Oslo, Norway

 Our last stop was Oslo, the capital of and largest city in Norway. There is a lot to see and do in Oslo, so I'll start by naming all of things we did not see and do: the train station, the Parliament building, the Opera House, Frogner Park and Vigeland Sculpture Park, Holmenkollen National Ski Arena, or take a ferry to Byddoy peninsula to see the Norwegian Folk Museum and/or Viking Ship Museum, Fram Polar Ship Museum, or Kon Tiki Museum. The Folk Museum, Viking Ship Museum, and Sculpture Park would have been at the top of our list if we had a second day in Oslo.

What we did see was Munch's The Scream at the National Gallery (no photography was allowed, but this was one of four versions of this piece in the world); Karl Johans Gate (Oslo's Champs-Elysses); the Royal Palace and Slottsparken, a tree-filled palace park; as well as great views of the Akershus fortress and City Hall from the ship. It was a simple final day of touring before the daily rain hit and we migrated back to our ship.

Karl Johans Gate.

Royal Palace.

Royal guard.

Akershus Fortress.

Oslo City Hall. 

Last, but not least, while in Oslo, we were only 15 minutes from the marriage site of Ingebrgt and Sigrid, Matt's great-great grandfather and grandmother (Sogn, Norway). Seeing foreign castles, museums, and parks are nice, but family history coming alive is, hands down, one of the coolest parts of traveling Europe, and touring Norway certainly provided that for us.