What a night!! Located walking distance from one of Oslo's main attractions, the Vigeland Park and Frognerparken, the Old Irish Pub was the perfect way to start our trip and explore Norway.
We arrived in Oslo after a 10 hr flight from the party capital of the world, Miami/Fort Lauderdale Florida, and instead of giving in to the jet lag, my girlfriend (at the time) and I, decided to hit the ground running. After several hours at the park, and an amazing dinner at the Tatakii Asian restaurant next to the park, it was bordering 9pm, and we decided to walk the streets of Oslo looking for a few drinks.
The first thing that got us was the live music coming from inside. Like moths drawn to the light we marched in following the sensuous beats of southern blues and 1960's American classics being performed by a great visiting troubadour. I say visiting because his accent immediately gave away his Tennessee roots.
We sat in the first floor, and ordered a couple of rounds not knowing there was a second floor to the establishment. As the night went on, we soon noticed that the older patrons stayed downstairs listening to the classics while the younger ones proceeded upstairs and disappeared, never to come back again. So, when our performer ended his magnificent set, curious, we decided to explore.
What we discovered on the second floor was reminiscent of the best days of Rome, of those bacchanals thrown in the streets of Athens when Pericles presented the Parthenon for the first time in all its glory. It was Saturday. Norwegians had come out to party.
When we walked in, the party had not properly started yet. A couple of patrons already feeling the vibes that were going to represent the night were dancing next to their booths but no one had yet ventured to the stage. Then the band took the lead.
They were a great rock band. The lead singer immediately read the room and recognized the potential. She started with some classics from the 80's, moved down a playlist from the 90's . But the night hit a crescendo when, after introducing the band, the lead guitarist broke into the riff of Guns and Rose's Sweet Child of Mine. The room became one. We all rushed to the front. Everyone held their drinks in had, friends in hand, lovers in hand, and danced to the rhythms of the night.
Soon, the band left the stage, and a DJ we affectionately nicknamed "Mini-Pitbull" too the stage. Mr. 305 himself killed his set too. The party went into the 3, or more in the morning. It truly reminded me of Miami, a safe, and crime free Miami, in its hay day. I just remember staggering out, trying to catch an Uber that would takes us to our hotel in Sandvika that late or early in the morning, being rejected several times by the drivers for "accidents" on the road (yeah right!), and then finding one, our great Ammed, who was willing to take these happy travelers back from their epic first night in Oslo to our comfortable beds.
Again, no better way to have started our exploration of Norwegian culture. We ended up partying all over
Norway. We partied in Stavanger, Bergen, Ålesund, Andalsness, even in Geiranger with some German tourist after our excursion through the fjords, yet nothing compared or even came close to that first night in Oslo, and the Old Irish Pub might have had a lot to do with it.
I can't wait to do it all over again! read more