Oslo, our last day 12/09/2024

 When we planned our trip to Norway, we had a list of places we wanted to go and things we wanted to see.  The Oslo Christmas Market, the Oslo Cathedral, the village of Drobak (the Christmas Village), Lillehammer, the Nobel Peace Center, and the Norway Resistance Museum.

We walked down to the harbor to the Nobel Center...  a very impressive building.  Unfortunately for us it was closed to the public and would not reopen for three more days.  Maybe next trip.  

Next on our list was the Norway Resistance Museum.  This was a learning experience in Norwegian WW II history.  I did not realize how much Norway suffered during the Nazi occupation.  Their war with Germany began on 9th of  April 1940.  The Germans attacked and occupied Norway in a totally unexpected assault.  The population at that time was 2.9 million people.  The German code name for this attack was "Operation Weserübung".  On the 10th of April the Royal family evacuated, along with the Norway treasury to England.  The King did not abdicate, and so they set up their government in England.  A former Norwegian military officer, Vidkun Quisling, announced himself as the ruler of Norway under the German rule.  However, this was considered an illegitimate government.  At the end of WW II Mr Quisling was found guilty of treason and executed by firing squad on October 24, 1945.  Since that time, the name Quisling is synomous to the word traitor.  He was their Benedict Arnold.  The Germans brought 400,000 soldiers into Norway.  They felt that there would be an invasion by the English and French military forces.  The Norwegians that opposed the Nazis were united, and they fought the Germans throughout the war. 45,000 Norwegians were imprisoned, and 1/4 of those were sent to concentration camps in Germany. 1400 died in those camps. The museum was established in 1970 by members of the Resistance.  It tells of their struggle.  If you are ever in Oslo, go see it.

After our museum visit ended, we had lunch at the Cafe Skansen.  This restaurant specialized in Scandinavian dishes.  I could not resist the syltet sild (pickled herring). After visiting a few shops we boarded the tram and rode around the city and then got off at our hotel. For our final night, Linda made reservations at the restaurant Elias. This is a small, intimate, well appointed Norwegian restaurant famous for its food and service.  I had pumpkin soup as an appetizer and seafood bisque as my entree.  Linda had their specialty... reindeer stew.  Everything was delicious...  a great way to finish this adventure.  We went back to our hotel and made one last stop at the rooftop bar.  Linda had a glass of wine, I had an Old Fashioned, and we enjoyed our last night time view of Oslo.  

Time to pack,,,,

Nobel Peace Center

Rooftop view of Oslo


Norwegians in concentration camps
Reindeer Stew

Church opposition to the Nazis
Pickled Herring

Teachers arrested

Apple Crisp

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