We are off to a very slow start this morning, resting, getting caught up on e-mail and just enjoying NOT being in motion. After lunch we set out to make the most of the two-day “Oslo Card” museum passes that our hosts have VERY generously given to us. We start the day with a sprint for the train and the pace hardly slackens.
First, we hit the great trilogy of sea-faring museums: the Maritime Museum, the Kon-Tiki and the Fram. Like the Wasa in Stockholm, these were places we had visited six years ago and I was sure the kids would love it. I was right, too – especially the Fram, which is also my favorite. What’s not to love about polar expeditions, especially when you can actually climb all over the boat? 
The Kon-Tiki, I am sure, will make us very grateful for the comforts of the Queen Mary 2.
It is late by the time we are done admiring the voyages of others and it is drizzly as well. Still, as we head back to the main harbor by boat we can SEE the ski jump high on the hill and it has been strongly recommended that we see the view of the city from there, so we decide to grab a quick snack for the kids at Burger King and then run up to the ski jump for a quick peek from the ski jump before heading home. Bad Idea.
For one thing, while we are well aware of the weakness of the dollar, the strength of the Norwegian Crown is something we hadn’t really grasped yet. A quick snack at Burger King turned out to be a rather costly affair with chicken nuggets coming in around $1.50 per nugget. The water, anyway, was free, and, unlike in Russia, clean enough to drink. The kids’ tummies are full and our wallets empty, we head off to find the train that will take us to the ski jump.
Bad Idea #2. Actually, the train up the hill was VERY lovely and took us through neighborhoods that reminded us of the hills back home. It’s been kind of weird to imagine a commuter train running along Grizzly Peak, but that’s the basic idea. This would have been a good time to stop – but we press on, figuring that we have made it this far so we can’t stop. It’s raining now and we begin the climb from the tram stop to the museum. It is quite a hike and we arrive at the top dripping and gasping. It is a wonderful museum of skiing in Norway and I am seriously wishing the Beyars could be with us as I know Joel especially would think this was cool. Stopping now at the museum also might be a good idea, but it’s onward and upward. Up the elevator first and then a steep and slippery staircase all the way to the top of the ski jump looking for the legendary Great View of Oslo. Alas, it is a vision that will elude us. We stand at the glass-enclosed summit, shivering, panting and completely surrounded by clouds. We can only see the faintest outlines of the ski jump track and it’s terrifyingly steep. Now it is not raining but something closer to a squall. We retrace our steps down to the museum and find ourselves killing time, trying on Viking Hats in the gift shop, hoping that the storm will pass.
It becomes clear that this will not pass anytime soon, so we brace ourselves for a cold trot down a steep mountainside. As we approach the stop, a train pulls away. We are good Muscovites, though, and don’t despair because we know another train will be along shortly. Thirty very long and wet minutes later the train did finally come. We arrived back at the Masvies’ late, soaked, exhausted and hungry. But we DID make good use of our museum cards.
The Kon-Tiki, I am sure, will make us very grateful for the comforts of the Queen Mary 2.
It becomes clear that this will not pass anytime soon, so we brace ourselves for a cold trot down a steep mountainside. As we approach the stop, a train pulls away. We are good Muscovites, though, and don’t despair because we know another train will be along shortly. Thirty very long and wet minutes later the train did finally come. We arrived back at the Masvies’ late, soaked, exhausted and hungry. But we DID make good use of our museum cards. 
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