Norway via Reykjavík trip report 2025

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Had 1 full day in Oslo yesterday after a 3-day layover in Reykjavík to acclimate to the time change and, of course, to hit the awesome public geothermal pools. On Thursday 14 August, we arrived Reykjavík at 6 am local time and went straight to our lodging and passed out until early afternoon. We forced ourselves out and Spring Onion insisted that the first thing he needed to eat was a pylsa, so we headed to Pylsubarinn, an old favorite outside of the city. SO and B both got pylsa, I got the fish and chips, with 3 pieces of fresh well-fried fish. We got a nice loaf of seeded bread across the street at Brikk (forgot to take photo). We hit a new-to-us pool, Dalslaug, which was great. It’s fairly new and is part of a large community complex, with a nice branch of the Reykjavík public library, which has a cool view of the football pitch. Dinner was grocery frozen pizza and wine purchased from the duty-free shop at Keflavik.

Friday 15 August, after waking up at 2 pm (!), we revisited the Nordic House, which had a small but excellent exhibit. We grabbed a quick drink and a burger for SO at the U of Iceland student pub next door, which we visited a couple of years ago. More pool time and then we had 8 pm tickets for the Lava Show, which SO begged us to take him to. It was exactly as I expected. Would not recommend this for anyone over the age of 10. SO had fish and chips at the place in the Old Harbor where he first ate and fell in love with fish and chips a trip or 2 ago. B and I had a salmon meal cooked at home.

16 August Saturday, after some random wandering, the guys headed to the pool, I stayed behind, made dinner from leftovers and packed (we had a 7 am flight to Oslo). As a reward, I went to the cozy tiny wine bar near our place, DÆINN Kaffihús & Vínbar. The owner is awesome and poured me a steel-dry white, which was exactly what I wanted. The place filled up while I was there and I loved watching the owner being the consummate host. Then, home to eat and hit the hay early.

Sunday 17 August
Yesterday, our first full in Oslo was chill. We’re staying in the same part of town as last time, Grünerløkka. The sunny weather at 80F, particularly after overcast Reykjavík in the 50Fs, was welcome. We had our first meal of the day, a late lunch at Koie Ramen. We all enjoyed our bowls—kid’s portion of the shoyu with extra noodles, tantanmen for B, veggie mushrooms miso for me (gave my egg to B). We walked around the opera house/Munchmuseet area afterwards. We hit up House of Nerds, a retro gaming place, for some Mario Bros and adult drinks. Home by 8:30 pm, tired but happy.

Monday 18 August
Finally caught up to real-time. Another cloudless, blue sky day in the high 70Fs. Feels a bit breezier, cooler than yesterday. We visited the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, followed by an on-the-go lunch at McDonald’s for SO and watching the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace. Lunch for me and B was at some microbrewery that B found, Amundsen Pub. It was ok. B had fish and chips and I got the app-sized mussels. Now, we are on one of the Oslofjord islands, Langøyene. Dinner is still up-in-the-air.

[TheLibrarian28]

Love your trip reports - thanks!

[GretchenS]

Sounds like a great trip so far! Lucky on the weather too.

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

Great report! Thank you for sharing! Out of all the dishes, the ramen stood out for me. Looked delicious.
Scandinavian ramen. I love modern travel.

[EatsFrites]

Yay, @digga and family traveling again. Though first meal in Oslo being ramen had me going blink blink

[digga]

@EatsFrites

first meal in Oslo being ramen had me going blink blink

LOL. Based on our observations, ramen is quite popular here in Oslo, similar to other big cities. Another ramen shop in our vicinity, Hrimnir , was also perpetually packed every time we walked by. We are heading north, to the Lofoten Islands, where we suspect we will be eating more traditional food. I’ll try not to disappoint you, @EatsFrites.

