[This post, published out of chronological order, will shortly be moved into the folder for May 2019.]
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| A lifelike waxwork at Vikingaliv |
In Stockholm, on our first day in Sweden, we visited
Vikingaliv, the museum about the Vikings. There was little about the violent raids that gave their story a bad press; rather, this exhibition focused on their peaceful everyday life on the farm, their runes, their wise women, the Nordic sagas. We studied the exhibits, watched some of the videos; I tried on a suit of armour, and then, wearing headphones, we went on the little red train that went through tunnels (reminding me of the Ghost Ride in Scarborough's amusement arcades of my childhood --- which, incredibly, is
still in operation). At each bend was a diorama inset into the tunnel wall:
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Reconstruction of a
Viking interior |
Ragnfrid’s Saga is a Viking ride where you get to follow along on a trip to the Viking Age. The journey begins at Frösala Farm with Ragnfrid and her husband Harald. Then you proceed to go on a journey where you witness plundering in the west and slave trade in the east. With sounds, light and atmospheric environments you travel through the 11-minute journey that is told by Ragnfrid herself.
In Norway two weeks later, on May 18th, while we were in Oslo, we took the
ferry from the Rådhusbrygge (City Hall Pier) to the
Museums at Bygdøy.
At the Viking Ship Museum, our first call, we found the unearthed burial ship, the
Oseberg. Another once-buried ship, the
Gokstad, had once sailed on the high seas. A documentary film was projected on the walls of the museum, helping us to imagine the Vikings as they set sail. In the end, these ships served as tombs for the Viking aristocracy: a tent like structure on the deck was where their bodies were laid, along with important artefacts, before earth was piled on top of the whole ship. Some mysterious decorations have been found in these graves, with Buddha-like heads.
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| The Oseberg |
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| The Gokstad |
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| On the rim of a barrel found with the buried ship |
After this, we walked beside an inlet on the Bygdøy peninsula, where boats were moored near some posh houses, to the
Fram Museum, that my daughter and others had been recommended to me. The Fram was once an explorers' ship, now kept above water and housed in a Toblerone-shaped building to make it fit. On board this ship, I went virtually sailing past icebergs in the polar regions, an audio-visual show projecting this seascape onto the walls. It got rough on board when a storm blew up; I had the illusion the ship was actually rolling in the waves and held onto the rail.
A lifelike waxwork of Nansen (leader of the Fram's 1890s expedition) sat in his cabin.
Vital equipment was stored in the bows of the ship and an upright piano stood in the mess. In another part of the museum I found Amundsen's boots, more sensible than the ones his British rival, Capt. Scott, wore, whose team arrived at the South Pole 33 days too late to beat the Norwegians. Amundsen's ship was the
Maud, by the way, not the Fram.
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| Waxwork of Nansen on the Fram |
While I was touring the Fram museum, Chis sat on a bench by the fjord, reading a book he'd bought at the Viking Ship Museum and enjoying the view.
In Norway two weeks later, on May 18th, while we were in Oslo, we took the ferry from the Rådhusbrygge (City Hall Pier) to the Museums at Bygdøy.
At the Viking Ship Museum, our first call, we found the unearthed burial ship, the Oseberg. Another once-buried ship, the Gokstad, had once sailed on the high seas. A documentary film was projected on the walls of the museum, helping us to imagine the Vikings as they set sail. In the end, these ships served as tombs for the Viking aristocracy: a tent like structure on the deck was where their bodies were laid, along with important artefacts, before earth was piled on top of the whole ship. Some mysterious decorations have been found in these graves, with Buddha-like heads.
After this, we walked beside an inlet on the Bygdøy peninsula, where boats were moored near some posh houses, to the Fram Museum, that my daughter and others had been recommended to me. The Fram was once an explorers' ship, now kept above water and housed in a Toblerone-shaped building to make it fit. On board this ship, I went virtually sailing past icebergs in the polar regions, an audio-visual show projecting this seascape onto the walls. It got rough on board when a storm blew up; I had the illusion the ship was actually rolling in the waves and held onto the rail.
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