North Norway trip 1 - Oslo

Day 1

It was time. Our two weeks in Norway had begun, and I couldn’t have been happier. Our plane landed in Oslo around 4 PM after a surprisingly comfortable flight. We planned to stay in the city for three nights to ease back into the vibes. After my first visit, I had always wanted to return and experience more. To me, Oslo is a happy place. It’s calm yet lively, and when I crave some noise, I can always find it. The city is incredible, with fresh air and the kind of charm that makes you enjoy simply looking around.

Calm Waters Near the Munch Museum

People often comment on Oslo’s architecture—some calling it strange, others downright ugly. To me, it’s modern and quintessentially Scandinavian. Everything about it exudes the comfort of a great place to live.

Since we had already explored most of the main attractions during our previous trip, there was no need to repeat them, and we felt no pressure to rush. That first afternoon, we agreed to drop off our bags at the hotel, which was about a 25-minute walk from the city center. We bought a one-hour transit ticket to quickly get there and back.

The hotel room was small and cozy, with a balcony—but there was a weird smell. Don’t expect a story about a dead body in the closet—it wasn’t that bad. We opened the window to air it out, caught the next bus back to the center, and set off to explore.

Our evening was relaxed. We wandered around the Opera House and its surroundings, admired the beautiful buildings, and then stopped at a REMA 1000, one of the affordable grocery stores, to grab snacks and breakfast for the next day. Oslo is still quite expensive for dining out, so after shopping, that is exactly what we did. I was starving, and a burger sounded too good to resist. We convinced ourselves that this burger place was reasonably priced—well, compared to others. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. But the burger was delicious, so I can’t complain.

Entrance to Dattera til Hagen (bar with concerts)

Around 10 PM, we decided to walk back to the hotel, passing through Grønland, a district in Oslo. I won’t lie—it reminded me of Budapest’s party district, especially with the amount of trash. Grønland is undoubtedly one of Oslo’s liveliest areas, packed with nightlife, but compared to other parts of the city, it felt dirty. The neighborhood is home to many immigrants, giving it a very distinct multicultural vibe.

As we walked, I heard music coming from a nearby bar. It was so enchanting that we had to check it out. Following the melody, we stumbled upon a small concert in progress. The crowd was enjoying themselves immensely, and I couldn’t help but stay for a while. The music was fantastic. After a few songs, we realized it was a ticketed event—I hadn’t even noticed the cashier when we walked in. So, of course respecting the rules, we left, as we were just passing through.

Later, I looked up the band. It took a lot of time and effort, as I had to figure out the venue, identify the event, and then listen to different tracks to pinpoint the artist. Eventually, I found them—a new band called Marple. They only have one studio single so far, but their live performance was damn captivating. If you ever get the chance to see them live, I highly recommend it. Next time they’re playing in Oslo, and I am happened to be there I’ll make sure to buy a ticket.

One of the small installments on the water next to the Opera house

When we finally returned to the hotel, we thought our day was over—but we were wrong. That smell hadn’t disappeared. Turns out it was coming from under the sink. I had to request a different room, which took two trips to the front desk and an hour of negotiating. At first they said they are full so they can’t but they offer me some - wait for it - air freshener. I naturally turned it down and went back. Stayed 10 minutes couldn’t bear it so went back down. By that time the receptionist changed and this one was more willing. After i pushed it he called the manager and ran around a bit saying it’s policy not to give a better room. At this point I did not care just give me a better smelling one. They eventually somehow found an empty room but a cheaper one. Looks like that is not policy to give a cheaper one. So they moved us to a lower floor. What a solution. So, eventually we had to say goodbye to the balcony and the altitude because I wanted to finally sleep.

For this stay, I’d say the hotel was okayish, as we didn’t spend much time there. But I wouldn’t recommend it (Super Stay Hotel Oslo). Sure, it was relatively cheap, and the staff were nice enough - I mean hospitalitywise they were, but if I hadn’t insisted, they would’ve left us in that smelly room. To top it off, the second room was indeed haunted— yap haunted. The lamp kept turning on and off, pulsating when we tried to go to sleep. It wasn’t a malicious ghost, but it was definitely an annoying one.

Day 2

On the second day, we planned to visit the botanical garden, which was just a three-minute walk from the hotel, so that’s where we started. The thing is, autumn starts sooner in the north. When we arrived on September 20, the leaves were already falling, and there was a mixture of green and yellow leaves on the trees. People might expect colder weather, but it was pleasantly warm. By the end of our walk in the park, I was walking around in a t-shirt. The garden was nice and free. Even entering the buildings to see the Victoria plant was completely free of charge. By the way, that plant can hold an adult’s weight. Cool stuff! I recommend this garden for a stroll.

The botanical garden

Since the garden is fairly close to the Grünnerløkka district, that was our next destination for my mandatory coffee. Prices were a bit lower in some places there, and it became one of my favorite districts in Oslo. Nothing special—just walk around and take it all in. We settled on a crepes place and decided to have one since they looked so good.

A very nice coffee place in Iladalen right next to the waterfalls

After the break, with full strength, we walked up to Iladalen. There is a strong waterfall with a small red coffee place at the top. A charming spot, and I wouldn’t have imagined such a powerful force in such a calm city.

Library of the future

On our way back, we heard music again. We thought it was a concert but turned out to be a firefighter kids’ show with a dancing mascot. So, we decided to go to the library. It is amazing. It has seven stories, and everyone can go and read freely or actually do whatever they want. They have 3D printers, and people can register for a time slot to use them. They also had workshops and spaces for kids. It’s unbelievable how much they trust people not to steal books. Plus, there’s the small Library of the Future to try. It’s like a little meditation chamber. At the end of our visit there, I felt like I needed my next boost, so I got myself a cup of joe. There’s a nice coffee shop in the library, so I didn’t have to look far.

Installation in Ekerberg park

Our last stop that day was the Ekeberg park. We had 2-3 hours of sunlight left, so you would think we took a tram or something. But no, saving on the public ticket was a priority, so we walked. Believe me, it was a bad idea. There is a bus that takes you up the hill where you can start the hike. Instead, we hiked up to the hike. Anyway, the park is very nice and has a lot of random and creepy installations and statues. We loved hunting them down and actually liked a couple of them. I believe it’s worth a visit, and as an added bonus, it was beautiful in autumn.

Day 3

Our last day. There wasn’t much left on our list to see, so we first went to one of the main attractions we couldn’t visit last time: Frognerparken. This is the huge park with the famous weird statues in the middle. Norwegians sure love their weird statues. The park is easily accessible by public transport, so we took the bus. At first glance, the park looked huge. When we entered, it felt like we were in part of a massive metropolis. Not much to say here, though—it’s nice and definitely worth a visit. Also, it was completely free.

Holmenkollen skijump

After the park, we had a longer metro ride to Holmenkollen to visit the ski jump and see the view of the city. It’s a long way but not a long activity, so I only suggest it to people who aren’t on a tight schedule. It’s far on the outskirts of the city, and although it’s nice to see, it’s essentially a huge ramp—very interesting from afar but a bit underwhelming up close. The view, however, is lovely.

Autumn mood

We spent no more than thirty minutes up there and then sprinted back to the subway station to catch the next train. We had to walk up a hill to the ski jump, and now we had to run down. Let’s just say it was a small workout. Finishing this, we didn’t plan much else. We walked around to soak in Oslo one last time, strolled through some nice parks on our way back to the hotel, sat down to watch the sunset, and slowly started preparing for the next day. We had a flight and 1,200 stairs to climb ahead of us.