On the evening of March 18th, I headed to Boston’s Logan Airport to board a flight to Norway. Since I arrived quite early, I decided to find a restaurant for my dinner meal. “Legal Seafood” was the only restaurant I found with a vegan option. My selection was the “Vegetarian Box” consisting of stir-fried veggies over brown rice with a tangy curry sauce. It was a great choice for a vegan where airport dining options are scarce. My flight then departed at 9:30pm.

I arrived in Oslo, Norway with great anticipation and excitement! It was my first trip to Scandanavia! As I walked the block or two to my hostel, I was surrounded by the pretty pastel-colored buildings for which Europe is known. The Oslo Cathedral was my first stop at a major landmark in town. One of the main shopping areas even had an outdoor market which featured spices,nuts, and other vegan items. After checking in to the economically-priced Anker Hostel, it was time for lunch!

I ate my mid-day meal at Vega Fair Food (Vega Fair Food). This spacious cafe served a buffet lunch, as well as offering desserts in display cases. My lunch included red beet soup, baked potatoes, salads with lentils, beans, and hummus, red cabbage, rice, and a stir-fry of broccoli, string beans, and peppers in a tasty sauce. For dessert, I selected the carrot cake with frosting. Everything was delicious!

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Next in store for the day was a visit to the Viking Museum. There I saw actual ships from the Viking Era(800AD to 1100AD). The exhibits also included authentic contents from the ships such as jewelry, toys, clothing, tools, and ship decorations.

The Norwegian Folk Museum is located next door to the Viking Museum. Here, visitors can wander about a replica of an authentic Norwegian village from a couple hundred years ago.

My next stop was the Polarship Fram Museum. The exhibits showcased arctic exploration since the late 19th century. The arctic explorer ship “Fram” displays at the museum. The personal clothing and gear belonging to Roald Amundsen, first explorer to reach the South Pole, are also displayed in the museum.

When I arrived back in the city center, I first took a walk around town and its “Karl Johan’s Gate”, the main shopping road.

Dinner time had arrived! My obvious choice was the only vegan restaurant in town: Spisestedet(Spisestedet). It appears to be in a ‘squat’. The building is hidden away on a small side street, in a back room on the first floor. There are shops on the other level. The cafe has bookshelves and reading areas for guests. Though the space is quite simple, the food is excellent! I choose the Thai broccoli dish. The rice and veggies were cooked in a spicy and tasty Thai sauce! It was really good! They also offer desserts such as fried bananas.

Akershus Castle and Fortress are popular, historic landmarks by the waterfront. The medieval stronghold was built to protect Norway against attacks.

After my walk around the fortress, it was time to call it a night.

The following morning, I took a nice stroll to Fragrance Of The Heart Cafe(Fragrance Of The Heart) for breakfast. Unlike other restaurants in town, it opens at 7:30am. My meal was a vegan Shepard’s Pie consisting of sweet potatoes and beans. My snack was a chocolate rice crispies treat. For my beverage, I chose a soothing ginger tea. I enjoyed everything immensely!

After breakfast, I had to rush down to the city bus terminal to take the Flybussen to the airport! My connecting flight would take me to the northern arctic city of Tromso for a Northern lights tour!

After a day and a half in Tromso, I flew back to Oslo. The evening flight arrived around 8pm. As it was for dinner, I headed over to Mama Afrika. The Ethiopian restaurant offered a few vegan choices and is highly recommended in restaurant reviews. I dined on a feast of lentils, peas, and vegetables in a tangy Ethiopian sauce over injera bread. It was fantastic!

The next morning, Anker Hostel offered a breakfast for aprroximately $9. Since none of the vegan cafes were open or were too much of distance, I selected this option. I ate breads with various fruit jams. Though not a vegan feast, it did tie me over for the morning.

I got on the city tram headed for the scultpure park. The tram ride gave me nice views of the Oslo Opera House, the Nobel Peace Center and the Town Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year.

My final sightseeing in town took place at the Vigeland Sculpture Park in the Frogner district. Gusrav Vigeland, in the late 1800’s created over 200 scultpures representing various relationships and expressing many emotions amongst them.

I had just enough time to pick up my luggage at the hostel and take the bus back to Oslo Airport for my flight back home. Much to my delight, there was a sushi restaurant at the airport! Asian and African immigrants have been a huge influence in the Oslo dining scene. The restaurant “Yo! Suhsi” is a sleek designed space. The seated counters viewed an array of cold appetizers and sushi as they spun around in circular fashion on a conveyor. I selected the vegan futomaki with cucumber, pickled radish, tamago, avocado, and carrot. For my main entree, I chose the Vegetable Firecracker with spicy sushi rice and Asian Vegetables. My dessert was a mixed fruit bowl of grapes, pineapple, and strawberries. It was all washed down with a hit green tea. I give two thumbs up to this restaurant and recommend it to any vegan traveler!

My flight had a one one layover in Iceland, prior to arriving back in Boston. I purchased a Sirius Icelandic, vegan dark chocolate bar with fruit and nuts as a snack.

Since Iceland Air does not offer vegan meals, I brought a vegan, dried camping meal of chili onboard! The crew gave me a cup of hot water and presto! My dried chili became a warm and filling dinner!

My trip to Oslo, Norway was fantastic! I enjoyed great vegan food, local culture, scenic landscapes, Norwegian architecture, and historical museums!