My goal was the Oslo Natural History Museum, or the Naturhistorisk museum in the Norwegian parlance, but I wasn’t locked into getting there in any rush. Oslo was still new to me, and I was enjoying the opportunity to wander.
I’d had a coffee, sandwich, and smoothie earlier in the day and was feeling well fortified, so I set up directions on my phone, grabbed my satchel, and headed out the door.
Nearly to the museum, I realized that it was guarded by one of the most effective barriers in existence against a member of my family… a garden. An expansive garden, full of beautiful flowers and interesting greenhouses. Those clever devils, they knew how to distract me from my destination! How was our hero going to get past this blockade??
I mean, I wasn’t in a rush.
I got past the cleverly-placed blockade simply by walking something like 5 miles, wandering into every corner of the gardens that I could find. Through outdoor pathways, paved and gravel, I wandered and appreciated the views and the smells. Through greenhouses, I ogled massive lily pads and sweat in the heat of a simulated Arizona desert. I saw a pineapple, and the biggest pitchers I’ve ever seen on a pitcher plant.
It was awesome.
I even found a cool “Viking longship” educational sculpture!
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.
I found myself back at Keflavik airport, right on time but still sooner than I’d hoped.
Check in was, as has been throughout Europe, simple and quick. In all honesty, I don’t quite remember the details, as I’m writing this out just over a week later. I had my new duffel bag for my checked gear, which worked simply and easily… Once that was done, I flew through security and was eating an Acai bowl and sipping a latte before I knew what had happened.
I think, in all candor, the toughest part of Keflavik is how far it is from Reykjavik. The 45min drive took longer than anything else I can think of.
I ate, sipped, relaxed and read my book. I hung out at the gate, once they announced it, which only happened about an hour before we started boarding, and then quickly and easily hopped on the plane.
Iceland passed below us, and I went through photos while watching the sea ice pass below the plane. Slowly it opened up to ocean water. I started seeing oil platforms, then islands, then wind farms on the islands! Then… Oslo!
