Chapter 08: Constitution Day in Oslo

Celebrating Constitution Day in Oslo was a Norwegian kickoff to remember.

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My next stop was Norway, so I hopped on a quick one hour flight from Copenhagen to Oslo and I was greeted by Hunter and Kelly who I would be exploring and hiking with for a week. 

Hunter and I are good friends from James Madison University where we played on the club water polo team together and both lived in Washington D.C. for a couple years after college. I moved to the west coast and Hunter ended up in New York City, but we’ve remained good friends throughout, and meet up whenever we can. Between the college days and living in D.C. we’ve had our fair share of adventures and I was looking forward to what Norway would have in store for us.

Hunter became friends with Kelly in D.C. after I left for the west coast, so I never met her prior to our trip, but Hunter knew both of us and thought all three of us would travel well together. As these next few posts will show, he was certainly right.

We arrived in Oslo around noon on May 17th. This happened to be Constitution Day in Norway, which is their independence day and is one of the country's biggest national holidays, much like the Fourth of July in America. Needless to say, we were eager to check out the celebrations and kick off our Norwegian adventures so we jumped in an Uber to our Airbnb, which turned out to be right in the heart of the festivities. After quickly settling into the apartment, we cracked open a beer to toast the start of our adventure, then headed out to experience Norway’s national day in full swing.

Stepping out into the celebration it’s immediately apparent that everyone dresses up for this holiday. However, unlike the Fourth of July in the U.S. where we sport casual outfits and hats incorporating our flag in ridiculous fashion, Constitution Day is much more formal with men dressed in suits and ties and women wearing the traditional Norwegian bunad. After talking with several people we learned that each region in Norway has unique variations in patterns and accessories and oftentimes the women hand make the dresses themselves or have one that has passed down through generations. I wish I could say the same about my American flag bathing suit and Uncle Sam hat. 

In all seriousness though, Constitution Day in Oslo was certainly a party, but it was really amazing to see how much pride everyone had in their heritage and how kind and welcoming everyone was to us as foreigners. Despite the fact that Hunter, Kelly, and myself were nowhere near dressed for the occasion, we met so many people who were excited to include us in their celebration.

The weather was a perfect 70 degrees and sunny, so we bar-hopped around the neighborhood, enjoying local Ringnes beer on as many patios as we could find. Eventually, we stumbled upon a bar called Rebell after hearing music coming from inside. We wandered in and discovered a lively back patio packed with people dancing to a DJ. Naturally, we shimmied over to a table with some space and posted up for drinks to enjoy the atmosphere.

We quickly made friends with several groups of people, including a crew of guys in their early twenties who were college friends reuniting in Oslo for the holiday. After chatting for a while about where we were all from and what brought us to Norway, they offered to buy us a round of their favorite drink – Lennart. I’d never heard of it before, but it’s a refreshing citrus cocktail made with vodka, peach cognac, lemon soda, and lime juice, served in a highball glass with a lime on the rim. I’m usually not a fan of sweet drinks, so I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable and the perfect cocktail for the outdoor festivities.

We kept getting rounds of drinks with the guys, raising our glasses and shouting “Lennart!” with each toast. The more we drank, the louder and more frequent the toasts became. All the while, the DJ kept the energy high with a great mix of American pop from various eras and top Norwegian tracks that had everyone singing along. When he played one of Norway’s current hits – Fy faen du e deili by Tobias Sten – the entire patio stood up, dancing and shouting out the lyrics.

Considering we had never heard the song (and couldn’t understand a word of it), all we could do was bang on the tables with everyone else, clap along, and soak in how awesome the Constitution Day celebration was. I managed to Shazam the track and save it. I still don’t know what any of the lyrics mean, but it’s certainly a catchy beat!

We stayed at Rebell until the DJ’s finished their sets – a solid four hours after we walked in. By then, most restaurants had stopped serving food, so we settled for some artisan pizza from a food truck, which was surprisingly excellent. We popped into a couple more bars, but the night didn’t last much longer after we left Rebell, since we had to be up in the morning to catch a flight to Stavanger for our next adventure.

Although our time in Oslo lasted only about 24 hours and we saw just a small portion of the city, it was clear how vibrant the capital is. Even more memorable was celebrating Constitution Day and witnessing the pride Norwegians have for their country and heritage. It was the perfect way to kick off our journey through Norway.

Stay tuned to hear how we camped in hammocks on a lakeside dock before hiking Pulpit Rock – the iconic cliff featured in Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

See ya when I see ya

-Doug