This is part of the fourth section of our around the world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map

Coming from the  Faroe Island's or read our previous visit to Norway
 

1/9/98 Back in Norway this morning and heading for Oslo on the E16 to Gudvangen then up over the mountain pass on the 50 to Hol and stayed in Gol. After the treeless Iceland and Faroe Islands Norway was again more beautiful, (trees just starting with their autumn colours in Norway) this road more picturesque than others in Norway (when we were out of the endless tunnels). It seems in our three weeks absence that most tourists have left and on the first of September everyone in the industry moved to winter prices, schedules and times. Such a short summer.

2/9/98 Into Oslo this morning and with bright sunshine we washed everything, clothes, ourselves, motorcycle, bedding etc. Dirt roads and outback camping in Iceland had managed to permeate dirt everywhere. Water had also entered the gearbox through the breather tube when we went over in a river in Iceland and, while there is often a small amount of condensation water (now slightly milky) in the gearbox we decided to drain the oil then heat it slowly to separate the oil and water before returning the oil to the gearbox. Everything gets dirty slowly and its not until a full clean that you realize how dirty and probably smelly everything and you are.

3/9/98 Its been a while since we touristed a city, and they haven't got any easier, you still have traffic, you still get lost, First the open air museum. The place where all the old buildings in Norway come to rest. Easier to maintain and for tourists to see the best old buildings dating back to the 1600’s have been relocated here. Some have been here for over 100 years as part of a previous kings private showplace. The turfed roofs atop silver birch bark cover log houses and storage sheds with some timbers elaborately carved. Going back in time further to the Viking museum where three incredibly well preserved 1000 year old Viking ships are housed plus the remains of their burial party. It seems if you were a wealthy Viking and died so did your servant, dogs, horses and cows to help you along in the afterlife. All placed with your favourite belongings into a 20 meter Viking ship and buried in the ground. Another night at Oslo campgrounds.

  4/9/98 Apart from a walk around the city we visited two more magnificent museums. The polar ship "Fram" used by Roald Amundsen for two incredible voyages. The first in a quest for the North Pole where the ship was stuck in the polar ice for three years drifting with the ice flow until the vessel was released from the ice which sometimes covered most of the ships superstructure. The second voyage was the race to be first to the South Pole in 1911, Amundsen arriving just weeks before the British explorer Scott. Another maritime quest was depicted at the Kon-Tiki museum where Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa boat Kon-Tiki and the papyrus boat Ra11 of his expeditions to prove the migration of South Americans and Africans using similar boats. Both explorers showed enormous determination to prove or achieve their respective quests.

5/9/98 Departed Norway travelling the last 100 km to the Swedish border this morning. Unhappy to see the last of such  a beautiful country but happy to see the last of its restrictive speed limits. (30 km/hr residential, 80 km/hr highway and 90 km/hr freeway). A country happy to continue with life in the past financed by North Sea oil.
 

Move with us to Sweden or go to our next visit to Norway
 

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