Solo travel in Oslo in the winter: a place filled with happiness and life
I travel alone. I often do. A solo travel in Oslo in the winter though? I need that. I like to go to places that deemed are too cold. Places that are deemed too wet. Too dark. Too hot. I like to dig. We are bang in the midst of winter when i am in Oslo. At the full moon period to be exact. I came here to experience the surreal Geilo ice music festival and also to explore the alluring Oslo.
“There is no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothes” is what locals will tell you. Welcome to Norway. Which means path to the north. Norway is one of the most surreal rugged places in Scandinavia. It is also one of the wettest places on earth. In the winter, temperatures drop. I mean they do drop! And this is precisely why i choose to explore part of it now. I have wanted to solo travel in Oslo for a very long time now. Norwegian architecture; Mountains; Fjord; Nature; Those are heart stopping beautiful words I associate with Oslo. When you land in a country that houses the world’s greenest airport, you know you are setting foot in a place that cares.
Snowy slopes heaven a short shuss from the centre
Oslo is like no other city i have explored so far. The absence of heavy noise makes it a peaceful place. I am guessing the wintery conditions are the main reasons here. It is windy. The icy cold air grabs my face tightly. I burry my head in the hood and shoot off. The only part of my body that is now visible are my eyes. The light outside wears this incredible blueish filter as the sun is still low. It really does put me in my introspective mode. Today I am heading to Holmenkollen via Midstuen; The ski jumping point located in Oslo’s northern suburb.
So there i sit in the metro with a large grin on my face. People around me are carrying their ski equipments and sledges. Lots of laughter. And a wonderful feeling of happiness. This does bode well. Outside, the metro meanders between snow covered trees and keeps climbing up and up. The landscape resemble more and more that of a cross-country skiing location.
A Midstuen station, i am met with a roar of excited people with sledges. The excitement in the metro goes up a notch. The crowd now in sound intensity resemble a herd of school boys. Google tells me one can hit the bobsleigh route from here. I ask the guy next to me. He flashes the biggest grin. I blush. Google is right he tells me. It means hurtling all the way down from Midstuen; Catching the metro up again and repeat. How fantastic i reply, flashing my pearls even more. I make a mental note for myself to return here at a later stage.
Roaming into a carpet of snow
We finally reach our destination. The view as as the metro went up was well worth the journey. But this here is just wow. The inarguable charm here has many sources. It absolutely is insane. To say one has a holistic view is an understatement. Being overwhelmed is another one. What is there not to love here? A place for daredevils and adrenaline seekers, it is also very serene in a way. Not to mention the history of the place itself. The light reflecting on the carpet of snow shimmers like magic dust. It is quite ethereal standing on this rooftop overlooking the sea of dark and white dots below. There is something very carefree about this place.
The following day rolls around way too fast. The wind has dropped. The sky wears a soft light grey as i reached Vigeland sculpture park. The daily mail once labelled this collection the “weirdest statues in the world“. I am trying to mentally capture most of it. The sprawling of the 200 or so sculptures is unabashedly surreal. I feel like there is a certain sense of patience and playfulness here that i admire. The central theme ties all the artworks together. Birth to death.
Two hundred shades of sculptures to fill my solo travel in Oslo
All subjects are nudes. “Man Chasing Four Geniuses” has me laughing my head off. “Monolith” has me looking deep down my soul. The “Fountain”, which illustrates said stages of life from birth to death takes my breath away. The 20 peripheral sculptures seem ready to spring to life at any moment. Too real to be sculptures. It is literally mind blowing. A lot of families here with their kids. Human relationships. Priceless day to day winter scenes. However a quiet to no action atmosphere hangs in the air. A stroll here is nothing short of otherworldly. Depressive sometimes. Exceptional most of the time. The cohesion of it all really draws me in.
Hanging out in the largest sculpture park in the world is proving to be one of the most defining exploration in my little travel life. This part of Oslo is the image of pristine beauty. A frigid winter city this is not. I was worried i may have high expectations of Oslo as i have forever dreamed about the place. So far, solo travel in Oslo is more than i imagined.
Here is thing. Oslo in the winter as i am discovering is made for solo travel. While i love the interaction with people, the weather conditions outside call for comfort. The cafe scene in Oslo is so friendly that i never feel lonely. Because i am always interacting with people. It means i am often in a alone together environment. Out of the usual clichés, Oslo just draws you in like the sea of whirlpools Norway is famous for. Excited and hungry for more, i make my way to Mathallen. Literally starving. It is time to explore some of the best flavours Oslo has to offer.
You can read the next chapter of the story here.
xoxo M. Let’s share our travel inspiration
