5/23 -- Arrive in Oslo and Explore a Bit

We could see that there were pretty noticeable wave swells as we rode the ferry, but we couldn't feel it, probably due to stabilizers. While we were sleeping, apparently the wave action picked up because we both became aware of noticeable rocking. I thought I slept through it well, but my fitbit says I woke up at 1:21 am and didn't go back to sleep. I had decided not to close the curtains and the bright sun at 4:08 am woke me up enough so that I fixed that, but was really lethargic when Jim got up to shower.

We went up to breakfast no more than 15 minutes after the dining room and opened and it was jam-packed! I guess this was an early and hungry crowd. After we found a place to sit and ate, I went back to the room and napped while Jim wandered around and took pictures. The nap helped a lot.

Our room, with FOUR! beds, was a bit small.

Breakfast mob

The primary fortress in Oslo. A Renaissance festival is
scheduled here  for Saturday.

Art installation in the harbor

We left the boat around 10 to head to our hotel, which was actually walking distance, but better to ride with all the luggage. Veera took us on an orientation walk around the downtown where we are located.

From our hotel to the city center. Cars are dissuaded from
entering and lots of restaurants have extended into the streets.

Parliament House, known as a Ting, like the Thing in Iceland

City Hall, which is also where the Nobel
Prize ceremony is held.

After that, we headed out to buy money and lunch.We picked a chain with a good reputation that was also very busy. The deal is, you find a table and note the number, and go to the bar to order, giving them the table number and the numbers of your selections. Both our sandwiches were tasty and filling, but odd interpretations of a Philly Cheese Steak and a Pulled Pork Sandwich. Mine was swimming in mayo, which I avoid and it fell apart when I disassembled it to scrape off the offending sauce. What a mess, but reasonably tasty.

Then we explored some more, looking into shops for warm clothing, since the jacket  I had worn from Copenhagen clearly was not up to the task. I did unearth my light down jacket, hat and gloves from my bag, but I am concerned that the best of my layers will not be up to the task. The sweaters we saw at one shop were well over $100, and then I would need to find a turtleneck t-shirt to go under it.

These flower holders are both pretty and
security, to prevent nasty people from
targeting people on sidewalks with  cars.

This fountain becomes a skating rink in the winter.

Veera had done some work to help me find a sim card within easy walking distance and managed to sweet-talk someone at a nearby 7-11. The first clerk we talked to said "no, no, we don't do that anymore" and the second one heard me reference Veera and was the guy she had talked to. It was a challenge to get the card in its  little slot and I could see why they want to not do this, but both clerks were very helpful and I  now have data access for our trip! And thanks to the new EU rules about roaming, it should work without excessive charges for the rest of our long adventure.