Day 67 New York

July 25

Tell hubby the news, I'm shopping today. My credit card will take a hit, New York, New York.

After seven days at sea in cold and foggy conditions, we have arrived. I was so excited that I had the breakfast in the buffet that nobody ever eats, fruit loops. I certainly got some strange looks.

This was the first time that we went ashore without a tour, so we were lined up ready to go before the port authority gave us permission to leave. Good thing we were so keen, if we waited just one hour more then we would have been stuck in wait until midday before being allowed to get off. There were many passengers that waited hours, and rightly so, they were angry that they lost half the day that would have been spent exploring the city. The ship had no control over this process, the reason it was so slow was because each passenger had their fingerprints of both hands taken along with a photo.

In total, we spent about 8 hours walking. We visited Central Park, however only saw a small section of the park itself, followed by shopping (Apple store, FAO Schwarz, Tiffany's, Swatch, Coach) after which we walked to Time Square with visits to various stores (Disney, Toys R Us). Then we had lunch at Pie Face of all places. There are Pie Face stores all about the place in Australia, yet I never eat at them, come to New York and I eat at Pie Face. Not far from Pie Face is Macy's, we just had a wander around in there. Afterwards we walked to Grand Central Station and spotted the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building.

New York would be hard to get lost in, the street layout is so simple and straight forward. There was a lot of traffic, and after 10am, a lot of people.

Trump Tower. Even has its own Trump icecream parlour........

Underground Apple Store.

Central Park is comprised of more than 800 acres of meadows, ponds and woods. There is also a Zoo, pool, and a ice-skating rink. We only had time to see a tiny section.

Central Park

Central Park.

Central Park.

Central Park.

FAO Schwarz.

FAO Schwarz.

M&M Store.

I wonder how many different types of shrimp they do. Fried Shrimp, Boiled Shrimp.

Time Square.

Disney Store.

Disney Store.

The Toys R Us has a ferris wheel inside for kids to have a ride.

 Grand Central Terminal.

Chrysler Building. Designed by William Van Allen in 1930. It is topped with a 185ft spire

Built in 1943, the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and her crew served tours of duty through World War II and Vietnam.

The USS Intrepid made seven trips around the globe, surviving five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike. She then served as a NASA astronaut recovery vessel before being retired in 1974. It now serves as a museum

British Airways Concorde.

Growler Submarine.

In this picture you can see the Empire State Building, the tallest building in New York, standing at 1,250 feet tall with 102 floors.

Lower Manhattan 

Statue of Liberty, a gift given to the U.S. from France in 1886. This landmark has become an international symbol of freedom. Made of Copper, she stands 305 feet tall.

New Jersey on the left, Manhattan in the middle, and Brooklyn in to the right (just out of the shot and in the distance).

I think this is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island.

Meet Boo, we picked him up in NY. He sits in our room and brings a smile to our face. We have already started talking to him. I guess being at sea does strange things to people.

Day 60 Torshavn, Faroe Islands

July 18

Cancelled. The winds were too strong for docking or anchorage, the captain gave some lengthy explanation that went straight over my head. Today has now become an extra sea day on top of the six we already have.

I am not looking forward to 7 days at sea, especially in the North Atlantic. It's cold, foggy, and the ships horn goes off at all hours of the night.

Day 58 Oslo, Norway

July 16

Today we arrived in Olso. We had a 90 minute drive through the countryside of Jevnaker County before we arrived at the Hadeland Glassworks gallery and museum where we watched the age-old tradition of blowing glass. Afterwards we travelled to the Viking Ship Museum.

The Viking Ships Museum displays three longships in a remarkable state of preservation. The three Viking ships, from Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune, were all found in burial mounds in the Oslo Fjord area. They were excavated between 1867 and 1904, the blue clay in Olso Fjord kept them well preserved. They were built during the 9th century AD, and later used as burial ships for wealthy men and women. In the Oseberg ship lay a woman and her slave girl, who had been buried in about 850 AD. Each of the other two ships held a man. They were both buried in about 900 AD. These noble men and women were buried along with jewels, food and furniture for the afterlife.

Many of the pictures below are of the scenery during our travels in the countryside. It was stunning, despite the overcast weather. I tried to imagine how different it would look covered in snow and the massive lakes iced over.

Sailing into Oslo.

The Olso cruise terminal is right in front of this castle.

Interesting fountain we passed on the bus. I wonder if all the fountains are drained before winter.

Shallow fountain that trams pass through.

We didn't visit the Vigeland Sculpture Park, however I managed to take a photo of one of the sculptures from the cover of a book. This little boy looks like he is having a tantrum because the seagulls keep pooping on him, hehe. The park displays some 200 sculptors by Gustav Vigeland, the works depict the many stages and episodes of human life.

Trolls are a very common souvenir item in Norway. They were too expensive to buy, even the little ones  are upwards of $20. You need to want one badly to fork out the money, as they are ugly, and you don't know if you are buying a good or evil troll. I wouldn't mind a little Viking troll for the garden.

The view on our way to the Hadeland Glassworks.

The view on our way to the Hadeland Glassworks.

The view on our way to the Hadeland Glassworks.

The view on our way to the Hadeland Glassworks.

The view on our way to the Hadeland Glassworks.

The Hadeland Glassworks.

The Hadeland Glassworks. We had a danish pastry for a light snack, now I know how they should taste, which has spoiled any future danish pastry I have.

Glass blowing demonstration. I have seen this done before in Venice. I think it takes something like 12 years to become a master at this profession. I wasnt impressed by the pieces they had on display and for sale (I was spoilt in Venice), but the views during the drive here make the visit worth while. 

Viking Ship Museum, built in 1927.

The Oseberg Ship, excavated in 1904. The 22 meter long ship was built of oak sometime between 315-320 AD, then used as a grave ship for a woman of high rank who died in 834 AD.  The Oseberg was a luxury pleasure craft.

The Gokstad Ship, excavated in 1880. The 24 meter long ship had room for 32 oarsmen. It was built around 890 AD, and later used as a grave for a Viking chieftain. During excavation, archaeologists found the remains of 64 shields which had been attached to the outside railings. The Gokstad was a sturdy and practical vessel capable of sailing the high seas. 

The human skeletons found in the Gokstad and Oseberg burial mounds. Many of the bones were missing as the bodies had been dragged from thier grave chambers when the grave was robbed of its treasures only decades after the burial.

The Tune ship contained the remains of a man of high rank. This chieftan had been placed in a wooden burial chamber built on board the ship.

This cart from the Oseberg find is the only one of its kind from the Norwegian Viking Age.

The Oseberg ship grave also included three highly decorated sleds. These grave gifts were given for the journey to the realm of the dead. This sled was found mid-ship in front of the grave chamber.

It was thought that the dead needed food and drink for the journey to the grave, meat was placed in a trough, grain in a chest.

The grave mounds were broken into and robbed only decades after the burials, so it it was lucky to find these remaining treasures.

Combs are often found in Viking Period graves. One comb in the Osberg grave is so large that it may have been used to groom the horses.

Sailing away.

Tomorrow we are at sea.