Our last day in Oslo has reverted back to some sunshine and blue sky. Still a fair bit of cloud. We set off today for a group of three museums way out of town on the fjord shores. Have to catch a local bus to get there, it takes a while and a bit of walking to find the bus stop. Finally, we are on our way and it takes about thirty minutes through the suburbs.

The first is the Kon Tiki museum that records the work of Thor Heyerdahl. He sought to prove that man could have sailed from South America to the Pacific Islands on rafts to establish civilisations of the same ilk as in South America. The success of the Kon Tiki journey certainly established that it could be done. Today, however, there seems to be evidence that the Polynesians came from the north east rather than South America, it is not proven though and doubts remain as to the source of the Pacific populations.

Later Heyerdahl did the same sort of trip on Ra across the Atlantic to prove that man could have sailed from southern Europe on rafts to introduce Egyptian ideas to the Mayan populations in South America. Again there is no conclusive proof. For all his work Thor Heyerdahl has his place in Norwegian history.

Across the road is the Fram Museum. It is here that the original Fram is securely preserved. The Fram was the ship used by Nansen and Amundsen on their polar explorations. Nansen in the north and Amundsen in the south.

Considerable space is given over in the museum to the race between Amundsen and Scott (the English team) to be the first to reach the South Pole. But it is the Fram that dominates the museum space, an amazing vessel.

Lastly, we moved on to the Maritime Museum which records hundreds of years of Norwegian sea faring. Of interest to us though were some pieces of old Viking boats and the story of how these are being restored. A couple of pieces had been moved here from the Viking Museum which is undergoing a multi year restoration. Some amazing sights here in this museum.

This old canoe is the oldest boat ever found in Norway, some 2,200 years old. The tools are likely to be the sort of items used to make it.

Late in the afternoon we headed back on the bus for the city, arriving without any drama. We had a treat lined up to attend the Oslo Opera House to see the ballet of Don Quixote. Quite an enjoyable show to round out our trip to Oslo.

We head off early in the morning on the Bergen train, stopping at Myrdal to change trains for Flam. More of that next time.