Oslo strikes us as a global city, at least food-wise. Last night, for example, after an unsuccessful attempt at getting sushi (we planned poorly after returning from the fjord island, and found ourselves trying to find dinner in the touristy harbor area, where everyplace we wanted to go was full), we ended up at Oslo Street Food, a food hall, that seems popular with tourists and a smattering of locals. SO and B both got delicious properly deep-fried empanadas from De Mi Tierra (SO was particularly swooning over the ham and cheese), while I got spicy vegan peanut and tofu noodles from Tunco, which hit the spot. As an added plus, they use proceeds to donate meals to kids in need. SO finished with a nightcap of strawberry crepes. A fun way to spend the last night of this leg in Oslo (we’ll return for a couple of more days at the end of the trip). We enjoy Oslo; while it’s still a mostly orderly Scandinavian city, we find it to be laid-back, full cultural and outdoor-based activities, easy to navigate. Many issues facing the society, such as the creep of nationalism/racism if one reads and believes the subreddits. Complaints of tourists, ruining the country, similar to what’s happened in Iceland. In the meantime, we try to be respectable visitors.

I’m sure Lofoten will be busy with tourists, but we’re excited about being above the Arctic Circle for the first time!

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Thursday 21 August
Not much to report food-wise (ie, status quo for us), but we are un-officially moving to Lofoten. So beautiful here, almost a lusher version of Iceland. Life seems good here, which is not to say that life/the people are simplistic. Rather, from our outsiders’ POV, it’s a cultured, sophisticated place where you don’t need much, aside from a warm hygge home, friends and family, a pub, a grocery store, some shops sprinkled in to attract tourists (there is a neat glass workshop/shop, a handcraft shop, an art gallery, a performance space, an awesome cafe where we just missed out on their summer Friday pizza nights). The big little town of Svolvær is < 10 minutes away by car. Nightlife is unexpectedly happening here, with bars open until after midnight and grocery stores open until 11 pm. Our cottage on the water is also awesome. The vibe reminds me a lot of Round Pond/Bremen Maine @GretchenS.

We flew into Lofoten on Tuesday, grabbed our EV (they are quite common here, as in Iceland, and there are charging stations everywhere); after hitting a grocery store on the way in, we didn’t reach “home” until nearly 10 pm. We had late-night frozen pizzas and cheese and knekkebrød at home. We managed to snag a couple of low-octane beers at the grocery store before alcohol sales ended. Yesterday, we did a very steep hike Tjeldbergtinden (spoiler - we did not make it to the top at a very steep ~1300-ft…we turned back when just as it started to lightly rain). We had a sushi lunch at Sakura in Svolvær. We did not know, but it is all-you-can-eat sushi lunch buffet. It was middling but SO was happy, watching for his favorite laks (salmon) rolls/nigiri to be replenished. Only $30USD for adults, half for kids. Dinner was at home of more frozen pizza and grocery store fish soup for me (which was more than decent, especially considering that the same dish would have been nearly $30USD in a restaurant, whereas ours was $5USD with tons of leftovers).

Today, we had an excellent visit to the small aquarium. The sun busted through, so we decided to have lunch at home on our deck. Leftover pizza and fish soup/cheese and crackers and good beer is great when the sun is out and we can chill on the deck. Our dream house is right next-door to us. We check out tomorrow and head south. No idea what we’ll do for dinner…maybe head into our little town center.

Fun building activity, where kids can learn about what lurks underneath the ocean surface.

Out-building at the aquarium where you can learn about the salmon industry.

Nice hotel next to the aquarium, where we plan to get day passes for the sauna/hot tubs in a couple of days. Look how clear the water is!

Crab boot-scraper at the aquarium

Food for thought.

Snacky lunch on our deck.

View from our deck.

View from the kitchen window.

Next-door dream house.

[tomatotomato (Denise)]

@digga

The vibe reminds me a lot of Round Pond/Bremen Maine

My kind of vibe. I’m enjoying following this chapter of your travels.

[GretchenS]

Sadly, no sushi to be found in Round Pond!! Looks like a wonderful place you found!

[Madrid]

Oh wow, those views are making me dreamy…thanks!

[benne (Bee)]

I’m living vicariously through your updates. Thanks so much for posting!

