Icexpat's Profile

I lived in a 50 square meter place, then a 110 square meter place, then moved back to the 50, and I love it. Partly because it's nice to vacuum the whole place while plugged into one outlet. Smaller space is also a great incentive to keep things pared down.

My apt is on a top floor with tons of light and a vaulted ceiling so it doesn't feel small at all.

in Iceland it depends a lot on how you find your apartment. There are almost no management companies that have a large number of permanently-for-rent apartments. Every rental I've lived in has either been in the same building as the owner's flat, or has been rented by the owner while they're studying/working abroad.

They come with kitchen cupboards and stove/oven but no appliances, so you've got to buy your own fridge/washing machine (hookups for washers are standard, dryers are not standard). In the case of people renting while going abroad, partially furnished is common, and in the place I live now, there's a lot of furniture the place has "inherited" because it fits with the unusual shape and layout.

If you have a lease, the timeframe to announce your departure is generally 3 months, but I've had some more flexible arrangements that don't require this.

oh, and the eggs are sold in a wire rack in the dairy aisle but not in the fridges. I still put mine in the fridge when I get home.

a few things I love after going to Oslo many times for work:

1) I really enjoyed the museum of decorative arts and design: http://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/venues/museum_of_decorative_arts_and_design/

2) there's a shop that sells Norwegian/Scandinavian design. I can't remember its name but there are a few locations. One storefront is on the same street as the national gallery (also a nice visit). If you're standing on the gallery steps with your back to the door, the shop I'm talking about is to the left and across the street at the next corner.

3) Grünerløkka is still worth a visit

4) If you like sushi, Nippon Art is delicious. The Egyptian owner is very interesting to talk to if you're there on a slow evening, as is the Japan-trained Bangladeshi sushi chef.

5) I generally just love walking around the more residential areas. There are some lovely turn of the century through deco buildings, and generally things are quite well maintained.

Oslo's not a bang-in-your-face splashy city like the more typically tourist-beloved European capitol cities but it's got plenty of charm and I still love it despite the recent events there. Give it a chance!

I'm wondering if anyone has advice for how to wash feather pillows without a clothes dryer. I don't have a dryer, nor does anyone I know. Is there any way to get a feather pillow dry fast enough to prevent mold? Hanging outside on a sunny day?

my parents have this problem and also a problem with all the sand/salt from previous snowstorms being plowed into their garden along with the snow. The snow melts but the gravel just keeps accumulating. They've given up planting anything other than extremely hardy day lilies in the front of the house because nothing else survives.

I've been living abroad for 5 going on 6 Christmases and since my family was never huge on big important traditions, it's been fun to see how it's celebrated in all the places I've been. I've had some Icelandic style Christmases, a French one, and a few German ones. All these countries have very specific and very interesting traditions so I'm happy to adopt them and don't particularly miss anything from America at this time of year.

the city hall in Reykjavík has a gorgeous example of a green wall as well. It's made of lava stone and covered in moss that's kept constantly watered by the pond below.

it's all very stylish and everything but somehow the color scheme combined with the light quality seems so chilly to me.

doesn't help that I'm sitting here on a frigid Scandinavian morning listening to the wind howling outside though.

I miss the living room. We've got a big comfy couch facing a wall of windows with an incredible view across town and out to the sea. The bookshelves are well stocked so it's my favorite place to spend an afternoon.

I lived in an attic loft with some bizarre roof angles and corner nooks and I solved the closetless problem by blocking off one of the windowless corners with a cheap plastic IKEA wardrobe. I covered the side facing my living space with some cheerful fabric, and on the other side I made a small dressing room with some shelves and drawers and a nice fuzzy rug. The space wasn't really liveable for any other purpose due to the roof slope and lack of windows so this solution worked quite well for me & for the space.