Stretch the Holiday Feeling a Little Longer
August is the month everyone quietly mourns. The out-of-office is off, the tan is fading, and the evenings have started closing in around nine. But the light is still golden, the water is still warm, and the best part of the Norwegian summer is arguably happening right now. All it takes is one good layer to keep the evening going. Here's how we'd spend the rest of August.
1. Invite everyone to the garden
The easiest party you'll throw all year, because August does most of the work. Long table, mismatched chairs, string lights if you have them, candles if you don't. Ask everyone to bring one thing so you're not cooking all day.
The trick is planning for the temperature drop. Norwegian evenings turn at around eight, and the party ends when people get cold — not when the food runs out. So: a stack of blankets by the door, something warm to drink, and a layer you can throw on without changing your outfit.
What we'd wear: a summer dress you've worn all season with a cardigan over the top. Our Kilya in burgundy or grey is the one we reach for — merino wool, so it's warm without being heavy, and the print does enough that you don't need to think about jewellery. Bare legs, flat sandals, done.
Our tip: set the table before anyone arrives and don't move it inside. Half the point is eating outside in August because in six weeks you won't be able to.
2. Take the boat out to Gressholmen
Ten minutes from Vippetangen and you're on an island with a kro, a beach, and no cars. Gressholmen Kro is one of those places that only exists in summer — open roughly May to September, right by the water, with the kind of long afternoon that turns into a long evening without anyone deciding it should.
Gather the girls, take the B1 or B4 ferry out, and stay until the light goes. It's the best afterwork in Oslo and it costs the price of a public transport ticket to get there.
Our tip: hours shift with the weather and the season — check their Instagram before you go. And bring a layer. It's always five degrees cooler on the water than it was on the tram.
3. Go island hopping in the Oslofjord
If one island isn't enough, do all of them. Ruter's ferries run from Vippetangen out to Hovedøya, Bleikøya, Lindøya, Nakholmen and Gressholmen, with a summer-only line to Langøyene. A 24-hour day pass covers every boat plus the trams and buses to get you there, which makes it one of the cheapest good days out in Norway.
Hovedøya has monastery ruins and the best swimming. Langøyene has the wide-open beach. Gressholmen has the kro. Pack a swimsuit, a book, something to eat, and hop off wherever looks good.
Our tip: go on a weekday if you can. Same fjord, a third of the people.
4. Friday afterwork on a rooftop
Oslo has finally worked out what to do with its rooftops. Byens Tak, on top of the Folketeater building at Youngstorget, opens at four on Fridays and runs late — the whole city laid out underneath you and the light doing something extraordinary from about eight onwards.
If you'd rather do it for free, the top floor of Deichman Bjørvika has one of the best views in the city over the Opera and the fjord, and nobody will ask you to buy anything.
Our tip: rooftops are windy. This is a cardigan situation.
5. Squeeze in one last festival
Øya takes over Tøyenparken from 12–15 August, ten minutes' walk from the city centre, with The Cure, Nick Cave, Lily Allen and Underworld among a very good line-up. It's the natural full stop on a Norwegian summer. (We wrote about what to wear for it here.)
The August checklist
- One good layer you can tie around your waist
- Sunscreen — the August sun is still doing damage
- A swimsuit in your bag at all times, just in case
- A Ruter day pass
Summer isn't over. It's just moved outdoors and slightly later in the day.
Best,
Team EUNOIA
