London Christmas Lights 2015

I may complain occasionally (okay, frequently) about how gray and overcast London is, but the Christmas lights and decorations are mega making up for it. They're quickly becoming one of my favorite things about the city, especially for this time of year. However, I'm not a fan of mulled wine surprisingly enough.

We set out on Friday to look at the biggest displays — Oxford Street, New Bond Street, Regent Street, Carnaby Street, Trafalgar Square, The Strand, and Covent Garden are all decked out for the holidays. Not to mention several side streets and courts that have festive decorations, as well. I'll wander down to Harrod's and the National History Museum this week. I can't wait to see the ice rink!

Walking from Oxford Street to Covent Garden only took about two hours, even with my incessant fiddling with the camera to get just the right shot. My classic move of assuming the camera battery will last immediately failed me, so these were taken on a Samsung S5, which did a bang-up job if I do say so myself!

I posted the route at the end of the post if you're ready for your own evening stroll. I definitely recommend it.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

An average day (which is a good thing!)

Instagram is perhaps my most-beloved social media account, but lately I haven't been very disciplined about posting. I take photos but then don't think to post until 2am (whoops!), or I'm concerned that my phone will die if I use the camera (yes, that's currently a very real first-world problem in my life), or I'm logged in to the account I manage for What is the Point? and I'm too lazy to log out.

So, because it's 2am and I just finished watching five episodes of New Girl, I thought I'd go 'gram a photo or two from my day. But there was only one.

Cycle Superhighway spotted while in East London! #cyclesuperhighway #cs2 #eastlondon #mileend #london #bikelane #bikeporn

Posted by ellen! (@ellensayshola) 12/12/2015 at 2:09GMT 

Which, okay, yes, I am super jazzed that I live in a city with frickin' CYCLE SUPERHIGHWAYS but I also had a really great day in general. It's like the age-old millenial question: If you did something, but didn't post about it on Instagram... did you really do it?

(Yes YES the answer is YES you crazy hipster.)

So about today.

• Today I rode a bike!
• Today I bought shoes!
• Today I learned that I can spend £2 for the privilege of shoving as many olives and feta chunks and mozzarella balls as I possibly can into a plastic food container from the salad bar at Tesco!
• Then I rode a bike again!
• Today I made new friends and trimmed a tiny tree and drank eggnog that wasn't from a carton!
• Today I toured our friends' new house thanks to the magic of the internet! 
• Today my husband made friends, and I only helped a little bit! 

And these are things that — even if I had 'grammed them — can't really be captured in a photo.

Okay, that's bullshit, they totally can. It's not hard to take a photo of an ornament, but whatever. You get my point.

I just wanted to say I had a good day, and that sometimes when you move to a new place you really have to appreciate the good days because there are also low days and hard days and days that don't have olives or bikes and some days that don't even have tiny trees to trim. 

(And I guess you should follow me on Instagram. But maybe start following me tomorrow because that was literally the only photo I took today and it wasn't even that good.)

Thoughts on traveling to Oslo in December

A few thoughts on traveling to Oslo in December (outside of tourist season, April - September)

• I had most of the tourist attractions to myself. I could spend as much time as I want at the ski museum and had the top of the Holmenkollen all to myself. I was legitimately startled when I came face to face with another person at the Kon-Tiki museum. 
• Hours are shorter for most places and some attractions don't operate at all. For example,  the Kon-Tiki museum was only open until 4pm, a free walking tour only operated on weekends, and the bike tour I found is by-appointment-only. Certain ferry routes and the Homenkoller giftshop were closed completely. Always, always check ahead and try as best a possible to communicate with a human (email or phone call). 
• Fewer people in general means empty restaurants and good service.
• It's cold! I was pretty prepared for this, but do be sure to pack your thick socks, warm boots, and a good set of hat and gloves. Everyone in the city is pretty bundled, so you won't stick out as a tourist too much of you're used to warmer weather. (Or better yet, buy a hand-knit hat or pair of gloves at a Christmas markets.)
• It's festive! I'm not much of a Christmas person (there, I said it), but the lights, garland, markets, warm bevvies, and evergreen trees everywhere really got me into the spirit of the season. 
• It's ridiculously dark. I mentioned this several times, but my mindset was mega thrown off on the first day when it was pitch black by 4pm. If/when I go back, I'll be researching museums, bars, or attractions that stay open late to combat feeling like I should be in bed when it's really only 5pm!
• Look into skiing! Apparently you can lug your skis or snowboard onto the T-bane and hop off (almost) directly onto the slopes. 
• Winter is also northern light season. I'm booking that next time fer sher.

And if I have the time, I'll gladly spend another couple of days exploring Oslo!

Day 3 in Oslo: Taking it Slow

My timing has been off today — stayed up too late writing and was a bit slow getting out of the house. This is nothing new, so I've learned plenty well how to roll with it. I'm currently looking over the fjord, having missed a public ferry tour by mere minutes (I saw it pull away from the dock as I sat on the bus!). However, I am quite cozy on a patio at a restaurant, snuggled up in a blanket (provided at every table) and sitting on a fur seat cover, under a heat lamp. Ten points to Oslo!

