April 29, 2019 – Oslo, Norway
Ian gave “sail in” commentary through the fiords into Oslo. If you guessed that there were muffins, you would be correct.
We pulled in later than usual today. I’m guessing it is to please the muffin eating passengers. We arrived at the dock at 10 am and we got off the ship about 10:30 am.
I suggested we visit the Kon-Tiki museum. Thor Heyerdahl wanted to prove that people could have sailed from South America to Polynesia. To do that, he built a raft out of balsa wood and set out with 5 others from Peru.
He wrote about the experience and his book was published in 1948. I remember reading this when I was a kid and thought it would be interesting.
We could see where the museum was from the ship but there was a lot of water to walk around. 4.5 miles this morning. The sun was warm and it was already in the 60s.
These shipping containers were used to provide information to visitors.
Along the way we walked through some nice neighborhoods.
Lots of walking paths.
Thor’s team knew nothing about sailing and the craft looked like it would last a week. I guess it was their ignorance of the seas that really gave them the courage to try this.
The museum was interesting and small. Thor also built a reed boat similar to what the Egyptians used and also did some work on Easter Island.
There were many artifacts from easter Island in this museum. We spent about an hour there and decided to head back and grab lunch. The restaurant we passed on the way in was closed on Monday. We decided to stop at a market and grab some food we could eat on the way.
Our next stop was the Beer Palace. Very nice place and very large. No one was there and we sat down for a drink. We learned why no one was there. A 25% VAT or “Value Added Tax”. $13 USD per drink. We each had one and then left. Lots of visitors exploring town but little action in the stores. Visitors to Norway can get the VAT refunded but the hassle may not be worth it. There is nothing here we couldn’t get anywhere else. Nothing like a tax to kill something. There is a very large corporate tax here also. 70%
One benefit is that there is no waiting to get a table anywhere, even with huge crowds of tourists.
Nice place. No waiting.
The Oslo Opera house.
Art?
I guess if you find yourself without a t shirt you can pick one up at this handy rack.
Probably 12 miles of walking today. We look forward to a sea day tomorrow to rest.…