We Came for Norway but Stayed for the Party

 May 17, 2026

We got a good night's sleep, minus the wifi (that was like a strobe light blinking green all night long. i got up to unplug it but clearly i wasn't the first person to have this thought because plastered to it was a handwritten sign that said DO NOT UNPLUG), plus the earplugs. We took a 20 minute walk to the train (we were staying in the equivalent of a red light district so there was lots to see along our walk!) and had a much easier time navigating the station then we had the day before. We boarded and it was a quick 15 minute trip to the airport. We got through security relatively easily but our gate information wasn't yet available so we sat at Marche for breakfast. Once our gate info for Oslo, Norway was available we headed there, and were pleasantly surprised that there was no passport control.

Once we arrived in the Land of Trolls we had to embrace it by posing for a few pics at the airport!

 After our flight we took a train to the neighborhood we were staying in (we had a much easier time navigating this train system than the one in Zurich) and once we got off we had a 15 minute walk to our hotel. 

As we walked we saw SO MANY PEOPLE dressed up- women in traditional clothing and men in suits. At first we wondered if this was how people dressed on Sundays for church but then there were just too many people out and about for that to be the case. After some googling we realized it was Constitution Day in Norway and EVERYONE was celebrating. 

There were parades, choirs, and most importantly hot dogs and ice cream (so we were told). People were walking the streets drinking and after checking into our hotel we headed back out to enjoy it all. We were starving and after looking up multiple places that were closed for the holiday, we found one with a traditional menu to eat at. We had asparagus prepared 3 ways- because it's in season right now- in addition to veal, fish and berries. The meal was lovely and the cocktails were really impressive. I had one with dill and another with peach. Evan had a one with blackberry and a spicy margarita with raspberry salt. 

After eating and drinking we headed out to the square to join the crowds. We went to the main square where there were food vendors and beer tents and we just watched the groups of people go by. We wandered by the water and saw multiple DJs mixing under bridges where people were gathering to dance. 

The bars were packed with people and after walking the city for a few miles we stopped in a pub with great music and a lot of locals. Our goal was to make friends and eventually I did. I got many of our questions answered. 1) the girls are given the traditional dresses at age 15 for their confirmation. They are from the town their family is from and the beautiful pins along the neckline represent what the town is known for. One of the girls, from Bergen, had an ornate pin that she explained was an umbrella with raindrops because Bergen is the city of rain. One of the girls had a blue blouse under her dress and she explained hers was unique because she's from the very northern tip of Norway and grew up with reindeer in her backyard. 

They taught us to say thank you- takk, and cheersed us- skal- and even gave us a Norwegian flag to take with us.

The people we encountered said the party would last all night and they weren't wrong- long after we went to bed we heard people stumbling into the hotel. When we left at 6 the next morning we even saw someone arriving home after a long night.