Oslo 2001

The Viking Museum

Outside of the Viking Museum, on the other side of the bay and harbor. There is also a modern ship museum right next-door.

The Oseberg ship

The Oslo Viking museum is dominated by two superbly preserved ships, the Gokstad Ship and the beautifully carved Oseberg Ship. This museum was one of my main reasons for traveling here. My northern theme was Vikings.

Looking into the Oseberg ship. The so-called mast fish locks the removable mast in place.

It is possible that the Oseberg ship, ornate as it was, served as an ornamental vessel and not as a warship

When compared with the Oseberg, the Gokstad class ship was plainer and much more purposeful, a war and expeditionary vessel

The Gokstad ship head-on

Other than the two main long-ships there were smaller craft on display, using the same ship building technology

One of the carved heads that decorated the cart	As widely as the Vikings ranged, their art was influenced all over

Under glass there was this wonderfully carved Viking cart. The ends of the cradles for the body all terminated in carved wooden heads

Figure-heads such as these would be feared all over the European and even Meditteranean littoral regions

Outside of the Viking ship museum, a lovely and peaceful bay, today