We woke early to sunshine and a great summer weather forecast. Sailing through the Oslo Fjord was as advertised - heavily wooded, outcroppings of granite, small picturesque villages and many small marinas dotted the shoreline. Absolutely beautiful. We have discovered that a leisurely breakfast in the main dining room suits us to a T. Norma swears the crepes with lingonberries were the best she has ever had.
Our tour today was to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. This is huge park with over 200 sculptures that depicted the different stages of life. Our wonderful guide made them come alive for us as she explained what the artist had in mind - sometimes even leaving the interpretation a little ambiguous. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We then proceeded to the ski lift that was built for a past Winter Olympics. I was more impressed with the drive up as we enjoyed some spectacular views of the city. We bypassed the Royal Palace and other notable buildings and stopped at the City Hall. It wasn't too impressive from the outside, but the inside was covered with frescoes outlining the history of Norway. Our guide brought many of us to tears as she stopped at one large panel that illustrated the suffering during the Second World War. Room after room was covered in these frescoes. The ceilings had to be 50 feet high. One doesn't think that a visit to a City Hall would be a highlight of a tour, but it certainly was for us. Our ship is docked within walking distance of the city and we have a view of the Museum of Modern Art from our balcony and from the observation deck can see the magnificent Ballet and Opera House, and the Akershus Fortress and Castle which we visited when the tour was over.
We are having dinner at a specialty restaurant tonight. Tomorrow, we are planning a walking tour of the city on our own.
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