Our excursion included lunch at one of Oslo's leading restaurants.... Holmenkollen Park Hotel Rica... a beautiful Hotel/Restaurant high atop a mountain. The buffet luncheon was a wonderful culinary adventure and an opportunity to enjoy the very best of Norwegian cuisine. And besides this -- we also had the most gorgeous view overlooking the city and the fjord.
The food was delicious--the architecture was outstanding -- the view unbelievable!
The circle drive out front of the hotel restaurant gave us a great photo opportunity.
Holmenkollen Ski Jump
We continued our journey down a little hill to the nearby Holmenkollen Ski Jump, host to the world's second oldest ski jump competition still in existence. The Ski Jump was used in the Olympics when they were held in Lillehammer.
Since then, crowds to Holmenkollen had continued to increase to over 100,000, and the jump had been extended 18 times, last time in 1982, but most of the upgrades were mainly from the 1952 Winter Olympics. Today, it's going through another overhaul. It has since been torn down (October 2008) and is being rebuilt for the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. During the building process, a temporary Holmenkollen Visitors' Centre, located near the building site, will provide information about the famous ski arena. But the view from the top will never go away! Don't miss it!
Above, I got some photos of the ski jump when it was still up and running. In the summer, they fill the landing with water and use it as a swimming pool. Then they drained it in winter for the ski landing.
Winter photo from archives
The new and spectacular Holmenkollen Culture- and Tourist Arena will reopen again spring 2010. In addition to the new Ski Jump and the Ski Museum, it will feature brand new souvenir shops, a new café, a bar at the top of the tower and fantastic new outdoor facilities. The tower offered a panoramic view of Oslo and the Oslo fjord. It was so huge, you could see it from downtown Oslo--and even from your ship as you approach Oslo! We look forward to seeing an even bigger and better Holmenkollen ski jump one day soon.
On the way home, Gerd pointed out a memorial to Sonia Henie and the ice rink that she skated on honing her skills early in life.. Sonia Henie was born in 1912 in Oslo and died in 1969.
She won three Olympic gold medals in figure skating and turned
professional in 1936. She became a film star in the United States in movies
that featured her skating. She also performed in traveling ice escapades.
She is still a very important icon here in Oslo.
We had a wonderful, full day in Oslo and are certainly looking forward to visiting this beautiful and interesting city again one day soon. In the meantime--it's onward to Bergen.
