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Tag: craft beer

Danmark!

Danmark!

Published on 17 June 2026

A new day, a new country! Well, actually Danmark was the only one of the Scandinavian countries I had actually been before, although I didn’t see much of it, and I definitely didn’t try the craft beer bars then…

But before I even got there, I still had a couple of hours to go on the MS Nordic Crown. Since the sun rises quite early that far north, so did I, and before eight, I was already enjoying the very extensive breakfast buffet, again in the Kull restaurant. 

Since I had already packed my bag, I had plenty of time to observe the arrival process. It certainly seems to be precision work!

Finally back on land, I hopped on the train for a couple of minutes to get to my hotel. To my delight, Wakeup Copenhagen already had a room ready for me. That meant I wouldn’t have to come back to check in, saving me quite a lot of time.

Just down the street was one of many Original Coffee outlets, which satisfied my coffee needs for the morning. 

Then it was just another short walk to the National Museum of Denmark. There I learned that Danmark once was quite a bit more imperialistic than I ever realised. 

After a coffee and a rye bread smørrebrød with chicken at Sonny, I headed all the way to Mikkeller Baghaven, which was not even on my original itinerary, because it was quite far…

A bus and a metro—with a light show in the station—then brought me back to another hip part of town, for a coffee at Prolog Coffee Bar. 

Just around the corner was Fermentoren, an awesome, quirky beer bar I would love to have in my neighbourhood. 

But I really had to go to Warpigs Brewpub for at least some of their locally brewed beers, and some of their Piggy Poppers.  

For a proper dinner I went to Chicky Grill, where I had Flæskesteg (roast pork). Love a bit of pork crackling!

After that I was up for a few more beers: one at Mikkeller Bar Viktoriagade—they didn’t have more than one that appealed to me on the menu anyway, but I did get my stamp—and a few more at the half-in-Tivoli-embedded Anarkist Bar. 

One more…

One more…

Published on 16 June 2026

A last half day in Oslo, before setting sail to Copenhagen… That’s just enough time for one more museum, one more coffee, one more Norwegian lunch, and one more Norwegian beer bar! 

Like any day, it started with breakfast. This time I went to Rent Mel, so well integrated in the hotel, it not only gave a discount, but it even had an entrance to it from within the hotel lobby! 

The museum of the day was the Historisk Museum. While the highly recommended The Viking Ship Museum Museum of the Viking Age is closed for renovations until 2027, some of its artefacts found a home here, for now. 

For lunch today I finally—since apparently they are closed on Mondays—made it into the Mathallen. First, coffee at Solberg & Hansen. Then, the Tipsy Moose Burger at Helt Vilt. To finish, a last Norwegian beer at Hopyard, which according to Untappd—Here Come the Vikings!—was exactly the 150th Norwegian beer I ever had. 

Then it was time to check out of my hotel, an into my Go Nordic ship for the night, the MS Nordic Crown. I was welcomed in my Commodore Class cabin with some bubbly, and after the ship set sail, I headed to the aft deck bar for some Svaneke beers, and to enjoy the views of Oslo disappearing in the distance…

Soon it was time for my pre-booked dinner in restaurant Kull. On a table near the window, I enjoyed my Duroc spare ribs with Nordic BBQ sauce and chips, and my selection of Nordic cheeses. 

After dinner I had one beer in the Anker pub where there was a musician playing, but the main show was outside: a sunset at sea…

An Oslo Odyssey

An Oslo Odyssey

Published on 15 June 2026

Time for some history and some more culinary discoveries today! And for the last time this trip, a run… 

There was no breakfast served in the hotel, but in same building there were a couple of options available. My first morning in Oslo proper, I went to Spor av Nord, for an egg salad sandwich and a kardemommebolle. 

Then I was off to the Norsk Folkemuseum. Like Bokrijk in Belgium, it’s an open-air museum, filled with buildings from all over the country, taken apart at their original location, and carefully put together again in their new home, thus saving them for posterity. 

