notes from norway 4

ha det • good bye!

We did it! We have reached the end of the trip. It was exciting, it had dramatic landscapes and it was tiring. So tiring that our one day in Oslo turned into a more resting one. 

Esteemed subscriber Winnie Li had been to Oslo once before so after a succulent Chinese meal (Asian people yall know how it is) it was straight to naptime for her and time for me to take a long walk. It’s not like there was too much to do either: most shops are closed on Sundays in Norway. Before she tumbled into the ether Winnie did recommend a sculpture park in the northwestern part of the city. So off I went!

The route Google Maps took me on was surprisingly efficient for sightseeing. I walked into some type of courtyard with a fountain, and passed a very large museum thing. I kept following the road until I came across what I later came to know as the Norwegian Royal Palace. It’s not a very romantic looking or fancy palace — but it has that chill nonchalant Norwegian vibe. Their guards are quite dressed up though!

After a nice scenic walk through a more residential part of Oslo I arrived at my destination: The Vigeland Park. A park built into a hill with a large number of statues circling a very large obelisk/tower. Very man-coded!

It’s quite the quirky park but the light that was coming out of the clouds laid perfectly across the trees. I don’t know what it is about Europe, but the late afternoon sun is just stunning. You know I used to walk through the Met wondering what the hell these European artists were seeing to make such beautiful lightning. Now I know!

I walked the rest of the way home. I thought about taking the light rail but decided that it would be better to just enjoy the city as it was. 

My day ended with a stroll past an old fortress where they executed WWII traitors and Nazis (Akershus festning), a whole little row of saunas with people jumping into the bay, and the very very beautiful Operahuset. There were people looking out over the sunset, classical ballroom music, elderly couples slowly twirling and stepping to the music. It was the perfect evening to just stop and watch the world. 

That was yesterday. This morning I woke up and said farewell to Winnie who would finish up her European adventure in a different leg. That left me with a morning of not much to do. So naturally I went out for a cup of coffee. 

I marched through the slightly too cold morning against all the commuters biking in to town for work. It was a mixture of people using e-bikes, cargo bikes and road bikes but everyone seemed to have quite thick tires as opposed to the skinny road tires I see all over NYC. After a 20 minute trek over a river and through a small park I was seated in one of Oslo’s premier micro-roasters: Tim Wendelboe. I got a cortado and an espresso (putting ya boy four deep for the morning) and bought some bags to bring home to try. 

After that, there wasn’t much to do. I strolled around the city center with some grovbolle (whole-grain roll) and just took a quick spin.

That’s it for my Norwegian adventure! That’s it for my Norwegian adventure! Thanks everyone for following along. Honestly, I could see myself here. There were people biking with chacos, there were hills and trees and just so much nature. I think I visited on an abnormally warm day so I won’t fall too hard for it — but it felt quietly lively. Am I just in a Scandinavian time of my life????