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Saturday 23 August
Back-tracking…on Thursday, after our snacky lunch at home, we did the cheesy but fun Magic Ice Bar. For dinner, we decided to take advantage of the grill and sunny mild weather to make salmon; sides were broccoli and fettuccine with doctored Mutti tomato puree. We had a great day.

Hiking in Svolvær.

We checked out of our awesome house and splurged on a spa day at the nearby “fancy” Ski Lodge hotel (air quotes, because the lodge is luxe in a Scandinavian low-key rustic way). We did the outdoor hot tub facing the fjord, sauna, and we all plunged into the Arctic Sea (technically, it was the Norwegian Sea, but we’re calling it the Arctic). It wasn’t as cold as we expected (water temp ~mid-50F) and was refreshing after heating up in the hot tub or sauna. No one was hungry so we pushed onto our next town, Henningsvær. It’s very touristy, much like Svolvær, but not in the sheer numbers as we’ve grown accustomed to in parts of Iceland. And it’s cool. There are places like Kaviar Factory, a modern art gallery in a former caviar plant; small cozy cafes; a modern home goods shop. We’re told that this town is the equivalent of Grünerløkka, the neighborhood where we stay in Oslo, albeit on a much smaller, cozier scale. We had a late lunch at the centerpiece hotel/performance space/restaurant/bar, Trevarefabrikken, located in a former wood/carpentry factory. They have pub quiz nights, karaoke nights (shame that they start at 10 pm…we were already scheming to belt out “Take on Me”), and DJ nights. After 3 pm, they serve only pizza. We got a margherita and a mushroom one with artichoke puree and radishes (!). SO loves the fluffy, sourbread-like crust. I admit, the veggie one was a little weird and I wouldn’t order it again but we’re glad we tried it. Have a feeling we may be back for another meal (sorry @EatsFrites, I feel like I’m letting you down ). SO got a very rich decadent chocolate cookie filled with chocolate sauce. We were so stuffed after lunch, we decided to eat at our small cottage - meatballs and more fettuccine with tomato sauce. Comfy beds, quiet neighborhood, rain tapping on our roof and windows = good sleep. This Saturday morning, we slept in, the guys got cinnamon rolls at Lysstøperiet kafe. We decide to stay in town, rather than go to the Viking Museum due to the steady light rain. More to come! Some gratuitous scenery shots courtesy of B to make up for the lack of food photos. And coincidentally, this NYT article just appeared a few days ago.

Relaxing in the Relaxation Room at the hotel spa.

Flying into Lofoten from Oslo.

Norway seems like an inclusive country - even Mother Nature agrees…rainbows are plentiful! Places in this small town stay open late, past midnight. There’s a place that hosts drag bingo—we’re gonna probably have lunch or dinner there today.

[tomatotomato (Denise)]

Gorgeous. Some of your landscape shots do remind me of the Maine coast.

[LulusMom1 (Kari)]

Those views! It looks beautifully bucolic.

[EatsFrites]

I am finding it curious how much the food you are having have been influenced by the same international trends we have in the US. Ramen, sushi, pizza, pasta. Even in the arctic. I was relieved somewhat to see those cardboard like crackers on your at home lunch platter. Something I recognize as scandi.

How much far north are you heading?

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@EatsFrites

How much far north are you heading?

Lofoten Islands is the furthest north we are going on this trip. The airport was the northernmost spot and we’ve been moving south ever since. Today, we’re on the move again, heading to the town called Å (pronounced like “oh,” and is the last letter in the Norwegian alphabet).

[MaxEntropy]

We tried to make it to Aarhus Street Food but ran out of time. Sounds like this is a “thing “ in Scandinavia.

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Wednesday 27 August

We’re having a great time. This corner of the world is ridiculously beautiful. Trying to catch up on reports in between activities and a bit of work. We had last our day in Å today, where the weather has improved immensely (locals were complaining about the constant rain they got just before we arrived).

Backing up…Our last night in Henningsvær on Saturday 23 August, we got shut out of Klatre Kafern due to a private event starting at 6 pm and we didn’t want to eat over-priced hotel food so we ended up back at Trevarefabrikken for more pizza.

Checked out on Sunday and headed to Å. On the way, we stopped at a charming dairy farm, where we were lucky to see the herd of ~220 tiny goats run out to eat (I’ll try to post a video snippet/still later). We bought both the white and the uniquely Norwegian brown cheese.

After a fun visit to the Lofotr Viking Museum, where SO enjoyed a frikadeller-like “hamburger,” we stopped at Lofoten Seaweed shop to pick up some seasoned salts and sprinkles to add to sour cream/crème fraiche to make a dip (as the shop prepared it for sampling).

Finally, onto our place in Å, just in time for dinner. On a whim, we decided to try a fancier place, Maren Anna. SO wanted sushi so we ordered the salmon sashimi for him; sadly for him, it was more ceviche-style and he didn’t care for it. So, he subsisted on the bread and garlic butter, which he loved. B and I splurged on the halibut, which we both absolutely devoured. Very well-cooked fish, lots of flavor pops in the sauce and in the accompaniments, delightful potatoes and turnips. Made us remember to let go of our yankee frugality sometimes.

We spied a flyer advertising an end-of-summer party at nearby Maritime Munchies so, of course, we have to go. We seem to always walk into fun situations, unexpectedly. We see staff from the Viking Museum, who remember us, and it’s such a cool, artsy inclusive scene. Lofoten is so dependent on tourists and many young folks come from all over to work in the industry but there is also a robust artist community all over the islands, many the same kids who come here to work seasonally. Everyone knows and supports each other, and this is a big event to which people traveled from all over Lofoten. There is a DJ; clothing swap; vintage clothing, crafts, and artwork for sale; a wood-carving workshop, which occupies SO for a long time, thanks to the patient artist running it who also works at the Viking Museum. Beer, fish and chips (we didn’t have any food), good vibes a-plenty. We bought a delicious apple caramel cake.

The next morning, we go to the bakery in Å which is renowned. The guys get a walnut and chocolate cinnamon roll and a classic cinnamon roll. I got a tomato olive focaccia. All were delicious. Wonderful baguette and seaweed sourdough. The young guy/baker running the counter is great. We see him later in the day as he’s leaving for the day and we give our hearty compliments. We returned 2 more times and the baker loaded us down with free treats each time because he told us that he made our day by chatting with us and thanking him and his fellow bakers for their wonderful wares.

Other food experiences included a return to Maritime Munchies, where we chatted up the owner, who was great - he is creating a foodhall/year-round community center due to open next year. We vow to come back to see it. We had the fish and chips, the excellent stockfish bites, which reminded us of plokkfiskur in a fried ball, the so-so stockfish soup (too $$ for what we got). I made salmon sandwiches for dinner for the guys. The guys also picked wild lingonberries and made jam!

Today, we checked out and stopped by the Lofoten Beach Camp, which, of course, immediately reminded me of @Parsnipity, a hard-core surfer. Plenty of surfers on this sunny day. We snacked on waffle with brown cheese/sour cream/raspberry jam and a very good smoked salmon sandwich. The beach is Caribbean-white sand-blue-water but quite cold. We had a great stop here, playing on the beach after our snack.

We are in our new favorite cottage, a traditional fishing hut (rorbuer) in Ballstad. The guy who owns this place is a ship captain, owns the neighboring shipyard, and he is a hoot - the kind of guy who probably has more stories in his little pinky than we all do collectively. I made a fish stew with sourdough bread from the bakery in Å. Snacked on raw cut-up veggies and the creme fraiche with the seaweed sprinkles. We’re all happy campers.

I’ve been following the Norway sub-reddit; there was a fun post about which town has the coldest tap water. The tap water all over Lofoten, as in Iceland, is awesome - cold as anything and is so thirst-quenching.

[Parsnipity]

Looks amazing! Thanks for tagging me- you know I don’t read outside the Boston board usually. Those surfboards! Do I drool more over the food or the boards?? We may need to check this beach camp out…

Sounds like you are having such a fabulous trip- and maybe I will get around to updating our Azores trip from a few weeks back, thanks to your inspiration.

[GretchenS]

You really have been having an amazing trip! And that scenery!!!