The Viking Planet and the Fortress

This morning was another rainy one but my Columbia gear has me covered! Rainproof thermal ski jacket, thermal winter hat and rain repellant ski boots.

Started at the Operahuset to take in the view and splendor of the oceanfront, then headed for some coffee and pastries at Baker Huset. Enjoyed the walk to and thru Akershus Fortress. It is an enclosure in the middle of the city on the waterfront that was built in the 13th century and is free to enter. I believe the castle itself (which would be cool to go in and see the dungeons etc) and defense museum come with a cost, but you can spend about an hour walking the grounds and feeling the presence of horse-drawn carriages clacking over the cobblestone whilst passing by old storefront shops below the towering armored walls.

Baker Huset

Sjokolade scones $4 5/5

Jubileumsbolle $4 (cinnamon bun) 3/5

Coffee Late

Viking Planet $27

Glogg $6

VY Train $13

I found my way out thru the 2nd entrance which drops you off outside of City Hall (Nobel Prize) and there lives Viking Planet.

The interactive museum gives a small glimpse into the historic Vikings. It was interesting to learn a few things I knew not of:

1. The Nordic states lived in peace and trade until the Vikings learned how to build boats. Then they started their voyages to Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Russia, Ireland and most importantly, England.

2. I can't really fault England for conquering the world now-the Vikings kicked their ass too many times. Killed monks for fun and did it all just for their salt.

3. Kiev existed separate of Russia although it was part of an area called Rus (I'm still slightly confused). Kiev was taken over by Vikings just as several cities in Russia were.

4. One battle, just one, is the cause of the fall of Vikings: the death of King Harold to Normandy's King Cnut (and Normandy was established by Vikings) in 1066 AD. Now the city area belongs to France.

5. As many times as they say it, you won't forget: Viking helmets did NOT have horns!

6. LOTR and GOT were based off Viking lores and life but also, the soundtracks! It's a new genre made thanks to the Vikings fanbase.

Anyways, it's an ok place to visit. It's a big space but other than the 20min video that doesn't do much for history and then they do have the touchscreen timeline that could take you 30-45 mins to read, there isn't much else to really get into.

The VR game is there but I bypassed it. If you are in the area, I'd still recommend.

Once I finished the venue, I walked thru Jul Market again, grabbed a Glogg and headed to the train. This time, I was going to pay 1/2 price and take the Vy train instead of Flytoget.

It takes the same amount of time and has frequent departures. Although I chose the quiet section, people still talked.

Courtesy:

One thing I notice here is that men do NOT help women! No gentlemen qualities overall. On the train, not only myself but a smaller woman were trying to lift our suitcases on the stairs up the train. Both men next to us, one around 30 and another in his 50s, neither with a bag, just watched.

Also, I had an encounter at the bakery, I was about to enter thru the glass doors and a man was closer to the door on the Inside on his way out. He stopped and waited for me to reach for the door, which I did - but uh, then the MF tried to proceed thru it! Oh hell nah!

OK now so I can open my own door, yes, although my partner has got on me about this-but ok. I'll open my own door.

But I'll be damned IF you Mr. Man are about to walk thru the damn door that I opened for myself and you sat there looking at me.

So I pushed ahead and let it close behind me. He chuckled. Yeah, chuckle on out of my way!

I am all about feminism, independence and equality- But we are taking this shit way too far.

OK, back on track- literally. As soon as I board the train to the airport, I get the text message that there is a strike in Helsinki and my flight was cancelled.

I figured.

At the airport, there is no staff at the desk to ask questions. Luckily, I was rebooked to the last flight taking off at 8pm and now I sit here eating bottom of the barrel food because the airport has limited selections and the one and only lounge in International (other than SAS) doesn't serve hot food. WTF I wanna pay $40 for Cold sandwiches???

Let's just hope that this Flight doesn't get cancelled too and then I'm stuck in Norway after sitting here for 5 hours.

A Secret link with Norway: The Scream by Munch. So The Scream is a painting done by the famous Munch who is pretty well celebrated here. His art was to depict anxiety in adulthood. It was stolen by an elusive art thief in 1994 named Enger who was released due to a 'oops' since the British police, who assisted the Norwegian police, came in under false identities- so the dude got off! Anyways; he died just this year. The Scream painting inspired the mask for the 1990s horror films: Scream. The emoji on your phone's keyboard is a representation of Munch's depiction of a mental breakdown. And the signature face performed in the Home Alone movie? Yep, an ode to Munch.

I love when things just come together!

The Hunt

Reindeer stew $30

What makes reindeer so special? Nothing. Reindeer can be found everywhere in the northern cold. They are just called caribou in North America. Caribou are smaller that elk but pretty similar. Now moose, moose have those round snouts and antlers that look like the palms of hands.

Caribou are also the only of the 3 where females grow antlers!