City Of Oslo

Between the Oslofjord and the forests lies the Norwegian capital, Oslo — the most populous city in Norway. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of the country and this city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It’s like CBD in Singapore but at least 10 times larger.

We spent three nights at The Thief Hotel with two full days to explore the city. Weather is Oslo was freezing cold with lots of snow. According to a local lady, there’s usually little to no snow in Oslo but times have changed.

Roads were icy and slippery. During a night scroll, a women walked so fast, she slipped and fell face down right beside us. She broke her wrist and was in so much pain. Mak picked her handbag up and offered to send her to a hospital or clinic nearby, she said she’s on her way to an important meeting, thanked us and walked off. We didn’t even have the chance to offer her a taxi or something.

That really scared us because her wrist was literally somewhat hanging off.

During winter season, there is very limited amount of day light. We leave our hotel when it’s dark and return when it’s dark. Energy level is also pretty low for us, our body is still trying to adapt to the cold, icy temperatures. As usual hunger level shoots up and we love indulging in spicy food to warm our stomachs.

Shops close reasonably late in Oslo, some at 7pm, some at 9pm — there’s always a mall or two along the main street to spend some time at, never boring.

Hats, gloves and muffs were absolutely essential for the entire trip. We piled on an average of 3 layers consisting of an inner thermal wear (mine are from Uniqlo and Marks & Spencer), a long-sleeved t-shirt and a jacket (the red one below is from Timberland).

As for the bottoms, 2 layers is sufficient — thermal wear topped with Warm Easy Pants from Uniqlo. We wore jeans on certain days but they are not suitable for long hours outdoor due to the wind and snow.

Norway, being the birthplace of Frozen, we thought all the toy shops would be filled with Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf but our findings were scarce. The parents (my sister and brother-in-law) finally found Elsa and Anna and there they were, happily wrapping them for their little girl.

And guess what the sister bought back from Oslo?

Outdoor skating rinks in the middle of the city is something I missed living in a cold country. Although I have not physically joined in the fun, I love sitting nearby just watching. It reminds me of a scene from my all time favourite childhood movie, Splash.

We didn’t get to shop much clothing in Oslo, partly due to the season, there’s nothing suitable to buy back. Instead, we had so much fun shopping for home accessories — so many beautiful little home decoration items. If I can, I will bring back the furniture and lighting too.

And I have fallen in love with Scandinavian interiors, rich in textures yet simple on the eyes.

Goodbye Oslo, we are moving upwards to Bergen — and this city has left us both wonderful and beautiful memories. Hope to visit again during summer, I am sure it will be an entirely different experience.

Thank you for reading.