Back in the city centre, it was time to try some of that famous brown cheese—brunost—and apparently it is quite good on a waffle. So I went to Haralds Vaffel, and asked for the ‘superclassic vaffel’. Not bad at all! 

Tim Wendelboe is a well-known name in the coffee world apparently, so obviously I had to have a coffee there!

And since just the waffle was not quite enough to be considered a whole lunch, I also stopped at Syverkiosken for a pølse med lompe, a hotdog in a potato flatbread.

Before my last run, I still had time to try two more bars: Brygg Oslo and Café Fiasco. 

But then I really had to get back to the hotel, change into my running kilt for the last time this trip, and catch a tram to the run start. Since it was Oslo H3’s run 2001, it took inspiration from the famous Kubrick film, and was titled “A Hash Odyssey!” We were very lucky with the weather this time, and had some great views over the water. 

Running & Reindeer

Running & Reindeer

Published on 14 June 2026

The last day of InterScandi—including a short run—but the first day of properly exploring Oslo! Well, I mostly discovered the bars, since it was a bit late for museums already…

But first the coaches took us and our luggage a bit closer to Oslo centre. We got off the coaches to start our Hangover Run, the luggage was then further transported to Pakkhuset Oslo, where our run finished. A final Circle and a sandwich, and that concluded InterScandi 2026. 

My CityBox Oslo hotel was only a couple of hundred metres away, so I quickly checked in, had a shower and a change, and I was ready to discover the rest of Oslo!

A quick coffee or two at Hakone Coffee, and I was off to the Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri. Lovely people behind the bar, and some really nice beers, brewed in the tiny brewery just behind the glass. 

Next: Dr. Jekyll’s Pub—with a cool hidden toilets entrance—and RØØR.

Finally time for some Norwegian cuisine, and Elias Mat & Sånt had exactly what I was looking for: finnbiff! This reindeer stew with bacon, mushroom, onion and carrot, double cream and brown cheese sauce, was served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, and it was delicious. 

Sufficiently fed, I was ready for some more beer, trying to keep my selection as local as possible. Luckily Mad Goat Tap Room and Brewgata both had plenty of choice. 

On On to Oslo!

On On to Oslo!

Published on 12 June 2026

Friday is when the weekend starts, so also the day when the InterScandi hash event started! Since the event was in Oslo, and I was still in Stockholm, that meant I still had to get a train there first, to then kick off another crazy hash weekend with a little pub crawl, which even crazier beer prices… 

While I was having breakfast in the SJ Lounge in Stockholm Central, the platform number for my train disappeared off the screen. That didn’t bode well… My SJ 3000 to Oslo eventually departed with a thirty minute delay, which grew to almost an hour during the six hour long ride. Unfortunately this type of train doesn’t have any solo seats—which I prefer when travelling alone—but the seats were wide enough to be comfortable and not to bother or be bothered by anyone. 

After arrival in Oslo, I took a short bus ride—I didn’t feel like lugging my bag around town—to the Crow Bar & Bryggeri, where InterScandi officially started with a check-in, goodies handout, and storing away everyone’s luggage, and of course the first beer of the pub crawl! Loads of familiar faces, quite a few from Brussels, and a lot more from elsewhere…

The ‘pub crawl’ was actually just a list of suggestions where you then inevitably bump into other hashers. Half of those bars were on my to-do list anyway though, so the organisers did a great job, in my opinion. My first stop was at Henry & Sally’s, Mikkeller’s bar in Oslo, but apparently there is some law in Norway forbidding bars named after alcohol brands. Unlike yesterday when I forgot, I actually bought my Mikkeller Passport this time, and I had it stamped. 

My second stop was at Oslo Street Food, where I got myself the Gangnam Chicken from Tunco. 

After that I headed to Crafty Dog, once Oslo’s BrewDog bar, and it still shows. No tattoo or EFP discounts, though, but apparently they do give discounts for hashers! 

I then still had time for a last beer at Café Sara, before a bus would take us to our accommodation for the weekend, Rønningen Folkehøgskole. There I was lucky enough to be assigned a single room, which was a nice surprise. A few more beers, and then it was time to turn in for the night.