Date night in Oslo.

Time flies. Somehow it has almost been 7 years since I first met A and we have been married for almost 2 years. As fall approaches, A and I try to make time for the little things in life. The things that too often get forgotten: date night.

It’s quite surprising, actually, how two people that work from home barely see each other due to school and work and travels. So every month A and I set aside one day where all we do is hang out with each other. Phones stay turned off, we go to restaurants and enjoy a wonderful meal together and then we do whatever we feel like doing – together.

Yesterday was one of these wonderful days. We decided to have wonderful Italian artisan pizzas in Oslo, and no, it wasn’t Villa Paradiso, which to most Oslo-people is the best pizza in town. I beg to differ. Cantina Cortina at the folketeater is most definitely my number one. And I say this, despite the fact that A and I will travel to Italy later this month to indulge in pizza and pasta and everything in between (all in the name of work, of course!).

The problem with the best pizza in town is, that you will eat as much as you possibly can and have no regard for how much pizza is enough. So it goes without saying, that A and I pretty much rolled out of Cantina Cortina. After some mind-blowing pizza we strolled along Akerselva, not only to have some really deep and meaningful conversations (as one does when on a date… mainly though we talked about how good the pizza was) but also because after a huge calzone and diavolo a little hike was BADLY needed.

Akerselva is one of these places, where you can always find something new and exciting to see. From waterfalls to soccerfields, Akerselva has it all. Usually though, you’ll see parents strolling around with their children and runners running frantically day and night and yes, I run here too. But every now and then you’ll get to see something quite unexpected. A few weeks ago, this is what we saw:

And a little later, we witnessed this nutter:

But every now and then, you’ll get to see an elephant. Not a real one, of course, but this has to be my favorite sculpture in all of Oslo:

After our much needed walk, A and I decided to play some minigolf at the Grünerløkka Minigolfpark. 18 challenging holes, I kid you not, they were seriously challenging. The park might not seem like a lot, maybe even a bit run down, but to A and me, it seemed perfect. No fuss, no loud music, no screaming lights, just the two of us playing some minigolf while overlooking Akerselva right in the heart of Oslo. If you haven’t already checked it out, this should definitely be on your to-do list. Eventually A and I made it to hole 18, where one of us won by 4 points, while the other one lost by the same amount of points. Guess who.

After pizza, strolling around in Oslo and playing some minigolf, A and I ended up at the Chillout Travel Center on Markveien. If you ever need some traveling inspiration, that’s the place to go. I, on the other hand, go there to first of all make a super coup and buy 2 pairs of shoes half price off (after all I am my mom’s daughter and shoes are important) and also to get inspiration for birthday gifts and Christmas presents. But it is also a great place to get coffee.

After my little shopping spree A and I slowly made our way home during sunset. And here is the one thing, you will get for free, wherever you are in Oslo: the beautiful sky. Fall in Oslo can be quite romantic, so do yourself a favor, get out there in the early October days and wait for the sun to go down. You don’t have to be any special place, anywhere will do and I promise you the most beautiful sunset light show. When the sky turns dark red and pink with yellow strands of lights, one cannot help but fall in love. This, however, might not make for great selfies but it definitely is a great way to capture beautiful pictures of the natural wonders in Oslo.

Finally, I want to use this last paragraph to detour: During our wedding, A’s best friend, the Mars-bars superhero, gave a speech about the morning when A first told him that he had met his future wife. The Mars-bars superhero said, that in his manner A always reminded him a bit of Kramer. But somehow, over the last few years, A had transformed from Kramer to Seinfeld: jeans, a dress shirt, a sports jacket and sneakers… Complete with the color-coordination.

A little disclaimer, working in media basically forces me to add this: all of the places mentioned are personal recommendations, no advertisement.