The cruise next sailed to the Polish port of Gdynia. Kelvin and I had visited Poland back in 2013 as I very much had wanted to see Auschwitz (which was vetoed for our honeymoon).
Gdynia is about 25 km away from the more interesting city, Gdansk, which we accessed by taxi since we couldn't get our internet working to navigate the public transportation system.
The Old town was heavily bombed in WW2, which started when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 in Westerplatte, but has been restored.
The Royal Route took us through colorful merchant houses and shops.
Mariacka Street is home to many Amber galleries and shops (this is Amber Central!).
We rode on a pirate ship "Galleon Lew" on the Motlawa river, but it was pretty underwhelming, taking us by shipyards (instead, my parents went on a "Solidarity" tour which explained the movement which upended Soviet rule around 1990).
We finished our day at the impressive Amber Museum, which told the story of the region's density of "Baltic Gold," fossilized (30-50 million year old!) tree resin, found on seashores, and had some lovely specimens to ogle.
The most interesting blocks had preserved creatures within!
"Queen of Gdansk" sculpture
Jesus' face, carved in amber
Amber chess set
After a sea day, we traveled to Norway and docked in the capital Oslo, which is a beautiful capital on the head of the Oslofjord.
We took the train to Holmenkollen, home to a gigantic Ski jump and museum featuring Norway's skiing traditions (we even saw some people "training" for cross-country skiing on short, ski-like platforms on wheels now that it's summer!). We are hugely impressed by the public transportation options (and apps) in Europe— a day pass cost us each $10 (less for kids!).
Pulling their weight!
Nordic skiing race!
Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole in 1911 (on skis). We didn't make it to the Fram museum but some did.
MOOSE!
Past ski champions included men named "Iver" (or Ivar and Njal), and we reminded the kids that they're each one quarter Norwegian by ancestry. We were reminded of the dominant men's cross country skiing champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as we visited the exhibits.
We waited in a long line to take the elevator to the top of the ski jump. Most people were there to Zipline over the ski jump with some impressive views. You could also try simulated ski-jumping, which we skipped.
The views at the top over the city of Oslo were stunning!
Norge!
We headed back to the central part of Oslo and visited Frogner/Vigeland Sculpture park, which was a lovely place for an afternoon stroll and home to over 200 naked bronze and granite sculptures.
We took the metro back to Oslo's harbor, where we viewed and walked on the Oslo Opera House, which resembles a glacier.
The grounds of nearby Akershus Fortress includes a medieval castle which started construction in the 1290s by King Haakon V. It was captured by the Germans in WW2.
The kids thought Oslo "The Viking Capital" was their favorite port of the cruise and I agree! We were there on a rare sunny day (it rains 249 days a year there!) and the outdoor spaces, including kids' parks, are unmatched. Despite the weather and costs, we can understand why Scandinavians are the happiest people in the world! While I had previously visited Oslo in around 2003 (I believe I visited the sculpture park and the Nobel museum), I saw and appreciated it with new eyes this time around. Having Norwegian roots (my Arness side) makes it easy to love the beautiful country of Norway. Having watched a lot of FIFA World Cup this year, an Erling Haaland jersey may be in our kids' futures.
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