Eco-Friendly Things To Do In Oslo with Kids
Before visiting Norway’s Oslo with kids, we had fun exploring the eco-friendly Amsterdam airport, spent a couple sunny days in Bergen and took a train/ferry/car through the Norway in a Nutshell route with a side trip to the stunning and quickly melting Jostedal Glacier. If you haven’t read my posts on these stops yet, I highly recommend it – if only for the photos of gorgeous Norwegian scenery!
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This trip report is quite detailed, so here’s a brief overview of the contents. Click on any of the links below to jump down to that section.
- Scandinavian Eurail and Central Train Station
- Walking Through Central Oslo
- Hotell Bondeheimen
- Oslo’s City Hall
- #SaveTheRainforest Frog
- Nobel Peace Center
- Greenest Gift Shop In Oslo
- Aker Brygge Wharf – Rorbua Restaurant
- Breakfast buffet at Hotell Bondeheimen
- Vigeland Park
- Norwegian Folk Museum
- Viking Ship Museum
- Akershus Fortress
Or continue scrolling to read all about our 48 hours exploring Oslo with kids!
Walking Through Central Oslo With Kids
The Central train station in Oslo is located, surprise, in the heart of the city. Since we had picked our hotel based on the ever-reliable Rick Steves’s Scandinavia Guidebook, it was a short distance from the train station. Though we had two kids in tow, we decided to walk instead of hiring a cab to get there.
This eco-conscious travel choice also turned out to be a great way to see Oslo with kids and get a feel for its unique personality.
Here are a few highlights from our pleasant walk through the city:
Our walk from the Central Train Station to Hotell Bondeheimen first took us through a bustling downtown shopping district filled with historic buildings and retail stores.
Along the way we stumbled across Plastozilla, made entirely from recycled plastic by the artist Pippin Ferner. My son thought this was so cool!
Look familiar? This replica of the Fearless Girl statue by Arturo di Modica stands boldly outside the Grand Hotel. The original is in New York City.
Hotell Bondeheimen
As I mentioned above, we picked this hotel based on travel expert Rick Steves’ recommendation from his Scandinavia guidebook. Though in a historic building featuring a wrought iron cage elevator that moved like molasses, it had modern interiors and rooms large enough to hold our family of 4 for a reasonable price. While we weren’t expecting anything fancy, Hotell Bondeheimen way exceeded our expectations!
While the hotel doesn’t advertise any eco-friendly features (yet), I discovered some of Hotell Bondeheimen’s sustainability features during our stay and note them below.
By the way, according to this Condé Nast Traveler article,
“…a third of travelers consider a hotel’s environmental footprint before they make a booking.”
That’s encouraging news, as it’s something I factor into every trip we make.
Here are some photos of our family room at Hotell Bondeheimen, a wonderful place to stay in Oslo with kids:
The view of our family room at Hotell Bondeheimen from the door. Scandinavian minimalism with an emphasis on natural materials.
Note the beautiful carved wooden headboard! The couch folded out to a full size bed that fit both our kids.
Love the natural wood flooring and wooden furniture in our family room at Hotell Bondeheimen! Sunlight flooded in from the windows that were practically floor to ceiling! We were thankful they had solid blackout shades to block out the summer midnight sun.
The restroom in our family room at Hotell Bondeheimen. No tub, but we have learned that is a rarity in Norway anyway. Like pretty much every restroom we used in Norway, this toilet had two modes of flushing to help conserve water.
I’m seeing more and more of these dual flush mode toilets even here in the United States, which is a water-wise trend I’m thrilled is catching on!
We were very happy with our room. It was spacious, had everything we needed, and very clean. We also found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. After we unpacked, we set off on foot for day 1 of exploring Oslo with kids!
Oslo’s City Hall
The exterior of Oslo’s City Hall is somewhat unassuming. Though located right on the main harbor, it’s made in a somewhat utilitarian mid-century red brick style. The main entrance faces away from the harbor.
The real star of Oslo’s City Hall though is the main hall.
We had watched the Oslo episode of Rick Steves’ travel show on PBS with our kids, so they knew a bit about the significance of this mosaic mural. Here’s a description of it in Rick’s words:
“The altar-like mural celebrates family values, good citizenship, and civic administration. The mural shows both town folk and country folk, people from all classes and all walks of life. Together, despite differences, they’re collaborating with the determination to build a better society.”
This seems fitting as we’ve found Norway to really exemplify the concept of humanism and a shared sense of stewardship for this planet and all its people.
Click here to watch the full video.
The main mural in Oslo’s City Hall.
My kids enjoyed walking up and down this marble staircase to the side of the mural, and poking their heads out of the little Juliet balconies from the second floor.
This stone fresco depicting a starry Oslo evening was inlaid into the marble floor.
Another mural in the main hall of Oslo’s City Hall. There were several in and around the building, including one that depicts Oslo’s fight against Nazi occupation during World War II.
By the way, did you know that Oslo’s City Hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held every year?
We sat in this hall and ruminated for a few minutes on all the world’s brightest and best humanitarians alive that have been in this very room. World leaders, peaceful movement organizers, and environmental activists. All walking on the same floor and breathing the same air that we are. It was humbling and inspiring at the same time.
Imagine: Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, and Al Gore (among others) all looked out this window and saw the same world you are seeing right now.
#SaveTheRainforest Frog
The natural next stop in our walking tour of Oslo with kids was the Nobel Peace Center museum since it was within throwing distance of City Hall. Along the way though, we stumbled across this rainforest frog sculpture. Both the frog itself and the structure holding it were made entirely from wood. It’s a project by Norway’s public Norad agency and its International Climate and Forest Initiative.
Kids and adults alike enjoyed climbing on the Norvegicorum frog!
A nearby plaque explained that this is a model of the Leptopelis Barbouri frog, nicknamed Norvegicorum because of Norway’s commitment to preserve the tropical rainforests where it can be found. Here’s a direct quote from the plaque:
“The frog was discovered in a mountain area called Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. It was found in an area where a Norwegian-funded project contributed to protection of the rainforest. It lives in trees, and is quite small. This could be the reason it has not been discovered earlier….
“Norway supports a number of programmes for protecting tropical forests. Loss of tropical forest is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Protecting the forest can contribute up to 30% of the solution for reaching the Paris Agreement target of avoiding temperature rise above 1.5-2 degrees. The Government of Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative spends up to three billion kroner annually for protecting tropical rainforests. The aim is to limit climate change and conserve natural forests. The Initiative also helps making it possible for indigenous peoples and other local communities to continue making a living from the forests, and helps protecting the biological diversity. The frog called Norvegicorum is an example of a species that may not have survived without the efforts to protect the forest in this mountain area of Tanzania.”
What’s remarkable about this is that Norway is spending a significant amount of money on a forest in another country, in an effort to fix our planet’s current climate crisis. This is a move that I’d love to see every major country replicate. We’re at a point where this is no longer an issue contained within borders, but a global problem.
Nobel Peace Center Museum
Nobel Peace Center museum exterior. It was Pride Week when we visited so they had their rainbow flags up. We saw them throughout the entire city including a local policeman who was wearing a rainbow bracelet!
Though not a huge museum, the Nobel Peace Center is the perfect size if you’re exploring Oslo with kids and packs a lot of info into its two story space. It’s also one of the most inspiring museums I’ve ever visited.
Here are some of the eco-friendly and kid-friendly features of this museum:
When we walked inside the Nobel Peace Center we were greeted by this giant poster of Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 2014 at age 17!
After paying the entry fee for the Nobel Peace Center, we were each given a sticker to wear. Each one listed the name and date of a Nobel Prize recipient. So clever! By the way, we only had to buy 2 adult tickets to enter. Kids under the age of 16 are free and there is a reduced rate for students and seniors!
The Nobel Peace Center had a self guided tour and exhibits especially for kids! They received an illustrated booklet that explained the exhibits and invited them to experience the life of a refugee child as they made their way through the museum.
This interactive exhibit invited visitors to write their answer to the question “What would you like to achieve in your lifetime?” and hang it on a giant pin board. Mine reads: “The end of plastic waste, and global respect for life and the environment.”
While we enjoyed all the exhibits there, many of them rotate so I’m just going to highlight this permanent exhibit called the Nobel Field. It’s a large darkened room filled with hundreds of iPad-sized screens, each featuring one Nobel Prize winner. They’re interactive so as you walk by, the screen senses your presence and instantly changes to show text about that winner’s life and peaceful contribution to society.
The Dalai Lama’s entry to the Nobel Field exhibit at the Nobel Peace Center.
Here’s a short video I put together on this Nobel Field room that shows how the interactive screens work!
Nobel Peace Center Gift Shop
Ordinarily I don’t pay much attention to gift shops, but the one at this museum deserves a shout out. As the sign notes below, it is entirely GREEN. That means, everything sold at this gift shop is made from recycled materials, renewable resources, and fair trade from countries all over the world!
It was fun to browse through all the items, so I thought I’d share the highlights here with you:
These giraffe sculptures are made from upcycled metal and the sign behind them says, “Our Shop Is Actually GREEN.”
Upcycled wine bottles with mahagony lids made by Malawian artisans using indigenous techniques.
Looking (and smelling) these sustainably-made notebooks you’d never guess they are crafted from recycled paper and elephant dung!
Talk about recycling: these coffee cups are made from recycled coffee grounds!
Toy cars made out of soda cans in Madagascar. My son loved these!
Zuperzozial Kitchenware made from biodegradable bamboo and corn in a rainbow of colors.
Reusable drinking bottles made from bamboo.
Reusable sponge cloths made from biodegradable material and printed in non-toxic ink with quotes from Nobel Peace Prize winners. This one says, “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Another neat find from the @NobelPeaceOslo museum gift shop: these pens are made from 80% biodegradable materials (except for the refill and spring) 💚♻️🖊 #visitpeace #travelblogger #ecoblogger @VisitOSLO @visitnorway pic.twitter.com/l2JwKmxp3q
— Eco Friendly Mama (@EcoFriendlyMa) July 9, 2018
Dinner at Aker Brygge wharf
By the time we were done with the Nobel Peace Center, it was dinner time. Thankfully the museum is situated right at the start of the Aker Brygge harborside wharf, which is filled with lively restaurants and shops. We strolled along the wharf until we reached this charming “Fisherman’s cabin” recommended by Rick Steves called Rorbua.
Tucked a bit in from the main drag but still with a nice water view, this restaurant featured an appropriately nautical theme and local traditional Norwegian dishes from the North which we were eager to try. The decor was made from predominantly natural materials and metal, and the emphasis on the menu was fresh, local, and seasonal.
At the Rorbua restaurant in Aker Brygge, the sign is made from rope and a life size fisherman carved from wood greets you at the entrance.
Rorbua menu at Aker Brygge, featuring Northern Norwegian specialties like Boknafish, marinated redfish with lingonberry, venison and moose stew, smoked reindeer heart, and even lightly fried whale.
While the Rorbua menu was very meat heavy, I was pleased to see it also included this vegan dish of fried barley with root vegetables, peas, plum tomato, and rocket greens. It was delish!
My husband went for the Feskesuppa, a creamy fish soup featuring salmon and other seafood.
Our son wasn’t feeling as adventurous so he went for the burger with fries, and was very happy with his meal.
After dinner, though it was late, the sun was still high in the sky. We felt very safe walking around Oslo with kids at night for this reason. So we enjoyed a bright walk back to our hotel and were thankful for those sturdy blackout curtains!
Day 2 in Oslo with kids
One of the reasons we decided to stay in Hotell Bondeheimen is that it included breakfast. Little did we know that this would be one of the best buffet spreads of our trip!
Breakfast at Kaffistova
While this restaurant (which has been around since the 1970s and is located on the ground floor of the hotel) is open to the public for lunch and dinner, it’s exclusively open to hotel guests for breakfast. I had pictured a dark and somewhat dreary eating space for some reasons, but it was exactly the opposite. Bright and airy with tall ceilings and a delicious spread!
Immediately when you walk in there’s a long table filled with fresh breads, fruits, vegetables, sliced cheeses and meats, smoked fish, pickled salads, spreads, and more! There’s also a hot table with eggs, breakfast meats, waffles, and other traditional Norwegian breakfast items.
So many types of rustic, whole grain bread at Hotell Bondeheimen’s breakfast buffet! Locals knew to grab a loaf with a cloth napkin and slice off a thick hunk on the wooden cutting board. Check out the smoked fish assortment including my favorite: smoked peppered trout!
Fresh pineapple in Norway, who’da thunk!
Bountiful cheese assortment, including a giant column of traditional brown Norwegian cheese called Brunost.
Delicious waffles!
Hot table offerings.
More hot table items including seasoned potatoes and – inexplicably – a tomato and bean soup?
Vigeland Park
After a filling breakfast, we headed off by public tram #12 to Vigeland Park. While it would’ve been quicker to take a taxi while exploring Oslo with kids, we didn’t want to haul our carseats around all day, and public transportation is cheaper and better for the environment. Plus, it’s a great way to get a feel for a city and its people. I grew up in New York City, so there’s also some nostalgia in it for me to ride the bus down bustling streets.
The tram stops basically in front of the park entrance. And this is the view you’re greeted with!
View from the entrance to Vigeland Park. Our goal is to get to that monolith waaaaaaay off in the distance. Thankfully there’s shade along the route, and we met a nice man (newly moved to Oslo from the US!) walking his dog who kindly stopped and let our kids adore his pup for a few minutes.
Vigeland Park is named after Norway’s most famous sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, and he created hundreds of stone figures to decorate this green space. In a nod to the Norwegian humanitarian spirit, they’re mostly of humans in various stages of life and emotions. You can see why Vigeland was such a beloved artist given that each one is unique and interesting to look at.
My son thought it was so funny that a bird was perched on this stone person’s head.
Even the design for this iron gate for an obscure little-used area is beautiful.
The view from the monolith looking back at the park entrance.
Vigeland’s monolith, which represents the cycle of life and includes 121 human figures, stands atop a long wide staircase.
Vigeland Park Playground
As with any day out with kids, it’s always a good idea to fit in some play time so they can run off steam. Thankfully, Vigeland Park has this wonderful playground right by the entrance.
Our kids had a blast playing on this fortress-themed play structure!
Another view of the play structure. Lots of fun spaces for a child’s imagination to run wild.
Vigeland Park Cafe
Also near the entrance, and within view of the playground, is this lovely cafe. After the kids played for a while, it was lunch time, so we grabbed a table outside and ate a sandwich lunch.
Vigeland Park Cafe and outdoor patio.
Wonderful assortment of sandwiches, plus strong coffee and desserts. We treated the kids to popsicles since they’d been in the sun for several hours by this point in the morning!
Norwegian Folk Museum
After lunch, we walked a bit through a pleasant residential neighborhood to the #30 bus stop and took that to the Folk Museum. This is a beautiful sprawling outdoor museum (kind of like Colonial Williamsburg here in the US) where you can see perfectly preserved buildings from hundreds of years ago and learn about Norwegian farm and city life before modernity.
The fun part about an outdoor folk museum is letting your kids wander and discover.
My son enjoyed being able to walk up to any building and peek inside, or even open the door and walk in. Each building represents a different use (barn, storage, mill, bakery, etc.) or a different time period. We all learned so much about Norwegian history and culture through this hands-on exploration.
Recognize that sod roof? We saw a similar roof in Gudvangen while waiting for our Fjord Ferry! It’s a natural way to insulate the home and keep it cool.
View of buildings from one of the winding paths. It really felt like we had slipped through a time portal and were wandering through a village in the 1700s.
If you follow the Eco Friendly Mama Instagram account, you may recall when I posted this photo of a traditional Stave Church that we saw on our drive to the Jostedal Glacier.
When we visited that Stave Church in Borgund, it was being renovated so we couldn’t explore the interior. So we were happy to discover one here at the Folk Museum that we could walk inside.
Interior of Stave Church looking out. It’s entirely made from wood and metal using traditional Norwegian construction methods. Love the intricate iron-work on the wooden door!
The main atrium. Look at the wooden beams and detailed designs!
Detail of the beautiful door lock and handle. And it’s survived for hundreds of years.
There were staff members all over the grounds dressed in traditional garb who were eager to tell you all about their area of expertise. This sweet lady bonded with our kids and taught them some words in Norwegian.
Our new friend joined some colleagues for traditional Norwegian folk dancing. Other employees played folk music on instruments of that time period.
Perhaps everyone’s favorite stop at the Folk Museum was in this bakery where a kind young woman was making Hardangerlefse, a traditional slightly-sweet Norwegian flatbread. For a small cost, you could buy a piece fresh from the stone oven, slather it in butter, and eat the lefse while still warm. Such a treat!
Here’s the lefse recipe if you’d like to try making it at home!
After a couple hours of exploring the grounds, we were ready to head out. But first, a snack at the cafe by the entrance.
The Folk Museum Cafe had gluten-free and vegetarian options!
This little playground was just outside the cafe. Our kids enjoyed playing here after our snack.
Viking Ship Museum
Though this museum was just a short walk from the Norwegian Folk Museum, by the time we arrived there, our son was in code red melt down mode. This is the reality of visiting Oslo with kids. Sometimes, even when you plan your days around your kids’ interests with multiple breaks and playground visits, life happens and you need to roll with the punches.
Since the museum was going to be closing soon anyway, we made the call to head back to the hotel, even though I had been looking forward to it for months. So I took a moment to look at this thousand year old wooden ship and ponder how they were designed and constructed without the use of machines, computers, or plastic materials and yet have held up for a millenia.
Main hall of the Viking Ship Museum.
From here, we walked a few blocks downhill through a residential neighborhood to a small harbor where we caught a packed ferry back to Aker Brygge. The boat ride back was sunny and pleasant, though not everyone got a seat, and my son was in better spirits when we landed.
Day 3 in Oslo With Kids
We only had a few hours in the morning before having to report at the ship terminal for our overnight ferry to Copenhagen, so decided to make the most of our last morning in Oslo with kids by walking over to Akershus Fortress.
Akershus Fortress
This 13th century fortress sits on the opposite side of the harbor from Aker Brygge. The sprawling complex of buildings and cobble-stoned streets sits atop a hill with a stunning view of the harbor. Though there’s a small entrance fee, it’s well worth the cost to see the Akershus Castle fortress, Norwegian Resistance Museum, Armed Forces Museum, former prison, and royal mausoleum all under one ticket.
Looking up at the Akershus Fortress complex.
We opted to leave our stroller at the hotel and for good reason. Cobblestone paths encircle Akershus Fortress.
A young member of the Royal Guard.
View of the harbor from Akershus Fortress. This beautiful ship just happened to be sailing by!
Guarding Akershus Fortress are several historic cannons which still bear the marks of enemy fire. Explaining this to my son was a welcome chance to express how lucky we are to not live in a warzone and how important peace is to the safety and happiness of people all over the world.
As we were heading out, we luckily got to witness the changing of the Royal Guard. Our young stony-faced friend at the top is getting a well-deserved break!
After spending a few beautiful hours exploring Akershus Fortress, we closed out our 48 hours in Oslo with kids by walking back to our hotel to grab our things and headed over to the ship terminal to catch an overnight ferry to Copenhagen, Denmark!
Lauren
Your day 2 includes 3 of my most favorite places in Oslo!! I haven’t been in a decade and need to return with kids. Great list!
Eco Friendly Mama
Thanks so much Lauren! It is such a wonderful city. I bet much has changed since you were last there a decade ago! Hope this post gave you some inspiration for your future trip with the kiddos : )