Welcome to the Weekend Update for November 8, 2008!

What a week it has been. Does anyone else here have a little media burnout? Take a break from the talking heads and join us for another quick trip around the world. This week we have a very nice feature contributed by MiceChatter omiyage who takes us on a tour of his native country, Norway. Just for fun, we follow his photos with a quick tour of the Norway Pavilion at Epcot, courtesy of SummerInFL. TDLFAN gives us a little peek at the Christmas decorations going up in Tokyo, and we stroll through the markets of Corfu, Greece with Ian Parkinson.


Norway


Oslo City Hall. This is where the Nobel Peace Price is awarded each year on December 10th (the date on which Alfred Nobel died). The building is often nicknamed "the brown cheeses" because it resembles the Norwegian goat cheese that is sold in square form. The brown, sweet cheese can be sampled from the buffet at the Akershus Restaurant at Epcot.


Turning around facing the harbour, we catch a glimpse of the towers of Akershus fortress nestled on top of a hill jutting out into the Oslo harbour.


After a short climb up the fortress walls, we get a good view of the City Hall square. The yellow building with the two towers in the middle of the photo is an old railway station, today turned into the Nobel Peace Center. Far away in the distance one can barely make out the Holmenkollen ski jump featured in the "Spirit of Norway" movie.


On the other side of the harbour is Aker Brygge, an old warf and ship yard which in the 80s, through a massive gentrification process, was transformed into a shopping and residential complex. Remember the outdated fashion shot scene in the "Spirit of Norway"? That scene was filmed at Aker Brygge, at that time a perfect backdrop for a modern Norway in the 80s.










The changing of the guard ceremony by His Majesty the King's Guard (HMKG). Akershus fortress is still a military area with government offices, like the Ministry of Defence. HM the King's Guard band unit performed at the opening of the Norway pavillion in 1988.




This round tower (Munketårnet) was incorporated into the pavillion design, forming a part of the restaurant. It was originally a water tower and later a cannon tower.


The castle area is a popular recreation spot for Oslo residents and tourists. At the bottom of this photo are parts of the original entrance to the medieval castle. The history of the fortress and castle dates back to King Håkon V in the 13th century.The building in the middle with the round window is the Royal Mausoleum.


This odd feature on the west wall is called "The Queen's Secret", in other words her lavatory. The contents were emptied through the small door at the bottom. This was a very modern amenity when this part of the castle was rebuilt in the 16th century!


The castle courtyard. Akershus was a typical medieval castle until the late 16th century, when the king of Denmark-Norway, King Christian IV, decided to rebuild and modernise the castle to fit with the Renaissance times. It served as his royal residence when he visited Norway.


The king's monogram on the northern stairwell tower. You can find this detail on the tower at the Norway pavillion as well.


The Hall of King Christian IV. In his time at the castle this floor was divided into three rooms, two of which were the king's and queen's bedrooms.




And below the church, the entrance to the Royal Mausoleum. This part can be seen by visitors during opening hours in the summer and on guided tours. Access to the mausoleum itself though is limited to members of the royal family only.


Today the castle is not only a museum, it also serves as the Norwegian government's principal location for official functions and state occasions. This dining hall, Olav V's Hall, is seldom used. It is on the top floor of the northern part of the castle. This part suffered many years of decay and was finally rebuilt in 1917. The ceiling, which is recreated at the Akershus Restaurant at Epcot, is actually copied from Winchester Palace in London (it was destroyed by fire in 1814, but drawings of the ceiling design were saved).


Visitors to the restaurant at Epcot may find this wall design familiar as well. It was copied from an early 14th century design in the old Eidsborg stave church. This pattern was well known in Europe in the middle ages. The architect's intentions when rebuilding was to make it look like a royal medieval dining hall. So the Epcot restaurant is in fact a copy of a copy...


Outside again and on the other side of Akershus fortress is the new Opera house, rising out of the water like an iceberg. The design allows people to climb all over it. The roof top is a popular spot on sunny days.


