Where's Wally?: Oslo – and visiting a special time capsule

Perfectly preserved. The wood glistens, inside the tongue and groove has a utilitarian paint finish and below decks, the natural stain of sweat, grime, sea and history provide for a sturdy footing.

Over 100 years old, this ship is arguably one of the most versatile of its time still around today. And you can reach out and touch it, board her, walk on her decks, in the cabins and the galley. I touch the map table – like a child who can’t quite believe I am able to . Close your eyes and imagine the discussion over dinner, look at the map under your hand –you are touching history, touching where a finger pointed to a point on a map yet to be reached.

Her name is the Fram and she was the ship used by Roald Amundsen and his team to sail to the Antarctic on the way to becoming the first to conquer the South pole.

http://www.frammuseum.no/Visit-the-Museum/Fram.aspx

This is a dream for me – a planned pilgrimage that I have wanted to do for over 10 years since studying the Arctic explorers and, in particular, Amundsen.

This is Oslo – and within 200m of the maritime museum on the waterfront is the Fram museum (which had 900m Krone spent on it) and the Kon Tiki museum.

Whether you subscribe to the heroic nature of captain Robert Falcon Scott, the compassion of Shackleton or the pragmatism of Amundsen, this is one of the few (accessible) places on earth you can walk amongst, touch and feel polar exploration from the heroic period.

What struck me on reading Amundsen’s account of their successful trip to the South Pole (simply and aptly named “The South Pole”) was his complete pragmatism and telling the story straight – no gushing or flare in the writing, just an account of the facts with the occasional detour to praise his various men. As a lesson in logistics, this is one of the best books I have read. Now I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I look into Amundsen’s cabin on the Fram, walk past and touch the map table, walk down to the engine room and admire the massive diesel engine.

Fram’s famous history does not stop there. She was designed and commissioned by Fridtjof

Nansen, another famous Norwegian adventurer (and somewhat of a mentor to Amundsen). The Fram successfully negotiated both North and South Poles. Her secret was not in the ability to break the ice, rather to work with it. Nansen purposefully designed her wide with a shallow draft that would enable her to “pop up” onto the ice if the water under her firmed up into ice rather than risk her being crushed.

It is a tribute to Norway that they have recognised the part the Fram plays in history and Norwegian (and international) maritime history. If you are a fan of arctic exploration or of historic ships, come to Norway, walk on and below deck on the Fram, close your eyes and see the Norwegian flag standing firmly at the South Pole over 100 years ago.

Postscript – a seafaring history and gene pool

If you have Irish, Scottish, English, … and many other European heritage with blond hair and blue eyes, you probably have some Viking rape and pillage or general settlement in foreign lands to thank for that.

A 10 minute walk from the Fram museum is the Viking museum, Three Viking vessels in various (and quite remarkable) states of preservation – as found in burial mounds on land – serving as coffins and “ships to the afterlife” for long forgotten Viking royalty. Vikings -the ultimate race in pioneering. The museum covers the Viking ships but also the contents – including farming equipment, sledges, saddlery, weapons, cooking equipment and clothing - a reminder that not only was this a seafaring race but also a pioneer race that invaded and/or settled (depending which part of the historic puzzle you are on!) many lands.

Your ancestry?

Alongside the Fram museum is the Kon Tiki museum –tribute to Thor Heyerdahl, a man who wanted to prove that the South Americans could have reached Polynesia in pre-Colubian times. He built a boat using the technology and matierals of that early period and launched and expedition to prove the theory possiblel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki

A model of the Kon Tiki raft used on the jouney

I have one day in Oslo – I could have used more but my thirst has been satiated by the one thing I really came to see – and the bonus of getting to see a few other nautical and historic elements of Norway along the way. In a way I am happy to only spend a short time here – I will be back – though next time I will ensure a healthier bank balance – Norway and Oslo in particular is an expensive place. But well worth the visit.