The Viking Ship Museum (Oslo, Norway)

The mere mention of the word viking conjures images of wild unruly men in horned helmets sailing the seas in magnificent wooden sailing ships and raiding, plundering and pillaging lands across Europe. While science has since shown that Vikings were more civilised than their reputation and didn’t wear horned helmets, they were undoubtedly master ship builders and mariners.
Three superb Viking ships are on display in the purpose-built Oslo Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskiphuset). Fortuitously discovered over 100 years ago in a remarkable embalmed state in various local clay bogs that acted as ritual burial mounds, two of the ships are near complete.



On entering the museum, the Oseberg stands majestically for all to view. Discovered as a grave in 1904, a Viking Queen was buried with the Oseberg to aid her marine passage to the next life. At 22 metres in length with fifteen pairs of rowing positions, the Oseberg was constructed in the early 800s for access to fjords and coastal waters. It is carved in magical detail with superb swirling bow and stern features and ornate patterns of Norse sagas and gods carved on its sides.



From the viewing platform, the ship’s construction can be seen with long sweeping planks of wood joined together to form the spine of the ship before cross ribs were nailed to provide the ship’s strength. The mast adds the option of sailing to that of rowing.



Sadly looted of its most valuable treasures, the burial area held two bodies along with textiles, leather shoes, tools, cooking utensils, buckets (one with a few wild apples) and wooden carvings – all made by skilled artisans and in remarkable condition after 1,200 years. These findings are especially valued as they rarely survive the ravages of over a thousand years.



Three regal carved wooden beds and the frames of two tents offer comfortable evenings for the buried queen. An intricately carved ash and oak cart designed for two horses seems strange with the lack of roads but has a well-thought design with the carriage being demountable. Along with the cart are four horse-drawn sleds also featuring ornate carvings and clever engineering to enable easy transportation in the winter months.



Turning right, the Tune ship is the smallest of the three ships and in considerable disrepair. With only part of the keel of the ship left, it shows the advanced construction in some detail but little else.



At the other end of the museum is the Gokstad. In contrast to the Oseberg, the Gokstad (built in the late 800s) is a Viking longship and far more seaworthy with its beautifully crafted broad base, high sides, hatches for the oar holes (when sailing) and strengthened keel. Less ornate and ceremonial and capable of war, the ship was discovered with 64 wooden shields for a crew as large as seventy. A copy of the Gokstad successfully sailed from Norway to the United States. While a sizable ship, every ounce of legendary Viking toughness, resourcefulness and persistence must have been needed to travel the harsh Arctic seas and conduct the long journey to North America.



Again, being a grave site, the ship was discovered with a variety of household materials, animals and harnesses for horses. The timber burial chamber and a pair of small boats are displayed in the Tune room.



The Viking Ship Museum is a superb collection of 1,200 year old relics highlighting the craftsmanship and artisanship of a highly advanced maritime civilisation. Along with the extraordinary Vigeland Sculpture Park, the museum is an Oslo highlight bringing to life the Viking way of living and a chance to revel in their complex society and admire their remarkable seamanship in a well-presented showcase.

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Vigeland Sculpture Park: A Study of Humanity (Oslo, Norway)

As a sculptor, Gustav Vigeland struck an interesting deal with Oslo. They bought him a spacious and comfortable studio in a central park and Vigeland donated all his created artworks to the city. Over twenty years Vigeland carved over 200 statues involving many hundreds of human figures - both men and women of all ages in various emotional states and pursuits (running, sitting, jumping, gathering together, hugging and fighting) and all without a stitch of clothing.

In today’s shrill world, prudish countries would be up in arms and censors and do-gooders tripping over themselves trying to ban the artworks and decrying the polluting of everyone’s minds. However, Oslo's Vigeland Sculpture Park(as part of the huge Frogner Park complex) provides an oasis of tranquillity and a peaceful ambiance of awe-inspiring sculpture. People wander quietly admiring the skill of the works, pointing subtle details in individual characters – each their own character and lifeform.

A central path follows the main highlights of Vigeland’s work starting from the striking bronze gates topped with old style lanterns. The Bridge crosses a small lake and is flanked by numerous lifesized figures both single and grouped, giving the first look at the detail of the works. The granite is incredibly smooth.