After a short stroll through Oslo's compact downtown, we end up in front of the Royal Palace. The hoisted red flag on the top indicates that someone is at home...The Royal Family.


If we turn around we can see half of Oslo's main street, Karl Johan. You can see this view in the constitution day scene in the "Spirit of Norway" movie.


Just a short bus ride from downtown, on the Bygdøy peninsula, is Norsk Folkemuseum. It is Norway's largest open-air museum of cultural history. Several old buildings from around the country has been set up here. Houses like these, in the Setesdal architectural style, were the inspiration for the Kringla Bakery.


The museum's main attraction, the Gol stave church. It was built in the 12th century and moved to the museum in 1884 by King Oscar II to be preserved. A copy of this church is the centerpiece of the Norway showcase at Epcot.


Next to the open air museum is the Viking Ship museum. On display are three viking ships that were discovered in burial mounds around the Oslo fjord between 1864 and 1907. The Oseberg ship, which was the best preserved one, was built around 815-820 AD and was used as a burial ship for a prominant viking woman. The ship can be seen in the first and last scenes of the "Spirit of Norway" movie, where a small boy touches the prow. In reality that is strictly forbidden, as these ships due to their old age are very fragile.


Oslo also has one of Norway's biggest tourist attractions, the Vigeland sculpture park. The sculptures are part of a large public park, they can be seen 24 hours a day every day of the year.










Epcot's Norway Pavilion
Walt Disney World, Florida

Special thanks to SummerInFL for providing these photos from her files at the last minute. Summer's website is WDWFanPics.com.




Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo, Japan


TDLFAN takes us to Tokyo Disney Resort as they prepare for their Christmas events which debut this weekend at both parks.

TDL is busy as usual..


Cast Members are prepared for the crunch!


The Castle stage for this year's new Christmas show is ready for the show to go on!


Note the icicles decorating the castle stage are made of colored glass! Nice touch.


Fastpass location for the new Monsters Inc ride is finished and ready for the 1st guests.


Fastpass distribution sign.


Monsters Inc Hide and go Seek! Attraction entrance.


Parking for the Monsters Inc gift shop?? Maybe some sitting props will take their permanent spot here?


Posters at Monsters Inc queue area.


Newly build smoking area next to Monsters Inc ride, already opened and landscapped. Hold your breath when you walk pass this area...


Some Christmas merchandise already on sale.


Cute snow plushes (note 25th anniversary logo on Minnie's ears)


Stylish "Harborside Xmas 08" bag on sale at Tokyo DisneySEA.


Duffy the bear is everywhere in his Xmas outfit.


This Duffy pendant is around US$138.00


Duffy merchandise at Aunt Peg's at Cape Cod, in TDS. It's going fast!


Miniature plushes of Mickey in this year's Xmas outfit from both TDL and TDS.. are huge sellers.


King Triton reigns over the main entrance into Mermaid Lagoon's undersea world.


Sinister Tower of Terror at night.


Ian Parkinson's Adriatic Adventure

As I mentioned last week, we're almost at the end of our shared cruise with Ian Parkinson. Before we visit our last port, however, we're going to take a side trip to the markets of Corfu, Greece.


































Seeing the markets of Corfu reminded me of some "markets" that we saw while we were in Orlando a few weeks ago.






And that brings us to the end of another week. Our photographers have just enough time to reload their cameras before we see you all again next weekend. Thank you to all of our wonderful readers, and as always, a huge thank you to our amazing team of global photographers, spies, and gossips:

Jack Hollywood 1939 Wixom
TDLFAN
Denise nbodyhome Preskitt
SummerInFl
PhotoMatt
Fishbulb
sir clinksalot
MickeyMaxx
A very special thank you to our wonderful guest photographers Eirik "omiyage" and Ian Parkinson for sharing their vision with us.
Your Editor - Rixter

Where have YOU been recently? We invite you to share your photos of theme parks or any other destination that may be of interest to our readers. Please feel free to contact me via MiceChat Private Message (screen name Rixter)
or send me an email: oceansiderick@gmail.com.

*Some factual information sourced from wikipedia.com.