Cool Oslo

Dreaming of a few chilled days in a snowy Nordic capital we went on a city break to Oslo around this time last year.

Discovering Oslo

For our first afternoon we went on a free walking tour with a friendly guide from Free Tour Oslo. I found it quite funny that our guide was actually Italian. Couldn’t really wrap my head around why she left sunny Italy for icy Oslo. We met the group at the Tiger statue and visited quite a few of Oslo’s landmarks. The air was crisp but the excitement of being in Oslo made us forget all about the cold noses and toes. *singing* Head, shoulders, knees and toes.. We walked on Karl Johans Gate, stopped by the City Hall, listened to stories at Akershus Fortress and caught the sunset at the Opera House.

Surprisingly, the two sunset pictures above and below were taken at the beginning and the end of the tour, roughly 2 hours apart. But this second sunset was the most impressive I’ve seen in my life – and sadly our camera didn’t catch all the magical colours.

Getting lost

On the second day we went exploring on our own, taking in the priceless quietness of Sunday mornings.

Discovering fun street art.

Sliding down the colourful Damstredet & Telthusbakken and its surroundings..

Once we got too cold, we took tram number 12 all the way to Vigeland Sculpture Park enjoying a mini tour of the city along the way.

Taking in the art at Vigeland Sculpture Park

This open air art gallery was my favourite place (the Boboli Gardens we saw later in the year when we went to Florence reminded me a lot of this one).

Sledding in Oslo

I desperately miss snowy winters and going sledding brings back blissful childhood memories so this was the main reason we booked the trip to Oslo. Unfortunately things don’t always go to plan when travelling so even though it was cold, it had hardly been snowing so the sled run wasn’t open.

Museums and art

There are great museums in Oslo to keep your mind intrigued and your soul fed.

Food

I can’t say I was ever full on those two days in Oslo. When travelling I’m curious to try traditional, local cuisine but almost everything I found here had meat. Luckily coffee and snacks kept me going. Do you know of any delicious food or veggie friendly restaurants in Oslo? I’d love to try them out next time we’re there.

The heartiest traditional meal I had was split pea soup, it was warming and comforting but really salty and not very pretty looking. If you’re a meat eater on the other hand there are plenty of specialities to choose from. 

I love food markets so I was really excited to visit Mathallen. It’s an indoor food market made up of cool restaurants and market stalls with delicacies. There weren’t a lot of veggie options but the atmosphere was lovely and lively and the staff was very welcoming. I loved the food they offered at Mathallen but I found it rather expensive. And that’s coming from a Londoner! Big thumbs up for the rain deer burger though. Poor reindeer…

Heavenly Coffee

The coffee in Norway was incredible!

We went to Tim Wendelboe which I read about when doing some research. The place is minimalist both in style and in the actual number of seats so we chose to have our coffee on a bench outside, despite the cold weather. I was pleasantly surprised by Tim Wendelboe – not him personally because I don’t know him, but by the coffee served in his shop.

We also had coffee in Mathallen from Java Espressobar & Kaffeforretning.

This picture reminds me of this McDonald’s commercial. You can’t help but feel a bit idiotic waiting for your coffee to finish pouring but it is quite a show.

Oslo is coffee heaven and I would have definitely enjoyed trying out other places but we were only there for one night and I was already on a coffee rush.

I’m glad I got to see Oslo as I’ve always been fascinated by the calmness and coolness of Nordic countries. Next on my travel wish list is to go back to Norway during the summer and see more of the natural beauty of this country. I daydream of going on a boat tour to see the fjords and also take the train up to Bergen.

Have you been to Norway? We would love to hear what you enjoyed the most!

Love,
2WW