.

Turning we found ourselves looking up at the large organ with its huge golden pipes, it must be wonderful to hear it play, sadly that wouldn’t be happening whilst we were there. Delighted with our find we headed back outside and into the torrential rain.

We were now on a quest to see Karl Johan’s gate ….

It seemed that no matter how many times I had told him that there was no gate he wouldn’t believe me.  Karl Johan’s gate is the main street of the city of Oslo, the avenue was built to connect the newly erected Norwegian Royal Palace with the rest of the city. In 1852, it was named Karl Johan’s gate in honour of the recently deceased king. We had already crossed the Gate or Road on our way through early in the dark and had admired its twinkly lights.

Woolly says – Surely, she must be wrong and just in case I kept my eyes peeled. As we passed all manner of shop frontages, we gazed up at the buildings above before arriving at a park area. A modern sculpture took my attention and as I took in the lady in jeans with only one breast, Jo read the inscription out loud. Given as a gift in 2022 to the Norwegian Breast Cancer society it depicted Cecille, a woman with incurable breast cancer and had been lovingly sculpted by Håkon Anton Fagerås, to increase awareness of this horrendous disease. It is the first of its kind in the world.

We paused at the National Theatre to admire the building and surrounding sculptures before continuing onto the palace.

The Royal Palace was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of the French-born King Charles III John, who reigned as king of Norway and Sweden. The palace is the official residence of the current Norwegian monarch while the Crown Prince resides at Skaugum in Asker west of Oslo. We had known prior to our arrival that it was only open in the summer months but had thought a photo would be good.

Standing in front of the Palace was an equestrian statue, in 1868 a competition was held for an equestrian statue of Carl Johan. A number of well-known foreign sculptors submitted entries, along with the Norwegian sculptor Brynjulf Bergslien. However, public opinion was against giving the commission to a foreigner, and as a result it was given to Bergslien after he had first received financial support to submit a larger model. The statue would be the largest single bronze sculpture ever to be erected in Norway. It was a splendid piece and as I tipped my hat to him, I turned, to look back along Karl Johan’s Gate which seemed a very long way away. Looking over to my carer I found Jo consulting our soggy map.

This was to be a surprise for my small companion, I just hoped that I could find it.

We headed away from the Palace and crossed the main road with my carer constantly looking at the map, I tried enquiring as to where we were headed but was rewarded merely with the words ‘you’ll see in a minute’. We turned off the main throughfare and arrive in front of the Civic Hall, which wasn’t much of a surprise as I had that on my list. It houses the city council, the city’s administration and various other municipal organisations, the building as it stands today was constructed between 1931 and 1950, with an interruption during the Second World War to its erection. Jo took the picture and the turned one hundred and eighty degrees before pointing to the small shop front that I could now see.

I looked towards a sign saying Planet Viking before looking back at my human with a questioning stare.

I knew how disappointed he was to have missed out on the Viking Museum, but I had found this online and although it was a fully digital museum, I hoped that it might at least put a small on his small grubby face.

Woolly says – Much more than a smile, I beamed in delight and raced inside to see what it had to offer.  Watching Jo pay for our tickets did make me wince it cost twice as much as our accommodation for the night but as she handed over her card, I knew that I would make the most of every Viking moment. We started in an area with lots of comfy cares with goggles and headsets and movable chairs, which took us on a journey on a Viking ship. Filmed as the world’s first drama production in volumetric 3D, the film depicts an ambush on a Viking village allowing us to experience exciting encounters with powerful Viking ships, swinging swords and warlike Vikings. It was rather good and pretty lifelike although I wasn’t happy with the ending when I was slashed across the middle and left to die!

We left our seats and looked at the many interactive portals which allowed us to create our own Viking ship and go and loot and plunder.

Moving onto a cinema screen that told us more about the history of the Vikings and how they had come to the UK taking the city of York by force but had finally been defeated in Stamford Bridge in London.

A couple of information boards told us more about Viking life and the fact that they didn’t have horns or wings on their hats, that they were incredibly clean and had well-trimmed beards which was new to me.

The last part of the exhibit allowed us to take a 3d walk through the actual Viking Museum that I would never get to see, showing the two ships that were housed there made me a trifle sad but I was delighted with the fact that my human had cared enough about me to at least give me some sort of Viking experience.

It was interesting but I missed seeing actual items in cases that I could almost touch rather than it all being on screens in front of me, it was however defiantly better than nothing.

Woolly says – With Jo still looking bedraggled and her hiking boats squelching it seemed like a good idea to find a late lunch and head back to the digs so she could change, we headed back into the deluge hoping to find our way back.