Folk Museum Christmas Market and City Market Tour

Alexandria Murphy
Dec 1, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jan 25

To start the day, on time: Finally....

So I headed to Spor Au Nord to just make the last call for breakfast and I had some pancakes. And a very authentic place- many shops here in Oslo have an interior that matches the exterior. They preserve the 1800s appeal and so the inside is like an antique store. My plate at this restaurant was classic China and the restaurant also offered 'afternoon tea' until about 1pm which is when breakfast also ended.

Spor Au Nord

Panne Kaker (pancake) w/jam 165 Nok

Cafe Latte 61 NOK

During my quiet morning walk, I was able to really enjoy the architecture here on my way to the Christmas market tour starting at noon.

Oslo: Christmas Traditions and Market Walking Tour via Get Your Guide (2 hours) $28

I really enjoyed the tour and guide. We actually got a history lesson about the city during the walk and only the last portion was focused on the Christmas market. We ended the tour at city hall (a particularly hideous building) which houses the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony every year. All the winners lodge at the Grand Hotel located on the next block. The Grand Hotel is literally that, Grand. A famous icon downtown surviving since the 1800s.

I learned that although citizens pay about 35% taxes on wages, they actually have a sort of socialism going on so they don't pay much, if anything, for healthcare. T here are incentives to buy property versus renting and the homeless are [supposed to be] given meals and a shelter without question. They live a pretty comfortable and happy life, the Norwegians. Even better, there is a direct 20 minute train from the downtown station to the top of a nearby ski mountain and you can ski down to the next train to go home or just ride it right back up to go again.

Here, skiing is undoubtful a common hobby and many times, trains are filled with people and their ski gear right after work. I would love to come and do this, especially since there would be no need to carry all that stuff up and down a hill! Just train up, ski down, train home!

Oslo is definitely not a tourist city. They don't need us- which is great. It's a city I would certainly come to work in and enjoy the vibes. Now, with only 6 hours of daylight and negative degree icy conditions in Jan and Feb, I'll skip that harsh part of the year!

Next up was my Uber ride to the Norsk Folkmuseum for the large Christmas market. I really had this whole idea I'd be in 20 degree weather drinking mulled wine from my thermos and finding an abundance of chackis and snacks.

And that failed. I'm in 40 degree weather finding a whole bunch of nothing worth my interest in buying at the Christmas markets and come to find out, not only is mulled wine not actually wine, but Norway limits the amount of alcohol you can consume, period. So the reason I wasn't tipsy at these cocktail bars was simply because it's but a drop of liquor in them!

Ugh- well the only this I bought from the Folk museum was a smultringer- a Norwegian donut. It's sweet dough with cinnamon and lemon zest, nothing more. Not bad and good to try but yeah, now I understand when my guide said Norway really isn't known for cuisine. Even the guide today said that lakefish is nasty- I wish I knew this before I spent $50 on a wasteful dish!

UBER one-way $27

Norsk Folkmuseum ticket $18

I saw some nice re-built Viking houses at the museum but I'm good on the shops here- I would recommend a visit if you had some time to kill.

Now for dinner. I checked out Mathallen which is an open food hall to find something not super expensive but local enough. I know I didn't get the full experience but it was a small indoor area yet so many people congregating.

I sat down at Helt Vilt for a moose burger (pass-nothing special) and then made my way over to another cocktail bar: Torggata Botaniske. The drink menu is 'Botanical' so there are some great mixes but its more of an upscale bar than a speakeasy vibe. Some drinks are pre-made and bottled which I think defeats the purpose and cost. I didn't really enjoy the first drink as it really did reminisce a mojito [I'd recommend it for those who do like that drink) but the second wasn't bad.