Today we head to Noway, the wildest, and most dramatic of the Scandinavian nations.

I’ve briefly visited Norway back in 2013 to attend the NDC developer conference. Joe joined afterwards for a long weekend.

I’m very happy I attended the conferences. For what the conference lacked in daylight, it certainly made up for it in free food and beer. This is particularly important in Norway as it is one of the world’s most expensive countries. 

Oslo is clearly a great city. Oslo is most likely the only capital city in the world with a Metro to the top of a mountain you can ski down. The city also has waterfalls and a fjord right on its doorstep, oh and a handful of beautiful, verdant harbour islands.

Visiting in June was probably the best time of the year to visit Oslo, especially given we were just about to buy an apartment and were broke. Walking around we got to enjoy the architecture and great summer vibes and strange statues in Oslo’s Frogner Park. We also got to see Edvard Munch’s excellent Scream at the National Art Museum.

I’ll leave you with a few Noway related facts. Apparently, Skiing originated in Norway around 4000 years ago. It turns out the Norwegians are good at skiing too. Norway has won more medals at the Winter Olympics than any other nation. 

Norway also has the second-longest coastline in the world, although it’s impossible to measure due to the coastline paradox. Norway’s coast could be considered anything from 1,650 to 63,000 miles long. All I know is it’s really jagged.

Finally, Norway is home to the world’s most flammable cheese. Brunost, or “brown cheese” is a caramelised goat cheese that is so flammable that it releases toxic fumes and closes tunnels when it catches fire. 

It’s kind of shameful that I live in a city with multiple direct ferry connections to Norway yet have only ever visited once. Norway, you’re at the top of my list of places I want to visit once I get vaccinated. Hopefully, see you in September!