Our First Day in Oslo
Back in April, we took a trip to Norway and Iceland. Why did we choose Norway and Iceland? Good question…
When we started planning this trip in the fall of last year, we originally thought we wanted to go to Denmark since we both have family from there, and Adam still has relatives living there now.
But after doing some research and randomly stumbling upon this video about Norway… we quickly changed our minds and decided we must visit Norway, and Denmark will just have to wait until next time, haha.
Adam and I visited Iceland in 2015 (almost 10 years ago, wow!) and couldn’t wait to return. It’s still one of my all-time favorite places. This time around, we only had a short layover there on the way to Norway, and then we decided to stay one night in Reykjavik on our way back to Seattle.
I’ll talk about that more in another post, but for now, here are some photos from our first day in Oslo.
Lily did so well on the flights! We were exhausted after our seven-hour flight to Iceland, followed by a short layover in Reykjavik, then another three-hour flight to Norway… but we landed in Oslo around 2 pm, so we forced ourselves to fight the jet lag and stay awake until a reasonable bedtime hour. Lily got a pass, though. Let the baby sleep.
I’m realizing that the title of this post is, “Our First Day in Oslo,” but really, it’s our first and second day in Oslo. We didn’t do much that first day because we were so tired. We slept for a really long time… Here’s a photo of my feet sticking off the end of the bed that Adam took to make fun of me. I was dead to the world. Jet lag is the worst.
On our second day in Oslo, we woke up late, showered, and headed to Stockfleths (coffee shop). I was sick for the majority of our trip, so it was a real struggle for me to pull it together. We decided to just take it easy and play it by ear.
We visited the Oslo Opera House first and Lily had a blast running up and down the slanted walkways to the roof. (I love that their website invites you to PLEASE walk on the roof, haha.) We had perfect weather and beautiful views from up on top!
“The angled exterior surfaces of the building are covered with marble from Carrara, Italy, and white granite and make it appear to rise from the water. It is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since Nidarosdomen was completed circa 1300.” (source)
We could see a bunch of floating saunas from up there. Pretty cool! So Norway. I had to switch to my telephoto lens to get a better look…
Here’s a closeup of the sculpture seen in the first photo at the beginning of this post.
“She Lies is a public sculpture by Monica Bonvicini made of stainless steel and glass panels, measuring approximately 39 ft by 56 ft by 52 ft, next to the Oslo Opera House in Norway. It is a permanent installation, floating on the water in the fjord on a concrete platform, rising 39 ft above the water surface. The sculpture turns on its axis in line with the tide and wind, offering changing experiences through reflections from the water and its transparent surfaces.” (source)
After we left the opera house, we walked across the street to the library. As we expected, it was gorgeous, kid-friendly, and somewhere I would visit all the time if we lived there!
We loved the stroller parking. Everything in Norway was so organized and well thought out. Why does it seem like everything in America is thrown together with zero effort? Families with kids are never prioritized here like they are in Europe and other parts of the world.
Notice anything about those two photos…? Men! Five dads spending time with their kids on a Monday morning at the library. I was the only woman there at one point. It was something I noticed right away and when we started speaking to a Norwegian dad (the one showing Adam something on his phone in the photo above), it all made sense.
“The parental benefit period is 49 weeks with 100% coverage or 59 weeks with 80% coverage.” (source)
Ummm, wow. We were both shocked. He said it’s super common to see dads out and about with their young babies. I loved it so much and really wish our country did more to support both moms and dads after babies are born. And yes, I know stay-at-home dads do exist in our country (I know a handful of them on Bainbridge), but overall, it’s still super rare to see this many dads at once during the week at the library, and in general, new dads don’t get enough time to bond with their babies before they have to return to work. It’s pathetic how little time both parents get in the US!
Anyway, that’s my rant.
I was excited to see something else while we were in Norway: people pushing strollers with baby sleeping bags inside. I’m sure you’ve heard about how babies in Norway and other Nordic countries sleep outside in the cold weather. I find it so fascinating and loved getting to see the cozy strollers up close.
After our morning adventure, we walked back to our apartment. We stayed at ATT/Revier and the only complaint we had was it was NOT stroller/luggage/wheelchair friendly. There was an elevator on the main floor, but the door to the building was up three or four steep stairs and then once you’re in the building, there are another three or so steps up to the elevator. Kind of funny and defeats the purpose of having an elevator. I’m not sure what people in wheelchairs do in situations like that.
Aside from the lack of ramps, it was a super hip and modern apartment and we enjoyed our stay there while we were in Oslo.
After Lily’s nap, we ventured out again and took the train and the bus to Frogner Park to check out the funky statues.
“Frogner Park is the largest park in the city and covers 45 hectares; the sculpture installation is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist (Gustav Vigeland). Frogner Park is the most popular tourist attraction in Norway, with between 1 and 2 million visitors each year, and is open to the public at all times.” (source)
“The Vigeland installation features 212 bronze and granite sculptures all designed by Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures culminate in the famous Monolith, with its 121 figures struggling to reach the top of the sculpture.” (source)
It was a beautiful day and we loved exploring the city. I’m so proud of my little world traveler. She’s so used to being on the move now and adapts well to change. She loves taking public transit and refuses to let you push her in the stroller because she’d much rather explore on foot.
I can’t believe I was able to edit and post these photos in a somewhat timely manner! Hopefully, I can keep it going. Lots more to sort through! As always, thanks for reading. xo