The Mine Sweeper M314 Alta is a floating museum placed beneath the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. The ship was launched in 1953 and served in the U.S. Navy as AMS-104 and in the Belgian Navy as BNS Arlon (M 915). In 1966, Alta was taken over by the Norwegian Navy. Decommissioning was in 1996 – after 30 years of service!
It is damned cold these days in Oslo: -9 degC (=15.8 degF) for now. Ice covers the paths, the streets, and parts of the harbour. However, the weather was clear today, and there was no snow. I am waiting for summer to come!
The city of Oslo is the capital of Norway and third largest Scandinavian urban area. It is an important centre of maritime knowledge in Europe and home to some 1,000 companies within the maritime sector.
The Kingdom of Norway was ranked highest of all countries in human development from 2001 to 2008. It has a Scandinavian welfare model and the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation.