Day 7 - Oslo in the rain

While it did rain off and on yesterday, it rained ALL day today. So off we went at 9 am with our driver and guide for an 8 hour tour of three cities south of Oslo (Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad, and Skjaehalden).

Bronze Age stone carvings somewhere on the way:




Sarpborg: “The city was founded as Borg by the Viking King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olaf) in 1016. It was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567 during the Northern Seven Years' War. Half the population was evacuated down the river to what is today known as Fredrikstad, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) downstream.

Much of the rebuilt town disappeared into the river Glommaduring a 1702 mudslide. Again Borg was rebuilt, and it was recreated as a city in 1839, and separated from Tune as a municipality of its own.” Wikipedia 

Fredrikstad: “ The city was named after the Danish king Frederick II in 1569.” Wikipedia 

It has the remains of a  fortress built in 1666.


Skjaerhalden: This quaint fishing village sits on an island among a large group of islands connected by many bridges and tunnels. The whole network of rocky coastlines and harbors looks like parts of Maine. The highlight was an excellent local fish soup for lunch.




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