July 26 - I am a morning person

Saturday July 26 11:00pm – I am a morning person
I am a morning person. I haven't always been that way, but now I can't imagine sleeping through a sunrise. Last night our captain said that we shouldn't miss the approach into Oslo harbor, and so I prepared to get up at 6am, walk my two miles around the ship and see the show. I woke up at 4:00am as it was light outside. I decided to get up and get in my daily walk then rather than later. I'm sure that the crew monitoring the promenade deck cameras thought I was nuts, as I was the only one out and about. I took my first picture at 4:15am as it looked like the sun was already up but hidden behind a hazy cloud, but it was only the reflection. The second picture (see top of blog) was taken at 4:30am – sunrise on a sea as smooth as glass and the temperature already in the mid-60s. So quiet and peaceful – only a small sailboat nearby heading for Oslo like us. It was a great way to reflect on the all the things I've been able to do and see. So I am a morning person and don't want to change.
After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and Swedish pancakes with Lingonberries, we went into downtown Oslo (the people in Oslo apparently sleep in – it was pretty vacant), and took the harbor ferry closer to where the Viking Museum and Volksmuseum are located. The Viking Museum contains three well-preserved Viking ships that were used as burial tombs for nobility around 1200AD. Pretty amazing stuff. The Volksmuseum (an outdoor village with pieces brought in from all over Norway). We went to the Stave Church, the oldest Christian church in Norway, dating to about 1200AD. The outside was restored in the late 1800's but the inside is pretty well intact.
The temperature today was 84 degrees – the hottest day of the year for Oslo, and uncomfortable by their standards. For me, it was a nice day for shorts and a cool polo shirt. Tonight a dinner and live show and watch another gorgeous sunset. Tomorrow we'll be in Copenhagen.