Atlantica - 01.06.2002, Page 36

Elisabeth Marie McDonald
Waitress at Odeon
Where’s the first place you
take visitors to in Oslo?
“I would definitively start at
Vigeland Parken. The sculp-
tures are so beautiful and the
whole park is great.”
34 A T L A N T I C A
would probably not be too impressed with the culinary efforts of
some of the grill chefs. The hot dogs intended for starters are, at
least, a bit too close to the undercooked meats for my taste.
SATURDAY NIGHT. Aker Brygge has been combed from top to bot-
tom and our path now leads to the neighbourhood around
Bogstadveien, which a Swedish bartender had told me earlier
that day is where the "ahemm, snobbier selection of society" goes
to find entertainment. I dine at a cosy Italian restaurant and on the
next table sits one of Norway’s best known football players, the
rock-solid defender Henning Berg, the former Manchester United
player who has now joined the less glamorous Blackburn. After a
quick glance over the crowd, it seems to me that the Swede was
right, the atmosphere is definitely more Dolce N Gabbana than
Hennes and Moritz. The photographer joins up with me after din-
ner and we move ourselves to the veranda outside of the Odeon,
which is a restaurant-cum-bar-cum-nightclub. While most tables
are full, the friendly waitress tells us that things don’t really begin
to heat up properly until around 00:30. The explanation is all too
familiar to us Icelanders: alcoholic drinks are criminally expen-
sive at restaurants in Oslo, so people fill themselves to the brim
with alcohol at home, before venturing out into the night.
Around 01:30, when the Odeon is jam-packed, we decide to
explore another side of Oslo’s nightlife. We head towards the
neighbourhood of Grünerløkka, which is the bohemian quarter
of the city, with its small bars, cafés, restaurants and music
clubs. And there the night draws to an end, in a smoke-filled bar
with jazz tunes comfortably flowing.
THE LAST DAY OF THIS LONG WEEKEND is ahead and it shall be
taken slowly, as Sundays rightly should be, especially after the
late-night investigative field work the night before.
Even though the temperature reads 30 degrees – hardly skiing
weather – we can not skip a visit to Holmenkollen, one of the
most famous ski jump towers in the world, situated on a hill
overlooking the city.
LEFT: THE STAVE CHURCH AT NORSK FOLKEMUESEUM; HUK BEACH AND THE NEIGHBOURING OCEANFRONT VILLAS.
028-036 ATL402 Oslo 24.6.2002 15:46 Page 34