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My Favourite Holiday: Author Lauren A. Forry loved Oslo on Norway Day

Lauren loved seeing Norwegians dressed in colourful bunader for the annual 17th of May celebration
Lauren loved seeing Norwegians dressed in colourful bunader for the annual 17th of May celebration

Her FBI agent father and book-loving mother raised her on The X Files and RL Stine. After earning her BA in Cinema Studies from New York University, she moved to London where she did Creative Writing in Kingston University.

Spooky tale Abigale Hall, released on April 20 by Black & White Publishing, is her debut novel.


GREAT holidays don’t normally start with losing your luggage.

But this fortunately proved to be no omen on my trip to witness the 17th of May, the annual celebration of Norway signing its constitution – a holiday my best friend (an Oslo native) had wanted me to experience for years.

To celebrate, I first needed to dress the part.

No one wears jeans on Norway Day, I was told, and my soon-found suitcase contained a new dress especially for the occasion.

A tri-coloured ribbon and small Norwegian flag helped me feel more at home amongst the locals, many of whom were dressed in a bunad – the national costume.

Walking in the beautiful weather amongst thousands of people dressed in bunader was like being at the world’s largest garden party.

The only ones not dressed in bunader were the russ – teenagers about to graduate college who, for the three weeks leading up to 17th of May, wear only red trousers and do ridiculous dares.

Food is also an important part of the holiday.

Breakfast consisted of traditional Norwegian breakfast foods – crispy bread, eggs, jam, coffee and (my favourite) Norwegian waffles and brown cheese.

Later in the day, we braved crowded shops for ice creams and ate fresh mussels at an outdoor restaurant in Aker Brygge, Oslo’s financial district.

This is a relatively new shopping and entertainment area and, in fitting with Oslo’s architecture, which blends buildings with the aesthetics of the city’s natural environment, is a man-made stone pier that juts out into the fjord.

As a writer, I love getting to know a place by watching the people within it and prefer holidays where I can explore a city on my own or in the company of a knowledgeable friend.

The 17th of May reflected the positive, welcoming atmosphere I’ve always felt in Norway but on a massive scale.


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