Oslo

A special day in port today in Oslo.The sun shone, it was barmy and indeed by mid afternoon it was hot.
The cruise into port here was lovely.Low hills and lots of small islands covered in fir trees, colourful wooden houses dotted the shoreline as we made our way up the fjord towards the town.Lots of ferries and cargo boats in sight and dozens of marinas housing smaller boats for personal use.It was interesting standing at the window watching the country unfold as we sailed into town.
We berthed right in the city,towering over other craft I have to say but still a berth for us.We were joining a walking tour for the morning so after breakfast we made our way down to the landing area and found our guide who took us around the city centre, the newer part of town, there was an older part of the city to the right of the ship but we did not have time to walk there as it turned out.
We walked along the promanade, a newly developed area between our berth and the city hall and it had been specially designed to be in keeping with the maritime heritage and the fjord. Buildings were designed not to impact on the scene inappropriately. The aeration had many different boats offering rides, dining or fishing.A fish market was under development to be opened before the year is out.
We walked along beside the Town Hall,a large brick building of dubious ascetic  value although from different angles it improved. Lots of statues and fountains were evident.In the winter they become skating rinks.
We visited the Parliament building, the University,the Royal Palace,the National Theatre and we walked around the statues of Queen Maude and the King.Maude was the daughter of Queen Victoria.We have found it interesting how the Royal blood is linked around these Baltic kingdoms with the European ones.The story of the first King of Norway was an interesting one as he was not of noble blood at all but a likeable commoner who was befriended and placed on the throne by The king of Sweden.This king was well loved as his motto was of happiness and love of the people but he could not speak the language of either Sweden or Norway.It was he who had the castle built.
We went to Ibsen's former home, now a museum and took some photos of the great man.He was well loved and his words are cast in stone along the street outside the National Theatre.
Our tour finished back at the ship but we went to the Nobel Peace Museum first and saw a display of the current winner from Columbo and his efforts to reverse the social damage from drug cartels and restore social harmony .There was also areas which depicted past winners and I saw Mother Theresa's citation.Downstairs there was a powerful photography exhibition of the Syrian refugees story through the eyes of children.This was compelling to see and hear there desperation.
Back at the ship we had a quick lunch before setting off to see the National Gallery and it's Munch exhibition.There is a museum here of his life and times but we did not have time for that this visit.
The gallery was further than where we walked in the morning but in range so we navigated our way there easily enough and found there was free entry on a Thursday,our lucky day as we did not have kroner  with us.
We saw The Scream, Madonna,The Sick Child and others of lesser reputation but which were very good examples of his work.The gallery had a number of other masters which we had time to quickly explore before heading back to the ship such as Cezanne,Monet, Gaugain and some notable Norwegian artists unknown to us but of notable quality.
The day was very hot as we walked back to the ship and I was looking forward to a swim in the pool.My first as it has not been warm enough before this.Today was the hottest day we have had and perfect for the pool but alas the party goers were gathered for a traditional British sailing away party with loud music, flags etc and not conducive to a quick swim.I retreated to our balcony and sat in  the sun as we sailed down the fjord a little later than planned because of some trouble with a generator. It is a pretty harbour,the most picturesque of our trip to date.
We ate in the Meridian before going to a performance by the Strictly Come Dancing dancers in the Headliners Theatre, a treat as these are professional dancers who are very skilled.Outside my league but great to watch.One of our dinner companions had had a private lessons with Giovanni an Italian dancer of amazing talent who performed on stage for us.I think she was rather taken by him!!!