Day 4 began with a visit to Christiansborg Palace, then on to view the changing of the royal guard at the Amelienborg palace before heading for the DFDS overnight cruise/ferry to Oslo. No pictures allowed in Christiansborg palace, but its size and splendor rival both the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, minus the artwork, and the Hohenzolleren palaces in Potsdam. And, of course, the ubiquitous Christian IV, meets visitors astride his horse.
At Amelienborg Palace, the four-palace complex of the Royal Family, a light rain may have kept down the crowds, but hardly dampened the pagentry of the changing of the guard. Young men, not much more than 19-20 years old dressed up like one of H.C. Andersen's Tin Soldiers, marched through the square performing their daily ritual to the delight of the assembled crowd.
As late aftenoon approached, it was time to head for the harbor and the overnight ferry to Oslo. Sailing at 5 pm from "Copenhagen, the DFDS ferry is, in reality, a cruise ship, tax free shops, restaurants and a hotel. Sailing through the night, we passed the Norwegian fortress island of Oscarsborg at 8 am, just prior to the scheduled 9:30 arrival in Oslo. On April 9, 1940, the
German troop ship Blucher was sailing toward Oslo with the specified mission of capturing the Norwegian government and the royal family as German forces invaded and occupied the country. Facing the approaching ship when it refused to identify itself, the defending Norwegian forces opened fire, hitting the magazine and causing a horrific explosion. The Blucher sank, over 2000 German soldiers were killed and the Norwegian government and king had time to excape capture. As we passed the fortress this morning, we also noted that small oil slicks lay on the water above where the Blucher came to rest that fateful day in WWII. We docked near the new Oslo Opera House, disembarked and began our drive west.
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