WEEK 27-29 IN OSLO - ALEX

April 14 to May 2 - Easter Week and the Welcoming of Visitors

Easter Week

Back in December we had many people warn us about store closures that would take place over Christmas. We planned ahead, looked at opening and closing hours of essential stores, and expected that everything would shut down in a noticeable and potentially disrupting manner. Ultimately, we were minimally impacted and laughed about how overblown everyone made the Christmas week closures seem. In the weeks leading up to Easter we heard many of the same warnings from locals and while we knew it was a big deal we assumed that it couldn’t be worse than an overhyped Christmas shutdown. We assumed wrong.

In comparison to Christmas very little was open for 5 days. There were national holidays on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. Stores were either closed or had shortened hours on Saturday. The city was absolutely dead quiet save for the touristy city center where seemingly everyone out and about were visiting from abroad. The only places open over the holiday weekend were the museums and restaurants catering to the tourist crowd. From an outsider's perspective it appeared to be a bigger deal than Christmas.

Due to the same predictable four holidays every year paired with week long school closures Easter week is a big deal for everyone in the country regardless of religious affiliation. Anecdotely it is the number 1 week for Norwegians to go skiing in the mountains. All of the birch branches that are placed to mark the trails are done so in anticipation of the Easter crowds. The DNT huts set their spring opening and closing dates based on Easter. Certain mountain roads get plowed and extra/special bus routes get added to pick up and drop off families at different trailheads. People flock to their or their families mountain cabin to spend the week with loved ones. We couldn’t get over the seemingly never ending holiday aspect of Easter in  comparison to the US where Easter is more of a commercialized blip.

Russefeiring

Every year high school students in their final year participate in Russ, a month long alcohol and drug fueled bender that is generally accepted, if not endorsed, by the general public. Norwegians have been partaking since its independence in 1905 and it has its roots in Sami traditions. The modern day premise is that for the 4 weeks leading up to the May 17 Constitution Day holiday, and school exams, you and everyone else in your graduating class wear the same outfit and go out and party in and around your community. In the wealthier parts of the country, like west Oslo where we live, you and your friends collectively spend over $100,000 to buy a party bus and customize it, hire a driver for the bus, commission artists to make music about you, and make specialized merchandise.

One of the Russer’s favorite activities is to drive around in their bus, park at certain landmarks, and play obnoxious music very loud throughout the night. Unfortunately for us we lived directly across the street from both a popular high school and a 24 hour McDonalds. From midnight to 6am buses would be parked outside our apartment bumping bass that we could upstairs in our apartment. This happened every night without fail beginning on April 21 and lasted through May 17. In some aspects it was neat to be able to witness the height of debauchory every night  of this Norwegian cultural touchstone and had we lived somewhere else it wouldn’t have been so noticeable. We would have seen teenagers walking around the city all wearing the same colored jumpsuit and heard the occasional loud bus drive down the street, but that’s probably it. With that said, it was very disrupting to our sleep and something that I was happy to see come to an end in May.

An example of a Russbuss that terrorized us for a month.

Visitors

Over Easter weekend my Uncle Dave and Aunt Roberta were in Oslo. They were stopping by after picking up a new car in Gothenburg and were headed on a Scandinavian road trip to an old family homestead outside of Forvik before returning to the south of Sweden. When plans were made and dates picked neither of us realized the impact of Easter and that it would make our current home look like a ghost town. Fortunately, the touristy aspects of the city were still open and they had previously been to Oslo when more was happening and the weather was better.

We visited the Munch Museum and toured the interior of the Opera House. It was interesting to hear how much has changed since they were last in Oslo in 2015. To me and Morgan Oslo feels like a very new city to us, but hearing how the central multi-block long business district didn’t exist 10 years ago puts it into perspective. We also had a pleasant Nordmarka hike and I was treated to the opportunity to take them to my favorite Norwegian pastime of going to a cafeteria in the forest.

Clockwise from upper left: Dave and Morgan quickly walking away from Munch’s Scream where throngs of people gather to take a photograph with the painting, Dave and Roberta taking the Oslo Metro system, walking along Sognsvann on our way to Ullevalseter, looking out from Aker Brygge towards the old castle, sitting in the Opera House after taking a tour of the theater and facilities.

The following weekend we got to spend time with Kristiann our friend from Seattle. Kristiann has a lot of connections to Norway and gave us a lot of very helpful tips before we moved. She also helped put us in contact with people in Norway who we have stayed with in the countryside and have hung out with in Oslo. On Sunday morning we met up with Kristiann, her travelling companion to meet up with the family of one of her friends. It turned out to be a really fantastic day. We had a lovely picnic in a park, had a nature walk through a sculpture garden, saw Viking ships, ate ice cream in the sun, and had a terrific home cooked meal. It was very wholesome, incredibly fun and is a surprising Norway highlight for both me and Morgan.

Clockwise from upper: Walking through the sculpture garden at Sti for Oye, doing a post game dance, picnic with the group, eating DiplomIs soft serve with Kristiann.

Moving Day

We helped our friends Dan and Alice move into their new apartment that they purchased earlier this spring. Moving is not exactly the most fun activity in the world, but it was nice to be able to help friends as they enter a new chapter of their life. We met up with them at Ikea and helped pick up their new furniture, load into a moving van, and walk it up to the new 6th floor flat. I think our efforts we appreciated and we hope to be repaid at the end of August when we are in the process of leaving.

Left: Picking up the goods from Ikea.

Right: Dan and Alice in their new 6th floor walkup. Ikea couch photographed in the back.

May 1

May 1 marked another major public holiday in Norway. Given how late Easter fell this year there are 5 public holidays (Easter weekend counts as one) between April 17 and June 9. Each is spaced 1 to 2 weeks apart and each holiday helps make it feel like no one is ever working.

May 1 is an international holiday celebrating the achievements of the labor party. In contrast to our more southern European neighbors Norway has rather relaxed celebrations that are family friendly. I met some of our friends at the square to listen to some speeches where I practiced my Norwegian listening skills and applauded myself when I understood what was being spoken. Later I joined the parade and marched with my friends and their university union. The parade route was about 15 minutes and I was pleasantly surprised at how many people turned out to show support and cheer us on.

Clockwise from left: Participating in the parade with the University of Oslo graduate student union, watching fellow paraders after we finished our lap, listening to speeches in the square.

Other Photos

Photos of our biking adventures through Nordmarka over the past couple of weeks.

Enjoying the spring bloom in the city. We have enjoyed resuming one of our favorite pastimes, the evening summer walk.