Today was going to be a packed day, with lots of bus time but also several stops. After a delicious hotel breakfast, I was ready to leave the slightly creepy Communist hotel so I packed up my stuff early and headed downstairs, only to find I was the last one! Apparently we were all ready to leave! Our first stop of the day was to Tanum, to see the rock carvings, which were a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was so interesting to see, and very hard to get them all in one picture.
We continued on to our next stop, a little coastal town called Grebbestad, where we would be having lunch and going for a boat ride. We went to a small little boat house, where we met a young woman and her father who ran a little bed & breakfast. We were split into 2 groups because the space was so small. I was in the first boat group, so we headed out on the boat. We were gone for about an hour and had some beautiful views, although it was overcast and windy. We passed tiny, rocky islands, some with little huts. We returned to the boathouse and switched group. We were a little bit cold and ready for lunch! We went upstairs, where they had prepared a beautiful lunch; it was impressive how much thought they put into it and how they prepared so much food in such a tiny space. The tables were set beautifully, and we helped ourselves to an incredible mussel soup, delicious bread and rolls, and salad they grew themselves. It was by far the best meal I had on the trip. The boat group returned and we were served coffee and rhubarb cake, which was also delicious. Our guide Heidi said this was the first time this location had hosted a Rick Steves' group, and we all voted that it should absolutely be included! We all wished we could have spent more time there, they did such a great job.
After filling up on soup, we made it to Oslo with no break. Our hotel was very nice, with AC blasting so I knew I'd sleep well! We had a bit before we needed to meet back up to walk to dinner, so I ran across the street to an apothecary to stock up on some things I was running low on (and ended up buying an incredible sunscreen that I couldn't find at home). Pinge picked us up and drove us to the Frogner sculpture park, where Heidi led us on a tour. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and the park was gorgeous, but I was distracted by all the fit Norwegians running and exercising! It seemed like everyone was out.
Pinge dropped us off at the waterfront, where we walked to dinner. We had a view of the water and a giant cruise ship. We had a delicious seafood dinner.
We had a leisurely wander back to the hotel, and I got a present from a passing bird :) I got back to the hotel and splurged on ridiculously expensive hotel laundry service!