Also tried lefse, a traditional potato bread:

This morning I woke up to a snowy Oslo, and didn't realize how much I would love seeing a winter landscape again! It wasn't much, but I'm happy to see it. 

Had to grab a latte from the trendiest (and also coziest) coffee/bar:

Then bought some handmade socks at the Christmas market for my favorite niece, and mailed my first round of thank-you postcards: 

(Don't forget you can still get one, too!)

I grabbed the bus over to the Kon-Tiki museum, which was fascinating! I hadn't heard of this journey before, but a Norwegian built a raft out of balsa wood and successfully floated from Peru to a group of pacific islands. Just to prove his theory about who settled there. There's a documentary and I intend to look it up to learn more. But I thought the museum was really well put together: simple, stationary displays but lots of good info and visually interesting. 

The bus ride there drives through a different side of Oslo than where I'd been these last two days, so it doubled as a mini-tour of the mini-countryside.

I catch the train to Rygge in just a few moments to head back to London, where in my absence it has apparently been near 60 degrees. Hopefully that sticks around for just a few more days. 

Day 2 in Oslo: Double-Sock Day

Don't forget! You can still get a personal postcard from me just by signing up for my email list before Dec. 31st, 2015. The first batch goes out tomorrow! 

I woke up before the sun today. It's not that hard — sunrise wasn't until 8:50. PROOF for all you haters (coughHUSBANDcough):

I got going and set out to explore my (AirBnB) neighborhood, Grünerløkka. I have little confidence in how to pronounce it, but the name looks so Norwegian! The area buildings are reminiscent of Notting Hill colors, so I felt pretty at-home wandering the streets: 

I grabbed a latte from Tim Wendelboe Espressobar (it was good!) then walked to the Akerselva riverfront walk, which is so pleasant I had to linger. The sun is always in "golden hour" positioning at this time of the year in Oslo, so it's fun taking photos of what's caught in the light. I took these photos around 11:15am, and it feels like early morning or late afternoon. My head-clock is so confused! (As is my wrist-clock. Oslo is an hour ahead of London and my watch doesn't update automatically and I'm only here for two nights, so...)

(Proof that it's 11:15 when I'm taking these long-shadow shots!)

Then I walked just a few blocks to Telthusbakken (gesundheit!) which still has colorfully painted wooden houses. My favorite was at the top of the hill:

By this point I am COLD! I am sure that it has got to be 20 degrees, so I checked. Nope. It's in the mid-thirties. Granted, that's still a bit nippy, but I'm a KC kid! There are colder winters in KC! Seems like London has already made me soft... I thankfully had the forethought to carry extra socks with me (I wore my Merrells, and they're designed to keep your feet vented and cool... Not what I want in Oslo in December!) and I put them on later in the day.

For lunch I checked out Mathhallen food market. It's indoor (yay! warm!) and has lots of trendy food-stand-esque restaurants to choose from. If I lived in Oslo, I would be here often. The atmosphere is easy and open, and there's plenty of seating. 

I ate a pork pie from "Hello, Good Pies!" And it was muy delicioso. 

This is also a good time to mention, I will not be eating lutefisk on this trip. I asked about tasting some, but I would have had to buy a whole fish-worth, and I'm just not convinced I'm going to like it enough to spend 180 NOK (about $20) — or easily more money — on one meal. When I'm back here with a travel buddy, I will taste it then. I'm not too worried about it. 

By now, it's a bit after 1pm, so I head over to Holmenkollen, a giant ski jump overlooking Oslo and the fjord. I was not let down. From the T-bane ride to get there, to the sunset two hours later, the trek had great views! 

You read that right. Sunset two hours after 1pm. I was on the top of the Holmenkollen around 3:15ish and the sun was already setting. I am not sure I would ever get used to this. I was struggling in London — where the sun is gone-gone-gone by 4:45 — but this is just weird.

T-bane ride up the mountain (t-bane is the metro/subway, but it's not sub- anything for very long):

First good glimpse of Oslofjord:

There's a ski museum beneath the built part of the slope:

View from the top (there is an elevator to the top, thank god!):

Dinner was an elgburger — any guesses as to what that is?

It was good! There was a sweet-ish mayo-y dressing on it. 

I also tried Gløgg, which is a *different* warm winter beverage from the Solbærtoddy from last night. It was actually a bit spicy, not just spiced! And after being chilled pretty much all day, anything warm between my hands felt nice. (That's what she said.)

Finally made my way back to home base, where I taught my host (Linda) how to cast-off her knitting project and tried toasted fullkorn, a Scandinavian bread. I actually ate it with butter and cheese, but this photo is prettier. :)

Then Linda revealed that the hot water is included in her rent, so I am finally feeling thoroughly thawed after an irresponsibly long shower. Must find more appropriate winter shoe options! :D