Kristiansand

Founded in 1641 when King Kristian of Denmark and Norway wanted a harbor for his war fleet. It’s location on the bank of the River Otra is warmed by the Gulf Stream and ha no ice in winter. The original town layout of Kristiansand, Norway was a grid of one square kilometer. That’s the area that we explored on the Old Town Walking Tour. As we ventured out we walked past Kunstsilo, a brand new museum of Nordic Modernist Art and on to the Friskebrygga, or Fish Market. Unfortunately it was closed on Sunday morning but  is a place to purchase local fish, and to hang out to enjoy beer and free concerts. As we meandered through the streets, alongside canals, under the Low Bridge then under the Slow Bridge, our guide regaled us with story after story involving Kristiansand in particular but also Norway in general. Along the way he pointed out the hospital and quarantine station on Odderøy Island that played a major role in limiting deaths locally due to cholera in the 19th Century. Then pointed out the seafood restaurant where the wife of Norway’s Crown Prince once worked. All the while he talked of Norwegian history from the Age of the Vikings through the unification of Norway the 9th Century, the effects of the bubonic plaque, the Napoleonic Wars, the peaceful separation from Sweden in 1907 and the ascent by public referendum of King Harakon VII to the throne, the Nazi occupation in the Second World War and his grandfather’s role in The Resistance. We toured the city park, visited the city beach, then headed into the center of town and visited the Cathedral constructed in 1870. Several of the members of the tour got so intrigued with features of the cathedral interior that we failed to rejoin the group out in the city square and thus got the chance to explore independently and make our own way back to the ship. It’s been a fabulous first visit to Norway and we see it as a place to which we could return to explore independently. It’s been a marvelous adventure. Now we’ve got one more day at sea aboard Jewel of the Seas then we’ll disembark in Amsterdam and head on the next adventure!