Even in close-up, the human detail comes to life. The facial expressions, the angle of the hands and the general pose all revealing the mood and personality of the individual statues. The most famous statue called The Angry Boy (sinnataggen) is on the bridge, rubbed to a glossy finish by decades of admirers, though I struggle to see why this statue stands out above others.

Capturing the human spirit through the cycle of life, the Fountain shows man's journey from cradle to grave. All male, it shows the eternal cycle of life from childhood through adulthood to old age and death, captured under gushing water. Just past the fountain is my favourite statue at the high point of the park – the Monolith (top photo). Intertwined up a 15 metre statue are a chaotic emotional tangle of lean and naked humanity all remarkably carved from a single piece of granite. While some figures rest peacefully in this tower of twisted torsos, others appear to be clambering towards the top of the obelisk in an internal battle for supremacy.

Past a sundial, the final statue is The Wheel of Life (lijshjulet) showing a circular bronze monument of men, women and children, another statement on Vigeland’s constant theme of the cycle of life.

Beyond the superb carving, it is Vigeland’s ability to capture the full range of human expressions covering sadness, anger, joy and laughter across the hundred of sculptures that makes the displays so mesmerising.

Initially the artist’s home and art studio, the neighbouring Vigeland Museum contains numerous partial sculptures, photographs, plaster works and sketches related to his final vision and creation. It brings the artist himself to life and is well worth the slight detour after wandering the park.

The statues were first cast in clay (all by Vigeland) before three sculptors translated the works into granite and bronze over a fourteen year period. The initial display must have stunned the local population with its scale, variety and enshrining of human life.

On a visit to Oslo, Vigeland Park is a highlight among Oslo’s natural surrounds, museums and castles well worthy of a couple of hours of cultured and contemplative roaming among the greenery and Gustav Vigeland’s remarkable artistic commentary on human life.

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The Trolls Way (Geiranger, Norway)

Everytime I think of the travel wonder of Trollstigen (the Troll’s Ladder), one of Norway’s and Europe’s finest drives, I am reminded of a great story told to me as a child.

It is the story of Three Billy Goats Gruff, a fable told to children around the world (but especially Scandinavia) for over a century. In this tale, there are three goats who have run out of grass in their field and to get to more grass, they need to cross a bridge guarded by a nasty old troll (a stout Norse mythology creature with an oversized nose) who likes to eat goats. The first goat is challenged and explains that his older brother is coming and the troll let him pass with the promise of a larger meal. The second goat wanders across the bridge and again explains that his eldest brother is following closely behind and is allowed to pass. The eldest goat crosses the bridge and as the troll goes to eat him, he is gored to death, leaving the bridge safe for all times.

Trollstigen is a snaking single lane road carved out of the mountainous path between Ǻndalsnes and the extraordinarily beautiful Geirangerfjord in central Norway – an aquamarine highway of water sandwiched between towering granite walls that stand tall even among the stunningly exceptional fjords which pockmark the west coast of Norway.

The road is engulfed by a chessboard of mountains with evocative names like The King, The Queen and The Bishop. The pounding waterfall of Stigfossen finds a more direct way down the mountain cutting under the road in a few places, falling into a gushing dark stream where it is easy to believe that trolls have stealthily inhabited for centuries. Even road signs warn motorists (and cyclists – apparently trolls like cyclists) of troll crossings.



Having survived the climb of Trollstigen, its eleven hairpin turns and avoiding being on the troll’s morning tea menu, you are rewarded with a superb vista of Geirangerfjord. A ferry ride and a drive down the Eagles Road (Ørneveien) past some turf-roofed farms of yesteryear and you arrive at the delightful village of Geiranger and its extraordinary waterway.

Tourist boats ply these waters regularly in the warmer months. The steep walls of the fjord are punctuated by towering waterfalls several hundred metres in height. The two most notable falls are the lead players in another Norse tale. The elegant Seven Sisters is being wooed by a matching fall on the other side appropriately called The Suitor (these Norwegians have rich imaginations!).

Strangely on this most treasured drive, I am sure I spotted a few trolls in the distance but I didn’t see a single goat. Maybe the trolls still manage the Trollstigen crossings.

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