The diary of David, a just-turned-30 Brit living in Norway
å pante (to pant) To pant in Norway is to return a drinks bottle or can to the supermarket and get a refund of the deposit you paid when purchasing. Simples! (you can of course pant in other ways too, but I won't cover those here) Returning items for the deposit has long been a part of Norwegian society. Most supermarkets contain "reverse vending" machines which take the bottles and cans in exchange for a receipt, which you cash in at … [Read more...]
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...]
Or in English: Home, Furniture, Kitchen, Home Appliances, Sofa, Bathroom And Much More Today I finally found somewhere cheap to shop in Norway. And by cheap I don't mean relatively cheap, I mean ACTUALLY cheap, hurrah! It comes courtesy of our Scandinavian cousins the Swedes. It is of course... Ikea. I went to the Ikea in Furuset, a suburb of Oslo, with a budget of 550kr (£62) intending to buy bedding for the new apartment. I only spent … [Read more...]
I finished up early at work today and took the t-bane into central Oslo, so I could spend a couple of hours walking around. Yes, my foot is feeling better! I'm still hobbling a little, but it's more the calf muscles hurting now rather than the foot itself, as I've been walking so differently all week. Still, the glorious day was too good to waste by going straight back to the flat :) I headed for a shopping centre called Byporten right in … [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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