We met our tour group this morning for breakfast for the last time. Our hotel had a great variety of food for breakfast. It was split into several different rooms. All kinds of meats and fish, eggs, hot and cold cereals, baked goods, Norwegian pancakes and all kinds of homemade jams.

As we sat enjoying our breakfast, there was a couple sitting behind us with a British accent. I heard the husband say, O, that other room is full of American’s that were on the Viking Cruise. The wife sounded disgusted and said that is why I do not look forward to our cruise in September. Bob was on the other side of the table and did not hear the conversation. I continued sipping my coffee and heard more about those horrible Americans. Hmmm…there were no other people in this area. Do I look Norwegian? I think not (not a tall, beautiful blonde). At some point, I quietly turned my chair around to face the couple. Bob didn’t know what was going on. I said, so you don’t like Americans? The husband’s eyes got as big as baseballs. He sat back in his chair and didn’t say a word. I was trying to be nice, but that obviously struck a cord with his wife. She had plenty to say. Mind blown – she actually told us that her family was displaced during WWII and blamed those Americans. Clearly she was not of sound mind. My head was buzzing and I bit my tongue. I could have said, you’re lucky it wasn’t much worse, I don’t hear you speaking German. BUT, I didn’t. She was irritate. She stood up quickly. Guess her husband’s breakfast was over. Off they flew. We wished them a good day. I believe they were on their way to cancel their September cruise. Bob and I went back to sipping our coffee and saying ‘what just happened’? Almost every place we’ve visited around the world have treated us with respect and kindness. Just like anywhere, there is always that one.

It’s overcast today. We boarded the bus and started on a tour around part of Oslo. Today is our last day. I will say, if you like museums, Oslo is full of them. Unfortunately, we will only be able to see one. We passed the Museum of Norwegian Cultural History. The building itself looked like an old castle. We didn’t have time to stop there, but just a short distance, we stopped at The Viking Ship Museum. We saw a very interesting presentation and then went to a room where a man was building a replica of an ancient Norwegian ship. There was also an ancient ship that had been buried and recovered that was on display. We walked around the museum and soon it was time to head out. I would have liked to visit the Resistance Museum to see more about WWII resistance by the Norwegian’s.

We rode through an area of impressive homes. Not only the size, but the architecture. The sun is coming out and the sky is blue.

We’re going to Frogner Park. We didn’t know anything about this park. We arrived at the gate and saw an extensive green lawn, flanked by tall trees. We walked on a path with a slight downward slope that lead your eyes to sculptures. The park covers 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures, all designed by Gustav Vigeland. It’s the largest park in Oslo and has the largest collection of roses in the country. Frogner Manor was historically one of the largest estates in the modern Oslo area. The estate now houses Oslo Museum. The park opened in 1904 and is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist. The theme is the ‘circle of life’. The rose gardens were in full bloom and lead you towards a very tall fountain. In the center are six giants holding up the large saucer-shaped vessel as a curtain of water spills down around them. We then climbed stairs to a towering monolith. It’s a granite sculpture that symbolizes humanity’s journey through life and striving for spirituality. It depicts 121 intertwined human figures, representing different ages and stages of life, with children at the top and older figures at the bottom. The monolith is carved from a single block of granite and stands 55’ tall. It was a beautiful day for a stroll through this park.

We headed back to our hotel and decided to walk to the central square area for dinner. We couldn’t stay out too late. We had to finish packing and catch just a few hours of sleep.

Our alarm went off at 1:30 am. Our bus to the airport arrived at 2:30 am. The airport was about 45 minutes outside the city. We arrived around 3:30 am and there were hundreds of travelers swarming in. We went to the kiosk to print off our luggage tags. We scanned our passports and entered info, but kiosk was not working. I looked around and everyone was having the same issue. Unfortunately, there were no employees to assist, so we found the Swiss Air counter and got in line to check-in. Although we were all standing in a long line, there were no employees at the counter yet. Guess they start work at 4. Sure enough, here they come. They all marched in, took their places at exactly 4 am and took the first customer in line. Yea! We made it through the line, dropped off our luggage and went to our gate. Just in time, they were starting to board.

So long, Norway! We had a fabulous time and hope to come back again someday (…’rental’ car…lol). We took off and I’m watching out the window. As we headed south, we could see many farms in Norway. It wasn’t long and we were getting ready to land in Zurich, Switzerland. As we approached the airport, I saw them! Unbelievable how beautiful! Snow covered Swiss Alps. We landed and had several hours layover. It was a good airport to walk because the spectacular view of the mountains.

Soon it was time to board our flight to Tampa. At this point, we were kinda of anxious to just get home. We boarded the plane and took off gazing out over those gorgeous Swiss Alps. Ok, added another to our wish list. Watched a few movies on the way back and tried to nap a bit. Believe it was a 10-hour flight. We exited the plane and went to claim our luggage. So glad we have Global Entry because it does make travel a bit smoother. Unfortunately, our luggage was damaged somewhere between Norway and Florida. Our bags no longer roll, so we grabbed a cart, loaded it up and hopped the train over to the rental car area. It’s 6:30 pm Florida time. We drove home with no issues. I always miss driving.

Another ‘wild hair journey’ in the books! Had a fabulous trip with my love ♥️and made so many great memories. Our next trip is already booked and we now look forward to the planning.