Oslo

Oslo is one of the most beautiful cities we've seen, where it seems everyone lives in a mansion with fjord views. Despite its prettiness there's not that much to do. 

The view from the route 91 ferry.

The Vigeland Sculpture Park is pretty cool if a little strange.

 After being in Scandinavia for a month we finally saw a viking ship. This one (the Gokstad ship) was buried with a king inside for about a thousand years.

We also saw a ship of a very different kind. Norwegian scientist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and his crew sailed across the Atlantic on this ship made of reeds to prove ancient trade links.

In addition to all of the pretty old buildings is the cool Oslo Opera House.

On our way out of town we stopped to see the Heddal stave church.

The Girl Who Kicked the Meatball

Our final week in Sweden was spent mostly in a tent. We began with three days cycling around the island of Gotland. The island is 2,994km². To help you appreciate the size, that is about the same as Choiseul Island in the Solomon Islands, 4.8 times larger than Benjamin Island in Chile or 0.00058% of the Earth's surface. 

The first night we stayed at the beautiful Ireviken. 

Thanks to the Everyman's Right, in Scandinavia you can put your tent just about anywhere. So we did just that, made a fire and watched the sunset.

And watched the fire

We made some great friends along the path

A rest on day 2

On the second night we stayed just south of Slite. It was again very pleasant.

The third night we were in the island's medieval walled town of Visby.

As medieval towns go, Visby is very well preserved and still has many cute old houses.

 

That evening we stayed in the old Visby jail. Cell 13.

After escaping the island we made a quick stop at the Kalmar Castle. It was here that in 1397, Sweden, Denmark and Norway were unified by Queen Margaret I of Denmark.

Mmm.... cheese in a tube.

We then spent 3 hectic days at the Hultsfred music festival.

Our great spot by the lake.

The first act was one of Josh's favourite bands, The Gaslight Anthem. They did not disappoint.

Later on day 1 we were privileged enough to experience Slash. It was quite simply incredible. He played a great set including the 5 best songs from "Appetite for Destruction". For a guy who has probably spent more time playing guitar than sleeping in the last 30 years, he genuinely seemed to enjoy himself.

The combination of the shining sun and Swedish singer-songwriter Anna Ternheim made for a very relaxed start to day 2.

The second day climaxed with a set by The Cure. They started just before 1am and played until 3:15. It was a surreal scene as the sun started to come up and the exhausted crowd simply swayed back and forth like zombies.  In the end Robert Smith announced that the police had threatened to shut off the power, so they did "Boys Don't Cry"and called it a night.

The best performance was from a Norweigen band called Katzenjammer. They played a mix of pop, folk and rock and switched instruments so many times it was ridiculous.

We also saw  The Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Garbage, Kasabian and of course on the main stage Sweden vs England in the European Championships.

It all finished with an amazing show (or multimedia handjob as they described it) from the Gorillaz.

 The morning after

The Girl Who Played ABBA Too Often

Day 1 in Stockholm and of course, it rained. Despite that we walked around the old part of the city, Gamla stan, which was very pretty despite the weather.

The sun came out the following day and as you'd expect in Scandinavia, everyone made the most of it.

We soaked up the sunshine on the beautiful green island of Djurgården

 

June 6th was the National Day of Sweden. A public holiday since 2005, the Swedes celebrate by doing stuff like looking at things and walking around. Some people dress up in smart costumes.

This was our 7th country with a monarch, and we finally got to see one. They look just like normal people but smile more and wear old clothes. At the top: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. At the bottom: Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Madeleine & Prince Carl Philip.

It was a typically Swedish underwhelming display of nationalism, the crowd turned out in their tens and waved a few flags.

Other cool things in Stockholm include the Vasa, a warship that was launched in 1627, sailed 2km and then sank. It was salvaged in 1961 in near perfect condition.

The Nobel museum. Below is a chair signed by the Dalai Lama.

Skansen is one of the best museums we've been to. It demonstrates daily life in Sweden in the olden days and you can talk to people from the past like these glass blowers or the Sami nomads. 

Skansen also has a zoo of nordic animals. These photos are titled: "Oh that's what an elk looks like", "Flying Pig", "Bear vs Fox" and "Wolverine vs Rat".

We can't have a blog entry from a capital city without showing some of the great food. 

Potato dumplings filled with morels, served with lingonberries.

We finished our visit with a boat trip, seeing the sparkling harbour

and the green spaces and islands within it.