Christmas in Oslo: the same, but different

Christmas in the States has always been an 'experience,' both good and...let's say challenging. Not bad. Just challenging. Sure, it varied from year to year, but in general it followed the same pattern: enjoying some sort of start to the season such as the lighting of the Westlake Christmas tree; shopping with the hoards; wrapping presents until the wee hours of the morning; baking cookies or such; getting a stollen from my mom; traveling to one or more relatives' house(s) for Christmas Eve and/or Day, potluck item in hand, end enjoying the holiday with family. Add to that holiday work parties, get-togethers with the girlfriends, hunting down a tree, hauling out the five or so boxes of decorations and decorating the house, and crafting and mailing out Christmas cards, and that's about how it rounded out on a yearly basis.

This year was very different. Given our recent move, many things got dropped off the list. I made no cards this year, which is a first for me in many, many years. We left almost all of our decorations in cold storage in the States; I even forgot to bring our stockings. Cookie making was pretty unnecessary, given the surprise shipment of homemade almond roca and biscotti from my family. And holiday parties? Well, we shared a nice evening with our landlord and her husband, but with just the two of us here and the lack of the obligatory Work Party Christmas Culture found in the States, we found ourselves with a lack of social commitments during the holiday season.

As for shopping and presents, G and I decided to give ourselves a trip to Spain during the week after Christmas, and we didn't exchange presents for the most part with family, considering the seemingly daunting logistics of planning for Christmas presents amongst the chaos of our recent relocation.

Plus, to top it off, we were just plain busy. Unpacking boxes, organizing, shopping for new furniture, etc. It didn't really feel like there was time for Christmas this year. This year, we tried to focus on the experience and observance rather than so much of the stuff. In a nutshell, here’s what we did:

1. Celebrated Solstice on December 22 with a bottle of bubbly and dinner. It seemed appropriate to fête the longest night of the year…and then send it on its way.

2. Walked to the new opera house for sunset on Christmas Eve. Covered in snow, we walked on its sloping roof to take in a wonderful view of Oslofjord and downtown.

 
3. Wandered back from the opera house through downtown enjoying the stunning Christmas lights. Probably because it’s so darn dark here for so many hours of the day, those Norwegians definitely know how to hang Christmas lights. 

 

4. Marveled at the serious lack of people on the streets midday on Christmas Eve. Downtown was deserted and most restaurants and shops had long since closed for the day (see the above photos; I took them around 4:00 in the afternoon). What a difference! We are so used to the crazy last-minute shoppers and late-night shopping hours; it was a welcome change from our normal experience. Nothing is open here, grocery stores and restaurants included, from about mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve through annen juledag (second Christmas Day - 26 December), and most stores have limited hours until after New Years Day. No focus on after-Christmas bargain-hunting here. 

5. G surprised me while I was cooking most of Christmas day by unpacking the remainder of our household, recycling all the boxes, rearranging the living/dining room, and hanging some of our art. We actually had Christmas dinner at our dining room table. It finally feels like home.

6. Enjoyed three days of wonderful food, Skype calls with family, and simply lazing around on the couch watching Elf, eating Christmas cookies, doing laundry, and planning our upcoming Spain trip.

I think I’ll go make myself a hot toddy and munch on some more biscotti, and savor the remainder of the holiday weekend.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend of your own.

Julemarked i Oslo

G and I had a busy weekend: we finally ordered this and this and this (with doors and a couple of pullout shelves) from IKEA on Saturday, and they are arriving today. I am so excited to actually have somewhere to put most everything that's still in boxes! We might also get this or this for the living room in the hopes of building our wine and spirits collection up again, and making more room for pantry items in the kitchen cabinets rather than wine glasses and barware. Time will tell. 


Other things we/I did this weekend included discovering the Norwegian Film Institute (more on that later) and going to the Christmas market (Julemarked) in Oslo. I made my way down to the market Friday afternoon for a second visit after G and I walked through it briefly earlier in the week. Rick Steves talks about the market in his European Christmas DVD and book (I have not seen or read either, but I am told they are well done). So, it was nice to experience something firsthand that I'd heard good things about.


The market is located in downtown Oslo, between city hall and the harbor (incidentally, city hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held later that evening). There are 80 or so vendors selling everything from candles to woolen mittens. There are also plenty of food booths selling gifts items (anyone want a whole dried cod for Christmas?), and fun things to nosh on while you peruse the market, like vafels, lefser, pølser, and elgburger. Julenisse is even there for the little kids to visit and tell him their Christmas wishes. Oh, and one of the coolest things? A ski simulator you could try out, promoting the Nordic World Ski Championships that are in Oslo in February/March 2011. Lighted trees and a decorated entry gate surround the market, making it a little Christmas oasis on the waterfront.  It was beautiful and peaceful at dusk with all the snow on the ground, Christmas music playing in the background, and little fires burning in grates for warmth. 


I bought a few Christmas ornaments to mark our first Christmas in Norway, then settled in and enjoyed a cup of gløgg, a hot mulled wine served with nuts and dried fruit floating in it. Mmmm. I can say after having a cup of gløgg I was not as productive for the rest of the day, but I was definitely happy and relaxed. (I will leave the aqvavit for G to enjoy.)


Some julemarked photos below. Oh, and remember how I said in an earlier post that were was a bizarre number of people with luggage around at any one time? Proof below. Luggage-laden guy wheeling his carry-on through the Julemarked. Over the snow. 


God jul fra Oslo!


Julemarked; that's City Hall in the background.

The front gate of Julemarked. I love Christmas lights.

Elgburger anyone?

Simulator, baby. Get your wax on.

Mmm...gløgg (hic!).

Luggage. Will someone please provide some insight on the propensity for luggage in downtown Oslo. In the dead of winter.