Viking Ship Museum & Norway Folk Museum

Hello, everyone!

After a very hearty Norwegian breakfast (lots of fish, varied cold cuts and sausages... and, ooo! a fancy coffee machine!) we departed for the Viking Ship Museum.

Hearty New Yorkers braving the Nordic cold.  :)

After a brief bus ride, we entered the Viking Ship Museum.  Immediately upon entering the museum, this greeted us at the door:

A viking burial ship!

Marianne Moen, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oslo's History & Archaeology program, provided a wonderful lecture.  She explained the significance of viking burial ships, class structure, gender roles and more.  Burial ships were sea-worthy vessels and were decommissioned after a person of stature passed away.  A burial chamber was erected on board, and filled with things the person would need in their afterlife.

The burial chamber; raiders broke into this on the side facing the wall.

The museum was filled with fascinating archeological finds; from carts, to dragon heads that were once affixed to these ships.

These ships are huge!

This museum is actually a repurposed church; a new home is being built for it, presently.

Our Red Dragons, with Viking flair!

Next, we took a 10 minute walk to the Norway Folk Museum.  This is an open-air museum, where we saw the historic Stave Church, hearkening back to the 13th Century.  Dr. Harper provided a brief lecture, regarding the significance of this church, as Norway's earliest steps into Christianity.

The blend of religion and culture were fascinating, 

with both crosses and dragons affixing the Stave Church.

Afterwards, students split into groups, visiting the Norway Culture Museum, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Museum, the Holocaust Center, and partaking on a ferry ride, all within Oslo, and all covered by the Oslo Pass.

This evening, we met in the hotel lobby and went to Mathallen Oslo, an indoor food court.

Ready for dinner!

There was a beautiful variety of options, from Portuguese, to Asian Tapas, to traditional Norwegian fare.

Noms!

We even enjoyed gelato in the warm building before heading back outside.  Hey, how often can one indulge in gelato in Norway?! :)

It's never too cold for gelato!

Tomorrow, our second and last full day in Norway, students have a free day.  Their projected adventures will be from taking the train to the top of the mountain to see fjords and nearby towns, to visiting more museums within Oslo (there are many!).  Everyone is excitedly looking forward to immersing themselves deeper into Norwegian life.  Until tomorrow...! :)