Adventures in Oslo, Norway

Friday afternoon at 3pm, Kelsie, Jennifer, Andy and I set out to board Ms. Crown of Scandinavia and cruise to Oslo, Norway for the weekend. After walking for quite some time and getting a little turned around, we finally made it onto the boat and the adventures began!

Our room was actually minuscule. When we first walked in, we thought they didn't provide any bedding or towels and we freaked out...then we folded down the bunk beds and voila - it was all tucked neatly onto the bed. After putting all the bunks down there was barely enough time for the small end table in the picture to stay there since there was so little walking room. Needless to say we didn't spend much time in our cabin over the weekend. 

Friday afternoon was gorgeous in Copenhagen. This is the view of the harbor from the top deck of the boat. It was really windy and as soon as the ship started moving, the outside decks cleared off because it got too cold to stay out. 

Another view as we started cruising. So pretty!

We got to see the sunset from the top of the ship (note the lack of people). 

This was at the Opera House in Oslo as we were walking up. The building was spectacular - you could walk up and all around it and they were having a small show for kids in one area. From the top you could see the whole city with the mountains in the background. 

The four of us at the top of the Opera House (from left to right: Jennifer, me, Kelsie, Andy). The DFDS boat in the background was ours. 

There was a book festival going on! No one else really appreciated it - I wanted to look (only problem was that all the books were in Norwegian...oops). We got into the city pretty early, but by afternoon the main walking street was packed with people. 

Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo (they're legitimately everywhere)!

Oslo Domkirke (or Oslo Cathedral). We only got a glimpse inside because there was a concert going on, but it looked amazing. 

Outside the cathedral, there were flowers and flags and pictures of all the people who were killed in the Norway attacks. This was one of the larger memorials. 

We saw the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace at 1:30pm (after taking a nap on the lawn of the Royal Palace because we were so tired). Unfortunately, it was not nearly as excited as we had anticipated and we ended up leaving before it was over to go get lunch. 

Before we got back on the boat we went to sit on a nearby pier. It was getting a little colder outside, but this picture is a great glimpse into what the rest of the skyline looked like in Oslo when you were looking at the ocean. I think Norway is the most beautiful place I've been yet and after seeing this, I think exploring the islands and checking out areas farther north would be really fun. 

All in all a GREAT weekend. The cruise was a great experience and the all-you-can-eat-buffet we invested in was also a great decision. I'm not going anywhere this coming weekend (as of right now), but I'm sure we'll do something exciting!