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Old 19 Nov 18, 10:07 PM  
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Stewboy
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Big Summer Blowout: Norwegian Fjord Cruise 2018 Day 4 - Oslo

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Wednesday 29th August 2018



This morning the Disney Magic had arrived at our first Norwegian port of call, Oslo. With an excursion departing from the ship at 12:45pm, we were planning on an easy morning on board, followed by early Cabanas lunch.

With no need for an early room service wake up this morning, we were up at about 8am. I headed off to get coffee and a plate of pastries from Cabanas to take back to the room. These didn’t last long, so I went for more coffee and also grabbed some croissants.


Velkommen til Norge


Pastries

Back at the room, Isabella woke up at about 9:30am. We ate our croissants then got ready. Before heading out of the room, we gave Isabella the pin we’d bought her a couple of days earlier - with all the fish extender gifts we’d been getting we wanted to wait to give it to her at a time when she’d appreciate it.

We had some of our fish extender bookmarks left (we made some extras with Captain Mickey and no names on them) so we decided to go and give them out to some other cabins that had nicely decorated doors and fish extenders.


Isabella's new pin




Giving out some FE gifts

After we’d done that, Isabella decided she wanted to spend some time in the Oceaneers Club, so we dropped her off. Jo and I then went up on deck 10 for a wander and to see what we could see.

After our wander it was about 11am so we went back to the room to get our stuff ready for the trip ashore. Once that was sorted, we went to pick up Isabella; it was now 11:30am so time to go and get lunch at Cabanas.


Captain Mary Oceaneer

When we arrived at the Oceaneers Club Isabella was still playing a game called Gaga Ball - it’s like dodgeball. She was having a lot of fun so we waited for a bit until the game had finished before heading off to Cabanas.

As it was hot inside we decided to sit up on deck 10 - the view is great from up there. The food was delicious, I especially enjoyed the breaded tofu, salmon fishcakes, and the grouper. Just as we finished our food a wasp started bothering us, so we headed back inside to get some dessert.








Views from up on deck


Selfie












Cabanas

One we were finished, we stopped back at the room (where we found three light up snowflake necklaces for this evenings Frozen deck party) to pick up our stuff and then made our way to Fathoms to meet up with our tour group.

We arrived on time today, so actually got to sit down for a few minutes before our group was called. The excursion we were off on was called 'Picturesque Village of Drøbak'; Drøbak is also known as Christmas Town, because letters for Santa Claus often wind up here as it apparently is his birthplace! The tour also takes in a visit to the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo - something we were really looking forward to.






Ready for our 'Picturesque Village of Drøbak' excursion

After about 15 minutes we headed off the ship and onto the waiting coach. Our tour guide for the day would be a Welshman named Iori - a former teacher who’d lived in Norway for over 30 years. Iori was a great tour guide, very knowledgeable, and had a dry sense of humour.




Going ashore

On the way to Drøbak we stopped briefly to see a bridge known as the 'Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project'. The bridge design is based on a sketch made by Leonardo de Vinci in 1502 (and lost for over 400 years) for a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey. The project was led by Norwegian artist Vebjørn Sand and the wooden pedestrian bridge was built in 2001 by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.


Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project

After that unscheduled stop, we continued on to Drøbak, where the first stop in the village was the Christmas shop 'Julehuset' (the Christmas house). We had a little browse and Isabella bought a magnet of the Santa Claus road sign that you see as you enter the village.










Drøbak


















Julehuset

Iori then led us down to the fjord (Oslofjord) past the Drøbak church (Drøbak Kirke). He told us the story of the Battle of Drøbak Sound which took place in April 1940 and involved the Oscarsborg Fortress. It was manned by raw recruits and pensioners and was armed with 40 to 50-year-old weaponry of German and Austro-Hungarian manufacture. They sunk the German heavy cruiser Blücher, with the result of delaying the German occupation long enough for the Norwegian King Haakon VII and his government to escape from Oslo.


Drøbak Kirke


Oscarsborg Fortress


Oberst Birger Eriksen - commander of the Oscarsborg Fortress
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Edited at 10:19 PM.
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Old 19 Nov 18, 10:07 PM  
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We then walked along to the Tourist Office where we met Santa’s cousin(!) who explained to us how he sorts and looks after all the letters that arrive for Santa throughout the year - there were a lot of them!








Walking to the Tourist Office


Iori introducing us to...


...Santa's cousin!






Letters to Santa

Outside the Tourist Office, at the marina, was Oslo’s answer to Copenhagen’s ‘Little Mermaid’ - a sculpture of the three mermaids by Norwegian artist Reidar Finsrud.


Three mermaids

Iori then led us back up towards the town centre and the Christmas shop where we were free to relax and explore for 15 minutes before the coach returned to pick us up - we spent the time relaxing and having a snack: pastries from Cabanas.





Time to move on

As we got back on the coach, we returned to the seats we’d been sitting in previously, however an American lady had decided to sit in my seat, and as the coach was waiting to leave and Jo was trying to get Isabella sorted, I ended up having to find another seat which meant heading to the back of the coach. Now, I know it wasn’t technically my seat, but the lady could see that she was effectively splitting us up by sitting there and was making sure not to acknowledge that fact by really concentrating on something out of the window. Obviously being typically British we wouldn’t dream of saying anything but apparently Jo did make lots of passive aggressive comments throughout the rest of the drive!


Cheese in a field...

Our destination was now the Vigeland Sculpture Park (officially known as Frogner Park) back in Oslo - about a 45 minute drive away. The coach pulled up out the front of the park and Iori led us on a 45 minute tour through the 80 acre park.

