Forward

In high school, I was in Nansen house. When I found out that the ship built for Fridtjof Nansen, the Fram, was in a museum, I was keen to see it.

Turned out to be a pretty amazing museum.

Fram

Much like the Vasa museum in Stockholm, the Fram museum is built around the ship, with three levels of catwalks providing different perspectives on the ship.

At the moment they also have a special exhibit on the tragic Terra Nova Antarctic expedition. As this was on the ground floor, it was my first stop.

Note Shackleton's crazy-eyes and monobrow

The exhibit went step by step through the Scott expedition. Some of it I knew already (the rivalry with Shackleton, losing to the Norwegians, Oates' last words) but there were some personal items on display, along with some interesting facts I'd not heard.

Roald Amundsen (whom the museum held up as the greatest explorer of all time, but they are a touch biased) left two letters at the pole. The first was written to the King of Norway confirming his reaching the South Pole, the second to Scott asking him to deliver the first. I guess you don't become the greatest explorer of all time without being a touch audacious.

None of these photos came out very well

The crucial difference between the Vasa museum and the Fram museum can be found at the top level where, to my great joy, I discovered I could walk aboard the Fram. And inside it. A number of the decks and cabins were open and items from the various expeditions were on display. Unfortunately they proved difficult to photograph due to the lighting used in the museum.

Good diorama or great diorama?

The Fram is a big fat tub. She is tall and not very long which, when you consider she was built to spend years in the Arctic ice, makes sense. She was designed so that under the pressure of the ice she would rise up rather than crack.

The Fram museum also had a number of exhibits on the explorers who had used the Fram. First amongst them was Fridtjof Nansen.

Penetrating stare

I did not know, before I went, how dedicated to science he was. In fact, he wanted more scientists on the first Fram expedition, but couldn't find any who were willing to put up with the conditions (years living on the ice shelf). He himself was a biologist and oceanographer who ensured that scientific discovery remained as important to the Norwegian Arctic and Antarctic programs as the race to the Poles.

I want one.
  

Say cheese!

Outside the museum stands a set of statues commemorating the first men to arrive at the South Pole. They're all facing south. It was a beautiful day in Oslo, hot and humid with clear skies. They looked out of place in their polar gear.