Norway in red, white and blue

Moving from Switzerland to Norway many years ago, I got lots of comments about how alike these two countries are: high standard of living, mountains and good milk. This is obviously true, provided that one only looks on the surface. However, it didn’t take me many months to realize how contrasting these two countries are. I won’t talk about working hours, childcare or taxes which clearly are quite different. I rather tell about the Norwegian National Day. Norway’s celebration of their own constitution set up on May 17, 1814 and their own king, is certainly a rather unusual event. While many Swiss people are abroad on summer holidays on the Swiss National Day First of August and celebrations are quite modest, what is going on in Norway is on a totally different level.

Anyone in Oslo on May 17 should be prepared for large crowds of people waving flags and shouting “hurra” and “gratulerer med dagen” (“congratulations with the day”). The red, white and blue colours of the Norwegian flag are everywhere, and more and more women and men are wearing immaculate, intricate national folk dresses, the so-called bunad. Nationalistic? Yes! But in a positive way if you ask me. It’s totally non-militaristic and the atmosphere is generally joyous. And most important: it is the children’s day. The morning is spent watching processions of marching school children with their bands parade proudly past the palace. Kids from more than 100 schools in Oslo are waving to the crowds and are greeted by the royal family who are waving tirelessly and for hours from the Royal Palace balcony.

The rest of the day is spent mostly on eating ice cream and hot dogs, playing games at local schools and meeting friends for barbecue.

Not being Norwegian doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate this day. And when the weather is playing along like this year, Oslo is really a great place to be. Starting with the traditional early breakfast with friends on our roof terrace, with strawberries and sparkling wine, is one of my favourite parts of the day. There are people on balconies and terraces around us, flags everywhere, others are already on the way to the city centre, where people are eager to stand along the parade as close to the palace as possible.

Since the weather was so beautiful we also took a little stroll after breakfast. As expected the square in front of the Royal Palace was packed, but we did watch a few schools pass by and of course waved to the King. A short stop at Robin’s school is a must, meeting Robin’s friends and other parents and chat a bit is always nice.

We stopped for a drink on the way home, lucky to get a free table at one of the squares. All the places were very busy due to the summery weather.

I wouldn’t be giving you the whole picture if I didn’t mention the importance of alcohol – there’s obviously a lot of drinking going on both in parks, outdoor cafés and private parties. People start drinking early and don’t stop until late. But again, the atmosphere is usually happy and relaxed, and we could just return to our roof terrace and end the day peacefully with the obligatory barbecue.

Author: cobaroblog

Travelling architect View all posts by cobaroblog