The park was the creation of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland - a permanent sculpture installation of 200 iron, granite and bronze statues that lays bare the relationships and stages of the life of man (and woman, and child). As a designer and Creative Director, seeing an artist’s life’s work laid out in such spectacular fashion, culminating in the breathtaking ‘Monolith’ must be seen to be believed. I highly recommend a visit if you can, and if you can get Iori as your guide, that would be a massive bonus - he knows so much about the park, the artist, and his life; it was an amazing experience - possibly the highlight of the holiday.





















































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Old 19 Nov 18, 10:08 PM  
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After our tour of the park it was back on the coach for the return trip to the Disney magic. Jo and Isabella joined me at the back of the coach - Jo’s cutting remarks had obviously made no impact on the American lady!

The coach drove through Oslo on the return to the ship and we got to see some of the sights - it’s a wonderful city and we’d love to visit it again one day and spend some time exploring properly.


Is it Oslo, or Paris?!


Winston Churchill statue








More sights of Oslo

By 5:30pm we were back at the ship and we headed straight up to our room to get ready for tonight’s dinner at Rapunzel’s Royal Table. As tonight was Frozen night, we would be eating from the Frozen menu, and Isabella put her Princess Anna dress on.

Having done a Disney cruise of the fjords a couple of years ago, we’d experienced the Frozen menu before and it’s definitely not one of our favourites.

We arrived at the restaurant and were seated straight away. Our wonderful servers arrived and we ordered the following:

Me: Duke of Weselton’s Favourites (Assorted Meats and Cheese with Knäckebröd, Pumpernickel and Pickles) / Lobster Ravioli (With Ricotta Cheese, Spinach, and a Lobster Tarragon-Riesling Wine Sauce) / Oaken Warm Apple Pudding Cake (Served with Butterscotch Cinnamon Sauce and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream)

Jo: Jarlsberg Tart (With Onion and Thyme) / Kristoff’s Rosemary Marinated Strip Loin (With Crushed Red bliss Potatoes, Buttered Green Beans and a Cabernet Jus) / Frozen Yoghurt Romanoff Sundae (Fresh Strawberries marinated in Cointreau, Vanilla Frozen Yoghurt and Chopped Pistachio Nuts)

Isabella: Chicken Strips (served with fresh Vegetables and Steak Fries) / Mickey Bar Ice Cream


Duke of Weselton’s Favourites


Jarlsberg Tart


Lobster Ravioli


Kristoff’s Rosemary Marinated Strip Loin


Chicken Strips


Oaken Warm Apple Pudding Cake


Frozen Yoghurt Romanoff Sundae


Mickey Bar Ice Cream

Despite me saying that this isn’t our favourite menu, we all made good choices tonight and consequently we really enjoyed the food - and the wonderful setting of course.


Floating lanterns


We spotted Pascal in the restaurant

Once dinner was over, we headed back to the room so that I could pick up a hoodie (it was cold and windy) and then we went up on deck. During dinner the ship had left Oslo, and there was lots to see as the ship sailed back down the Oslofjord on it’s way back and out into the Skagerrak - the strait between Denmark and Norway that connects the North Sea to the Kattegat sea, and ultimately the Baltic.


Ready to party!

It was now time for the Frozen deck party, we found ourselves a place to watch the show - well the screen above the show - and Jo and I had a drink of the day. Fortunately the ‘party’ only lasts about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it’s still not very good - this is the third time we’ve seen it - but Isabella enjoyed it.


Great view






Dancing with her drink


Dancing with her daughter


Windy


Cold


Freezing
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Old 19 Nov 18, 10:08 PM  
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After the party we went looking for landmarks from our earlier tour; we spotted Drøbak village then decided to head back below deck before we got blown overboard - it really was that windy!
















Sailing down Oslofjord

As part of the Frozen night, there was a Frozen scavenger hunt, so we spent half an hour going round the ship finding the clues - one of which was forward on deck 10 - so I went alone to brave the wind and find it as I had to go through the adult only area!






Frozen scavenger hunt


We saw the Goof!




The Goof saw us!

We got coffee and a hot chocolate for Isabella from deck 9 and then headed back to the room where Isabella had a bath using one of the bath bombs she’d got as an FE gift.


Towel bear

Jo then put Isabella to bed (which now had a Frozen themed pillow) while I went back up on deck to get Jo and I a couple of slices of pizza each - two slices of pepperoni and two slices of bbq chicken to share. It was good pizza.


Frozen pillow


Pizza

We showered and went to bed, reading until about 11:30pm.

Day 4 done. We’d had a brilliant day in Oslo - tomorrow we visit Kristiansand and Isabella has a makeover! TFR
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Old 20 Nov 18, 11:30 AM  
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OMG I love that pizza!

I must say the statues etc are a little weird for me - blooming amazing, but a little weird. Naked men kicking children, or at least that's what it looks like!

Joa
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Old 24 Nov 18, 03:48 PM  
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Originally Posted by Bats View Post
OMG I love that pizza!

I must say the statues etc are a little weird for me - blooming amazing, but a little weird. Naked men kicking children, or at least that's what it looks like!

Joa
I want to hear what the Welsh tour guide had to say about the man punting babies It’s apparently quite famous:


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Old 25 Nov 18, 01:11 AM  
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Never been to Oslo, but it looks like a good place to visit.

Jo looks like she was loving that deck party 😂

And that Pizza looks really good!

Thanks for sharing
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Old 30 Nov 18, 02:28 PM  
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Another great day!

Those statues are great
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Old 1 Dec 18, 01:59 AM  
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Love the windy pics!
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Old 2 Dec 18, 03:17 AM  
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Love this trip report! We’re doing a similar cruise! Thanks so much for taking the time to report xxxxx
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