12.14
Saturday, December 14
STARTING THE DAY
Late morning gathering in Midtstuen, the Holmenkollen Park Hotel's breakfast room, allowing for a gentle start for jetlagged travelers. Enjoy the sumptuous breakfast buffet and we will get a detailed overview of the day's activities!
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MORNING AND AFTERNOON
You'll get to know the city through visiting some of my favorite places, including a visit to my favorite open air antiques market to search for vintage Norwegian Christmas decor and other treasures, a short walk to Vigeland Sculpture Park for noontime refreshments, before we head out to the Norwegian Cultural Museum, Fram, and Kon Tiki Museums. Private charter transportation for tired feet back to our hotel above Oslo!
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EVENING
Welcome dinner! Details to be revealed.
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All transportation, museum entries, and dinner included.
Alcoholic drinks not included.
12.15
Sunday, December 15
9:00 am Breakfast
Morning gathering in Midtstuen for the breakfast buffet .
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10:00 am winter hike to the Northern Forest and Frognerseteren.
Weather permitting, we will go on leisurely 2 mile walk in the Nordmarka forest, passing the Holmenkollen Skijump and Royal Chapel before visiting the Library of the Future, the new growth forest planted in 2014 to become books in 2114. Every year, an international author is invited to submit an unpublished, unseen manuscript which will not be printed until 2114.
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1:00 pm Advent Lunch
Traditional Christmas Luncheon at Frognerseteren, the incredible "dragon style" building from the 1800s which sits above Oslo on the edge of the forest. ​An incredible place with incredible food in front of the fireplaces and carved woodwork of this special place.
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3:00 pm
Return to the hotel (by metro...the sun sets at 3pm!) to rest and digest, enjoy the hotel spa (make any reservations early, it fills up fast!), or just park yourself in front of the fire for the afternoon with a book (Ibsen, anyone?).
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EVENING
Bundle up and join us on the metro into central Oslo to go to the Christmas Markets! This is a perfect place to look for traditional gifts, enjoy some ice skating, or get dinner from one of the many vendors -- from moose burgers to warm "gløgg"! Join me in my wandering or feel free to explore the market and the city at your own pace!
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Private chartered car home from a designated time/meeting point at the market to be determined.
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All transportation and Frognerseteren lunch included. Meals or activities at the Christmas Market not included.
12.16
Monday, December 16
We will begin our day at the fabulous new Munch Museum where we will begin with a private introduction to the life and work of Edvard Munch. We'll go on to explore and be inspired by Munch's iconic paintings and woodcuts before heading to the nearby Deichmann library to see their Silent Room, the incredible space which houses the manuscripts for the Future Library. We will have lunch in our private studio space in the library where we will begin the first of 4 projects which will serve as our body of Christmas Work that we will make during our time in Norway: Munch-themed, hand-sewn journals!
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Monday afternoon and evening is an opportunity to explore Oslo on your own, or join me on a totally optional "shopping walk" hitting up 3 great Norwegian stores in Oslo: Norway Designs (modern Norwegian crafts), Heimen Husfliden (Traditional Handwork), and Freia Chocolate (Norway's famous chocolate maker since 1899), before returning to our hotel.
All transportation, art materials, museum entries, and lunch/tea time treats included.
12.17
Tuesday, December 17
After breakfast in the hotel we will take a ferry to Nesodden, a peninsula across the fjord where we will be guests at the beautiful and bucolic fjord-side Helviktangen, a wooden farm from 1908 where we will be creating two different kinds of traditional Norwegian Christmas ornaments, and having a wonderful 3 course lunch in the parlor, as well as Christmas cookies and afternoon coffee. We will create a set of the elaborate looking (but simple) star and snowflake-shaped straw ornaments which are so prevalent in Scandinavia, as well as the heart-shaped paper baskets which are a trademark of Norwegian Christmas. Ferry back to Oslo and our hotel.
All transportation, art materials, Helviktangen lunch/tea time treats included.
12.18
Wednesday, December 18
After breakfast we will be collected in our private coach which will take us to Hadeland Glasswork, an hour outside of Oslo on Randsfjorden. Hadeland Glassworks was founded in 1762 and is Norway's oldest continuously operating industrial enterprise. You can visit Europe's largest glass museum that takes you through 260 years of glassworks history and see the traditional craftsmanship up close in the Glass Hut, or shop in Hadeland's 10 beautiful shops, all spectacularly decorated for the holiday season.
We will return to our hotel by 1pm and you have time to rest up before we dress up and take our private transportation at 3 pm to go to the iconic Oslo Opera House where we have the hottest tickets in town, The Nutcracker! We will enjoy a glass of bubbly in the lobby before enjoying this classic ballet at 4 pm in one of the most beautiful concert venues in the world. After the show, we will enjoy dinner together at Havlyst, the elegant seafood restaurant on the premises before being comfortably transported home to the hotel by private transportation.
All transportation, ballet tickets, bubbly, and dinner included.
12.19
Thursday, December 19
We will begin our last day at the Nobel Peace Center to see this year's Peace Prize exhibition and where you will be given a special creative assignment. This is Peace Prize month as this prestigious prize is awarded at the Oslo City Hall every year on December 10th. Next, we visit the National Museum to visit the magical "Once Upon a Time" room as well as the permanent collection (and the spectacular gift shop!) before getting lunch in the Museum cafe, where we will we partake in one of my very favorite holiday traditions, a small project to be revealed on site.
Our final adventure is next door at the harbor, where our private sauna boat will take us for a 2 pm sunset (!) fjord cruise where the intrepid may take a dip (optional!) in the fjord as a last goodbye to this spectacular city. Naturally, I have arranged for private transportation to our hotel after our "cruise". Don't forget to pack your bathing suit!
Tonight our farewell dinner is at the only three Michelin starred restaurant in Norway, MAAEMO. A truly spectacular end to a great week. Private transportation and an unforgettable meal awaits.
All transportation, museum entries, lunch, sauna boat included, and dinner included.