Ladies and gents
I’ll be in central Oslo over New Year for 3 days, with the FPO and our (female) mate.
Any things I/we should definitely see or do?
Are there any public NY celebrations in squares or parks?
Is alcohol as ruinously expensive as I’m led to believe?
Do I need cash or are Norwegians as card mad as Swedes?
Any other general tips? (Apart from “Wrap up warm/Get your vest on” etc…)
Can you get Jools’ Hootenanny on TV? (OK, don’t worry about that one…)
Any thoughts gratefully accepted.
I was there (work) a couple of years ago, so can’t inform you on NYE or attractions, but can tell you I paid £16 for a pint in a not-too-posh bar. Sorry about that. I’d stock up on spirits at duty free and take a hip flask . Public transport is cheap, as are public things like museums and galleries. Food and drink not so much.
£16 a pint? Holy crap! Makes Iceland look cheap. (The country, not the frozen goods store)
Looks like the girls’ plan of taking mostly wine in their suitcases may be a good one. 2 each is 6 bottles. Quite what we’ll do on nights 2 and 3 I don’t know, but we’ll be OK for night one.
Time to dig out the hip flask…
I was there a few years ago in early December. A must-do is take a sleigh ride deep in the forest at night. My then girlfriend organised it through our hotel’s concierge (we stayed at the Hotel Continental, right in the centre of the city). I’d flown in from London after a stressful week. I don’t think I’ve ever been more relaxed: the motion of the sleigh and the silence and clear air of the forest almost sent me to sleep!
I remember the food as good with very good seafood. We visited a restaurant called Mares, which was excellent. Ordinary booze – wine, beer – was expensive. Aquavit as a beer chaser is a nice combination.
We visited two museums: the Munch one (gloom, gloom, gloom, but interesting gloom) and one that told the history of Norway during the War.
Lovely city and I’d go back there in an instant.
Aquavit at the duty free. yes.
Ooh, that reminds me. The barman at The Norwegian Club on Trafalgar Square gave me a small bottle of schnapps in 1988. I put it in the freezer and forgot about it until I moved. Completely unaffected by the freezer and VERY strong.
It’s been a very long time since I was there so this may not be an issue, but if you do plan on shopping, as I recall everything closed around noon Saturday, and very promptly in the evenings on weekdays, not open at all on Sundays.
Depending who you are with, be careful of “hjemmebrent” or “heimkok”, moonshine to you and me. Very popular because of the high tax. Just as dangerous there.
Used to go to Norway quite a lot, we had Norwegian friends. They take a hard line on alcohol:
Liquor, wine, strong beers and ciders (i.e. anything stronger than 4.7%), is sold through the state-run Vinmonopolet (literally, the wine monopoly) shops. There are 272 Vinmonopolet shops in Norway. The monopoly shops generally close at 6 PM on weekdays and 3 PM on Saturdays. Check the opening times for individual stores.
Which is why illegal stills are rife. My friend’s father used to make a very passable Southern Comfort – passable in the sense of accurate, rather than drinkable obviously.
On the other hand, frozen whale steaks are widely available in supermarkets…
The Kon-Tiki Museum is worth a visit.
We were there a couple of months ago for four days and thoroughly enjoyed the city, but as others have said it is stupidly expensive. We managed to survive on a small beer with dinner each night though did splash out one night on a cocktail in the bar at the top of the Radisson Blu hotel with its views across the city.
So far as things to do is concerned, we bought a three day travel and museum Oslo Pass which was the equivalent of £75. Not cheap but given that entry to the majority of attractions was between £10 and £20 a pop and it was valid on buses, trains and trams within quite a large area, it paid for itself easily.
During our time there we did the Kon-Tiki and Fram Polar Ships Museums (both worth visiting and easily reached by bus); The Astrup Fearnley Museet (big-name modern art collection – some fab, some utter cack); the Nobel Peace Centre; and the Holmenskollen Ski Jump Arena. This sits above the city and is reached by train and a short walk and provided the ‘wow’ memory of our visit with views of Oslo Fjord and the utterly bonkers jumping arena. We also did a historical guided walk along the Akerselva river to the Mathallen Food Hall which had all manner of warming food and drink at various prices. The opera house is worth a visit if you like stunning modern architecture. Be aware though that the waterfront area is currently being transformed, so apart from the opera house and the ‘barcode’ business/residential development it’s a bit of a building site.
The old station terminus building has been converted into bars and restaurants and has a good feel to it, but there are better places to eat if you have the time to explore. It is also home to the Visitor Centre. You can visit the parliament building, but tours are few and it’s strictly limited to thirty visitors first-come, first served, so get there early – we were numbers 31 and 32 in the queue.
There are numerous ways of getting to and from the airport – dedicated rail service, local rail, regular buses plus cabs of course. We opted for the bus because (a) it was the cheapest option (b) we weren’t on a schedule (only 40 mins into the centre) and (c) it was just a good way of approaching a new city.
It’s not a big city, but we came away thinking there was still plenty to see and do. Oh, and English is almost seems more prevalent than Norwegian, the museums exclusively so. Everyone we came in contact with was refreshingly friendly and we didn’t feel threatened walking around or using public transport.
Oslo has a good website and app with loads of information about what is happening over the festive period https://www.visitoslo.com/en/. Enjoy your visit, we did.
Edit: Just remembered, cards are accepted for practically everything including the public toilets, many of which no longer accept cash.
I have been in Norway around New Year. I was in Hamar, jeans, trainers, ski jacket (how dumb is this guy) and minus 24 according to the station display, but dry still air. Apart from my nostril hair freezing every time I breathed in and stabbing my septum, I didn’t know it was that cold till a train went by, *then* I noticed the temperature.
Then we went to Oslo and up the Holmenkollen, dressed much the same but minus 5 and a gale, which is the most sustained pain I’ve ever felt in my life. The damp cold air whipping in off the north sea just cut straight to the bone, and bugger the ski clothes. That was an hour or so etched in the memory. Prepare yourself is all I can say.
And try the reindeer steaks.
Our friends lived in Hamar, I know it well. Nice little place.