What a busy day! Luckily I slept like the dead last night...took one of mom's sleeping pills and didn't wake until 8AM after I heard my alarm...apparently I fell asleep with the iPad on my chest...mom took it off after trying to wake me with no success :)
I think I'll take another one tonight! These beds are so soft that I wake up with back pain...the sleeping pill allows me to sleep through it...once again we have the black out curtains drawn because it's currently 11:30PM and it looks like this outside:
So, our 'sleepy head' travel companions woke up at 10AM!! They turned off their alarm the night before so they wouldn't be woken up too early :) Mom and I headed up to check on them after we'd had our breakfast to discover our knock on the door was now their alarm...they must've really needed the sleep but after all our walking and eating it's understandable!
First up...try out our new bus passes...there is a pick up spot right next to our hotel, super handy, so we were making our way towards the harbour to catch a ferry over to the Viking Museum, the Heritage Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum...
Here's our little water taxi, quick ride to where the museum touring is going to start...my Aunt June and Mom...great shot!
I took a couple photos of the houses in the area, really stunning places...so well taken care of !!!
So the first place we went to was the Folk Museum...on this site over 160 buildings have been moved here from all over Norway. What a great idea to make sure the history is being preserved. Many historic places end up being destroyed if there is no money for restorations or if the property is being re-allocated.
So you can see so many different buildings from many different eras all in one place here!
Here's some traditional clothing of the Norwegians...during holidays or special occassions, you will still see locals dressing this way. We have discovered several different stores downtown where you can purchase outfits or have items custom made!
Roughly cut furniture pieces from the Middle Ages...so well preserved!
So many pieces have been painted beautifully...it seems as though some of the wooden pieces lack in finishing in this era so they decorated them through paint...another amazing artifact you come across are the sleds...very necessary for the winters here.
However, the one thing that is most well regarded here is their weaving and hand embroidering...there is evidence of the talent from the Middle Ages up until present day. In fact, up until 1990 all students in school had mandatory instruction in weaving/sewing/needlework. Which when you think about it, was a very clever thing to have as a mandatory class...how else do you ensure these skills get passed along?!!
Next up is the Stave Church. It is the oldest wooden style churches still standing in the world! There are only a handful of them still left and we got to see one here at the museum. Like I mentioned earlier, over 160 buildings from all over Norway were moved to this location. This is a model of the one we are headed to see...
This is the approach from the back...amazing detail for a building erected in the 1200's...
a close up of the roof...
and of the siding...
Stunning!
Check out the intricate carving around the door frame...
I found it remarkable that everything has been so well preserved since the 1200's...you can still make out the colours and images of the original painting...what a lovely alter.
When you think of this roof design, how environmentally friendly is this! A lively roof...as you can see in the second photo, they layers start with the bark in strips laid down and then layers of earth and eventually grass...
There were many people dressed in the era and after speaking to one lady, it's like a summer camp/educational volunteer job...the families participate, they stay and work their 'property/jobs' from 8-4 each day, five days a week...many families want to participate as a way to further educate their children on the history of their country. This little fellow was hauling water while his siblings were minding the fire and boiling water...
Next up, the Viking Museum...amazing that they have been able to display these ships after being discovered and excavated.
Interesting bit of information I learnt was that the Vikings believed they were to be buried at sea...so they would load these huts (above) onto the ship along with their valuable belongings and send it all over board!
Off to the Kon-Tiki Museum next...the first ship we saw was made of Papyrus leaves. It was very interesting to see how they tie all the reeds together...
The Kon-Tiki raft was amazing...the fact that they were able to survive and travel so far and long without it falling apart is unbelievable really...
It was very interesting to see these ships...I guess you'd call them that?!?? Needless to say, we were very tired after all our touring around today :)
We had a dinner reservation for 7PM at a fabulous Italian restaurant called Ruffino...here's a shot of our meals...
Everything was delicious...the wine was great and we celebrated Auntie June's birthday in style...the staff came and sang to her and brought her some Tiramisu with a candle for her to blow out :)
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