Oslo, the capital of Norway, is included as a port of call on many Baltic cruises. The city is full of parks, museums, churches and interesting architecture. If Oslo is on your ship's itinerary, you’ll be surprised at all this modern city has to offer.

Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park may be one of the most unusual, yet thought provoking parks ever created.  The park features 212 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. He started work on the park in 1924, and was still working on it when he died almost twenty years later.  The most notable statue is the Vigeland Monolith, a 52-foot sculpture containing 121 figures carved from a single piece of stone!

The opera house in Oslo is an incredibly dramatic sight! It appears to rise out of the waters of Oslofjord like a glacier. The building is made from white marble and granite, and is an architectural marvel.  It is the world’s first and only opera house on which you can walk up onto the roof! Views from the roof stretch as far as the eye can see over Oslofjord and the surrounding islands. Of course, one would imagine the performances are just as magnificent!

The Vikings were undoubtedly master ship builders, and some of the most famous Viking ships are on display at the Viking Ship Museum, located just outside of Oslo. The beautiful Oseberg ship dates back to the early 800’s and was a grave for a Viking Queen, who was buried on it with all of her belongs, to aid passage into the next life. The Golkstad, a war ship dating from around 890, is also on display. Both of these ships were discovered over 100 years ago in an embalmed state in clay burial mounds around the Oslofjord and are very well preserved.

The Fram Museum is located a short distance from the centre of Oslo. Norway has participated in many important expeditions the Arctic and the Antarctic. The Fram Museum contains exhibits of the most famous voyages. The centerpiece of the museum is the Fram itself, a ship specially built in Norway for polar research. The museum also presents current issues facing the High North such as polar bears, ice melting, gas and oil etc.

Much of Norway’s territory lies north of the Arctic Circle, but you don’t have to leave Oslo to feel the chill. End the day with a visit to ICEBAR Oslo where the temperature is kept at a constant 23° Fahrenheit!  It’s an experience you won’t soon forget! To stay warm guests can borrow a fur lined cape and gloves. Everything, including the glasses are made out of crystal clear ice harvested from the frozen Torne River in Northern Sweden. So, Cheers! Here’s to an incredible Baltic cruise!