Sjøfartsmuseet

Last Thursday I went to Sjøfartsmuseet (the best translation I can give you is something like The sea-faring museum) with a couple of the students from my Norwegian language class. It was quite interesting, with exhibits organised chronologically from the Viking age until now. Of course, we started off in true student style:

I think we make good sailors :) look out seven seas, we're coming for you!

We probably spent the most time in the Viking area. They had a lot of small models of Viking ships which are currently being exhibited at Vikingskipshuset in Oslo. It was quite nice to see them scaled down, because while visiting the real deal in Oslo is incredible, they're so huge you can't see inside them or anything (maybe I should suggest they get a viewing platform).

Model of the Oseberg ship (sorry the photo's a bit dark)

Photo of the prow of the real Oseberg ship, which I took when I was in Oslo in April (it was too big to get a decent photo of the whole ship!)

Other items which interested me:

Check out this guy! This was a gourd/pot/water container type thing

Really cool old map

Quite a tragic character, no?

An old crate :) from when Bergen used to be called Bjørgvin

I was very interested to see the part of the museum dedicated to WWII. Norway didn't play much of a role in WWI, managing to stay more or less neutral throughout, but during WWII they were occupied by the Germans, and it's said that the war only ultimately ended when the Norwegians managed to destroy a heavy water plant which the Germans were controlling in Telemark (ending their attempt to make an atomic bomb). I got rushed around it a bit, because by this point our concentration was beginning to wane, but what I did see was very interesting

Poster from WWII

On that final note, I'm obligated to show you the trailer for Max Manus, a brilliant film about WWII in Norway: