breaking the ice

I spent the weekend in Oslo. Apart from the fact that I really like the clean and calm atmosphere in Nordic cities, which are also never that big, the weather decided to show us its sunny side. I had to opportunity to go twice to the roof terrace of the ministry of Education where you can really oversee the whole town; I had dinner on the harbour, walks through the city centre. But the most impressive experience was for sure the “Vorspiel” at a friends place. “Vorspiel” is meeting at someone’s place to get drunk already before going out, as no one can even think of affording to get drunk paying drinks in bars. Out “Vorspiel” turned into a party with 70 people in a fully furnished apartment and a dance floor in the bedroom of the host of the party. It was really a very cosy atmosphere and luckily there were smoking balconies.
Also the meeting generally went rather smooth, trying not to focus on the usual unpunctuality of a European activity, we had enough time to address all the matters that we planned to discuss and found unanimous conclusions. The careful considerations of our hosts to make all social parts a nice group experience, from coffee breaks prepared with love and sliced fruits to the house party, made also the formal meeting run really smooth!


The Oslo City Hall is situated in the city center within walking distance of the Royal Palace and the Parliament building. Located on the waterfront, overlooking the bay of the Oslo fjord, the City Hall reflects the historic role of Oslo as the capital of a seafaring nation. The occupation of Norway in 1940-45 delayed completion of the building. The formal inauguration took place on Oslo Day, 15 May 1950, simultaneously with the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the city of Oslo.