The diary of David, a just-turned-30 Brit living in Norway
Today I want to tell you all about my favourite street in Oslo. It's not the grand Karl Johan, taking you from the Central Station all the way to the Royal Palace. Neither is it Aker Brygge, with its people watching qualities and Mövenpick ice cream stands. It's not even the main drag through Grønland, which hosts great value curry houses and some of Oslo's best bars such as Gloria Flames, Asylet and Dattera til Hagen. Nope, none of … [Read more...]
There is a strong cafe culture in Oslo; Norway is after all a nation of coffee drinkers. Close by, I have my regular spots (T18 on Torggata), my coffee-geek spots (Tim Wendleboe in Grunerløkka), my indulgent spots (a little further out at the Oslo Chocolaterie) but my favourite spot of all is just over the river in Grunerløkka at the Chillout Travel Centre on Markveien. When my friend Charlotte visited back in the summer, she commented … [Read more...]
This weekend there was still no snow in Oslo, so I decided to take advantage and go for a walk with my camera. Without making any real plans I took the T-Bane up to Nydalen and ended up walking the 4.5km home along the river. Akerselva flows through Oslo for about 8km and forms the dividing line between west and east. Much of the river is surrounded by parkland (Akerselva miljøpark) and in the summer it's a beautiful walk. And likewise in … [Read more...]
Today I had intended to continue my search for Oslo's best cafe, but I took a slight detour and decided to concentrate on coffee. Living in the centre of Oslo I am surrounded by cafes offering good coffee, but nothing outstanding. For the capital of one of the world's greatest coffee consuming nations, that's been a surprise. I've missed the variety on offer back in Birmingham at Urban Coffee Company. So a quick surf on some coffee blogs and I … [Read more...]
Following Saturday's wander around Grünerløkka, I decided to venture out on Sunday to the area of Oslo with a questionable reputation - Grønland. It's the area to the immediate north and east of Oslo Sentralstasjon. A number of people at work (Norwegians) had warned me off the area, so naturally my curiosity was aroused! With Ståle as my guide, we walked from the T-Bane stop straight to an awesome cafe/bar called Oslo Mekaniske Verksted - … [Read more...]
It's been a beautiful weekend so far, I really have been blessed with stunning weather since my arrival. I'm trying not to get too used to it though, as when September/October arrives it's going to be a very different story. Still, the great weather has meant I've been able to get out and about exploring. On Saturday I took the trikk (tram) up to a neighbourhood I'd read about - Grünerløkka. Boarding the tram in the city it became clear the … [Read more...]
He writes here about his new life in Norway: his observations and experiences, the language and culture, the people and places. [Read More …]
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