April 23rd, 2022
April 23rd, 2022
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Sondre is an Oslo-based travel writer, sailor, skier and cultural critic. He loves the outdoors and city life (who doesn’t) and knows everything that moves on Norway’s cultural and music scene. Enjoy his humorous - yet useful - guides to Norway.
Ever since Norway discovered oil in the North Sea in the late 60s, money has been funnelled evenly back into society, creating a significant middle class. Assisted by flexible work regulations, Norwegians have considerable spare time to spend on all sorts of activities, not only their beloved winter sports. Much of it is poured into culture, and Norway has become an increasingly exciting artistic hub.
Music is everywhere, with every conceivable genre represented, from black metal and experimental jazz to black jazz and experimental metal. And of course, many other, more accessible music genres. The Nordic countries are trailblazers on the global music scene in terms of diversity, quality, technology, commercial success and business. They are one of the largest music exporters next to the US and UK and they are early adopters of modern music technologies – among the successful startup companies from Scandinavia you find Soundcloud, Spotify and Tidal. Technologies, music innovation and good old live music acts go hand in hand in the Nordics.
In fact, according to recent surveys, there are over 5500 live gigs a year only in Oslo, meaning there is more live music here than anywhere else in the Nordic zone, something rivalled only by cities like London and New York. The biggest fiesta of them coincides with Norway’s National Day, 17 May. This is a BIG DAY and attendance, like other voluntary events in Norway, is compulsory. Dress code: patriotic, traditional (the national costume, the bunad, is seen in abun(a)dance).
Enjoy the rare experience of reverse time travel as IT operatives and oil executives dress like farmhands and milkmaids from the estates of Marie Antoinette. There is a children’s parade with school brass bands in every city or town from 09:00. Afterwards, head for any bar to party with Norwegians ecstatic about being Norwegian, or to local park to hang out, barbecue and knock back beers. In global terms the Rio carnival may be bigger, but this is still on the scale of Spain’s Feria de Abril or San Fermin.
The word curator comes from the Latin word curare which means to take care of, and refers to someone who specialises in looking after another's interests. In the context of travel, this is a professional who is specialised in understanding the traveller's interests and preferences, mapping out opportunities, recommending, choosing and putting together personalised and comprehensive travel proposals. As travel curators, we specialise in choosing and putting together experiences in a journey that suits you.
Our most frequent travellers are quality conscious leisure travellers who want a meaningful holiday designed for their unique interests and preferences. Among these are couples, families, groups of friends and solo travellers, sometimes even four-legged friends. We cater to travellers with disabilities who we know from experience often have special needs. Many of our travellers are part of the LGBTQI community and we aim to demonstrate why Norway ranks high on equality.
We also cater to small group themed tours, for example foodies travelling with their own guide, and corporate travellers who travel for incentive trips, workations or bleisure purposes.
Danny Dodd
Travel Curator