Tuesday, 21-May-2024, through Sunday, 26-May-2024
Oslo, the capital of Norway.
My first visit to the “mainland” Scandinavian countries, and my surprisingly abrupt transition into Summer. I mentioned how, when I stepped off the plane in Greenland, how I was blasted with gloriously cold arctic air, which immediately set my soul happily ablaze? When I stepped onto the tarmac in Oslo, the heat of Summer hit me, leeched into my bones, and warmed my core into a bright cozy fire. A different happiness than the cold, but happiness none-the-less.
The drive to my flat in Norway was about as different as it could possibly get from Greenland or Reykjavik. Unlike Greenland and Iceland, Norway is not focused primarily on Tourism. Oslo’s a working city, with a close-by airport and a population twice that of the entirety of Iceland… and 12 times that of Greenland. It was a city – a true, working, bustling city, and I couldn’t wait to explore it.
I started as I always do – just wandering around, and finding myself some food. So lets start with that – Where’d I eat, while exploring Oslo? Excluding smaller cafes and other “quick stop” options;
- Folkets Burger – Symmetrically to Nuuk, I started Norway off with a cheap burger from a townie fast-food / greasy cafe. It was… Well, it was tasty and a nice change of pace!
- Baken Hansen Løren – Absolutely delicious, 100% a lovely European cafe
- Kjøkken og Bar AS – Also absolutely delicious! Super quiet, and I had an amazing chunk of salmon that was glazed to perfection
- Kaffebrenneriet Løren – Absolutely delicious, another lovely European-style cafe
- Barcode street food – I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed, to be honest, and just needed some simple calories that reminded me of home. I got loaded waffle fries, with pulled pork, and felt better
- Åpent Bakeri Tranen – Nice American-style breakfast – pancakes, bacon, and eggs! Great spot to work from a cafe on photos and blog posts
- Herregårdskroen – A quite fancy restaurant in the Vigeland sculpture park. Good, and exactly what you’d expect from an up-class museum restaurant
- Fryd – Tasty neighborhood bar and grill. Nothing special, but perfect for what I was looking for after Herregårdskroen
- Pepe’s Pizza – Similar to Fryd, just simple and good pizza with especially lovely and friendly staff
Let’s see… what else about Oslo?
My first exposure to the “mainland” Scandinavian capitals was definitely interesting. As I alluded to earlier, it wasn’t quite as friendly & tourist-focused as Nuuk or Reykjavik, which definitely took a bit of getting used to. I felt more isolated here, more alone in my world of speaking English. It may have been partially due to the location of my rental as well – I was staying in more of the suburbs, instead of in the center of tourism, which led to seeing more families and friend groups… which, in turn, reminded me that I was traveling solo and was hours and hours away from friends and family.
I won’t say it was bad, though. Part of this trip is the learning process – learning about Europe, and learning about myself, and learning to continue growing as a person out of the stagnancy that I’d found myself in while living in Oregon. The isolation hurt, but it helped me grow and move through some mental blockades… and slowly but surely, let me bloom back into the person that I want myself to be.
Thinking back, one of the big drivers for those isolated feelings could be just how child-friendly Oslo felt. There were countless families pushing strollers or carrying kids, all walking around nearly infinite playgrounds and child-friendly parks. It FELT like a city meant for families, far more than the cities I’ve recently been to in the United States. I tried looking up statistics to see if that feeling was enshrined in reality, but… turns out, those kind of stats are complicated, and every country uses different numbers and I just gave up. I accepted how it felt, and moved on with my exploring.
On a less introspective note, Oslo was also the first place that I really leaned in toward using Electric Scooters. I admit – I was one of the people who mocked them when they first came out… and I still mock them in some ways, and still get annoyed when people park them like crap or just do dumb things with them.
They’re amazing for tourists, though – I can grab one, get to an area I want to walk quickly, and then leave it for someone else to use… all for just a few dollars.
Another nice new thing with them – I don’t know if this is just new rules, or Scandinavia, but there’s LOTS of geofencing on these things now. You can’t park just anywhere, and you can’t ride everywhere – There’s designated “scooter only” parking spots, slow zones for pedestrians that automatically reduce your speed, and other protections in place. They don’t interfere with cycling as much anymore, or so it seems, which is pretty rad.
