This weekend I took advantage of a brief respite in the freezing weather we've been having and headed off to the Oslo Christmas Market (Julemarked). The market is held every year in the shadow of the imposing Oslo City Hall (Rådhus). This year around 80 exhibitors were present, who were selling homemade jewellry, pottery, artwork, textiles, and food. The focus here isn't really on food, though, and the food offerings were rather limited compared to the rather excellent
Matstrief food festival held in the same location. To be honest, the whole event was a tad disappointing, with some stands selling tacky knick-knacks with dayglo, star-shaped price stickers plastered all over them, but there were still a few interesting food related things to see and taste to make the visit worthwhile.
In addition to the ubiquitous hot dog (pølse) there were delicious warm waffles,
lefse, cured fish and meats, cheeses, aquavit tastings, mulled wine (gløgg), and other unusual treats such as reindeer soup (well, it is Christmas after all)!
So, with minimal description, here are a few photos from the event:
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| Reindeer horns |
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| View from the market across Oslo Fjord |
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| Warming up inside the Sami tent |
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| Beautiful leather bound books. Norwegian arts and crafts are also available at the market |
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| Burger stand Norwegian style - Elk Burgers |
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| Gløgg - Norwegian mulled wine, with or without booze |
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| Many fiery aquavits were available to taste |
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| Award-winning Norwegian spekeskinke (cured ham), from Bekkereinan in Kvinesdal |
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| Cheese! |
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| A variety of sild (pickled herring) - cranberry, sour cream, and cherry |
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| Rakørret - the dreaded fermented trout, aka rotten fish! |
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| Treak - a delicious old Norwegian toffee made with juniper berries |
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| Reindeer soup! |
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| Traditional Norwegian trekopper - wooden cups |
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| Smoked reindeer salami |
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| Reindeer pelts |
The Oslo Christmas Market is open from 25th November to 22nd December from 11.00 to 20.00, Monday to Friday, and 11.00 to 18.00 on Saturday and Sunday. Access is free, and more information can be found on their
website.
I like the Little Troll on the Picture above / or is it Santa ??? Nice Photos Thanks !Merry X-Mas From Europe To Norway :)
ReplyDeleteLove the little Troll !!!
ReplyDeleteThis market looks amazing. I love Christmas markets and really enjoy how each country sets their market apart from the rest. And do people really buy the reindeer horns? I'd probably get stuck at the aquavit stall for a few hours ;o)
ReplyDeleteHi Meeta,
ReplyDeleteReindeer antlers are not that common a thing to buy, but you sometimes see them hanging outside a Norwegian cabin (hytte).
I love aquavit too. The problem though is that you really crave some food to go along with it. Before you know it, you've made a three course dinner just to drink some aquavit.