Solo in Oslo
When I worked the overnight shift at NPR, I became used to a surreal kind of isolation and loneliness. One on hand, I was surrounded by people – producers, editors, engineers, and hosts – all working on deadline to put on a show. On the other hand, North America was fast asleep and I was kind of on my own.
Mjøl Bakeri in Sagene, where I went every morning. It’s about 7:30am here in January and still dark outside.
My recent six-day trip to Oslo, Norway, booked somewhat impulsively on a Thursday and leaving the following Tuesday as my “wild” adventure between jobs, was like one giant overnight shift. In a city of 700,000+, I was alone; it was also quite dark, with only 6-7 hours of sunlight each day. Everyone spoke English, but in what stood out to me as the biggest cultural difference I observed, there was no curiosity about who I was or why I was there during some of the coldest days of winter. True story: I went to the same (wonderful) bakery every morning and bought a coffee and pastry. By day three, I was a little loony and exclaimed “Me again!” to virtually no reaction from the guy behind the counter. In this country of extreme introverts, I somehow was an extrovert!
The entrance to The Well Spa. I took the bus here and walked up this cold and slippery driveway.
The upside of navigating Oslo without feeling noticed was freedom and anonymity, and this was incredibly empowering for my visit to The Well, the largest spa and bathhouse in all of Scandinavia located just south of the city. Somewhat out of character for my Type A personality, I made only two concrete plans for my trip to Oslo and visiting this nude (!) spa was one of them. While some people do wear swimsuits there, they’re banned in all the saunas and steam rooms and must be purchased there if you opt to cover up. Notably, the spa is not segmented by gender so you’re just out there… with everyone and all their parts. I gave myself the space and freedom to make a game time decision and ultimately decided to go au naturel. Gasp!
I spent six hours at The Well, basking in complete joy and freedom, meandering from sauna to shower to pool and back again. I loved the extreme heat of the Finnish sauna and the misty air of the tepidarium. Looking at the sky and the snow and the steam rising from the still 100° water at the outdoor Japanese onsen, I felt like the luckiest person in the world, if only for a moment. For the curious, among my favorite areas were (all temps in Fahrenheit):
The caldarium with a 97° warm mineral bath with steam and a scent of jasmine. This is of course a photo provided by The Well since no cameras or phones were allowed!
Art Deco tepidarium at 104-116°, 80-100% humidity
Japanese steam bath at 104-116°, 80-100% humidity
The Wellness pool at 90° (see above)
Art deco caldarium at 97° (see right)
Finnish Sauna Temperature at 176-187°, 6-15% humidity (see above)
Japanese Onsen at 100°, outdoor air temp of 0°! (see above)
New tattoo drawn to fit on upper arm by Ingunn Dybendal at Lucky 7 Oslo
The second thing I planned for my time in Oslo was a tattoo, which I love to collect while traveling. I wasn’t overly confident the artist I wanted (shoutout to Instagram search!) would be available given the lack of advanced notice, but luck was on my side and she was free. My appointment was set for 10am, which is the crack of dawn for most places where I’ve gotten tattooed in the U.S. They also accepted credit card and the price included tip. Why am I mentioning the boring details of payment processes? In my experience, not knowing how many hundreds of dollars of cash to bring is the most stressful thing about getting a tattoo, and I was thrilled that it was easy peasy.
Let’s pause for a moment. Why Oslo? Why Oslo during winter… during an unseasonably cold stretch? (By the way, the high was 6° F and the low was around -12°). The short answer is that I’ve always had a thing for Scandinavia – jeg snakker litt norsk! — and while I would’ve preferred somewhere warm and tropical, the idea of going solo to an all-inclusive in Mexico, Jamaica, or Dominican Republic just didn’t seem exciting. The stars aligned to see a friend who lived there, and that sealed the deal.
Back to the trip. I was a little apprehensive about getting around Oslo, but my journey to The Well just south of the city gave me all the confidence in the world to get wherever I needed. Their public transportation system is like the Apple of public transport. The Ruter app told me everything I needed to know to get anywhere and everywhere, and it held my hand through transfers, walking directions, and whether my ticket covered the trip. The signage and live updates at bus stops were better than most, if not all, systems I’ve seen in the U.S. (see above), and you’d have to be a real dummy to screw it up. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a sign that said the transit system would reimburse you for a cab if the bus or tram was more than 20 minutes late. Can you imagine?! Finally, my bar may be low, but they had USB ports everywhere so I never had to deal with the anxiety of a dying phone, which was a blessing during such cold weather.
Outside the Astrup Fearnley Museum, where I thought I might lose some fingers.
I spent a lot of time in museums to seek shelter from the cold, which wasn’t so bad aside from the hand I exposed to take photos on my phone and GoPro. All the museums were in stunningly beautiful areas, so I couldn’t help but snap a few selfies. I looked at my pale white fingers more than once wondering if they’d rebound or truly fall off. Since I’d been to Oslo in 2013, I stuck to museums I hadn’t already seen, which included the Munch Museum, the National Museum, and the Astrup Fearnley Museum. I love modern and contemporary art, so these museums were more than a refuge. I loved so many pieces I saw, including the lighter side of Edvard Munch (known for “The Scream”) and some Scandinavian artists I hadn’t heard of before, like Vanessa Baird and Lena Conqvist (see slideshow). And I loved the themes of loneliness in his art; it felt meant to be on this solo trip.
Of course, Scandinavia is also known for design, and whether museums or bathrooms or even skateparks, everything was indeed beautiful. The trip was easy on the eyes in virtually every sense, and that kept my mind active and engaged even though there was no one to chat with.
There’s a Norwegian saying that “There is no bad weather, only bad clothes!” In that spirit, I set my sights on buying some cozy wool gear and squeezed in visits to Marimekko, the Finnish store; Devold, a Norwegian wool clothing store; and Fretex, the Salvation Army used store in Norway. I found some great wool sweaters and basically wore one of them the rest of the trip, since it was so much warmer than the thinner sweaters I brought with me.
The dressing room at Fretex in Grunerløkka trying on the sweater that kept me warm for the rest of my trip.
Reddit was not only helpful for finding Fretex and Devold, but also for identifying restaurants where it wouldn’t be super weird to eat alone. I ate some solid meals and drank some delicious wine, but I think I was counting on a little socializing with bartenders or fellow solo diners. For better or worse, it didn’t happen and that made it easier for my trip to end.
I loved my funky, frigid, isolating trip to Oslo, and it was the perfect reset to a new year following a couple rollercoaster weeks of 2023.
