Hotels, Food and Lifestyle
Lucky me – I´m going to Budapest this spring. When searching for a nice hotel I checked out several, but when I found this, I knew that this was the place. Gerlóczy Rooms de Luxe it will be. 
This interesting hotel is situated in Nesflaten, near Suldal in Rogaland, Western Norway. Once a part of a hydro-electric power plant, when the building was used as the dining hall. Nowadays local people have turned the place into an exclusive hotel in collaboration with the architects Helen & Hard. The building was designed by the renowned architect Geir Grung in the 60s, and is listed among the 12 most significant modern buildings in Norway. Read the story in English here, or in Norwegian here.
Story Hotel opened in March 2009 – a bohemian chic hotel at Stureplan, Stockholm. It looks great! The rooms draws inspiration from urban New York restaurants and bohemian Paris hotels. And the coolest feature – automated self check-in and check-out facilities, code locks for guest rooms and complimentary wireless Internet.
One of the blogs I follow, La Tartine Gourmande, had a story about cranberries in october. It´s amazing to see these photos of the harvest. In Norway we don´t have these berries, and I was particularly amazed about the way they flooded the bog.
A friend of mine is travelling in Afghanistan, and took these fabulous photos. See more photos and read about the trip (in Norwegian) on his blog: happygolucky.no. All photos by Marius Arnesen.
Next to Lørenparken is Kanonhallen, which is Oslo´s new culture scene. The house restaurant is called Kanon Bistro – and it´s worth a visit. I had lunch there on Saturday, which was nice traditional Norwegian beef soup with vegetables. The bistro is a nice place to take a coffee after a stroll in the park. Both kids and adults enjoyed the place so much, and we would love to come back soon. 
Last weekend I visited a nice place here in Oslo – Løren. It is Selvaag´s new housebuilding project. It includes a nice park with playground for children with nice sculptures called the “Peer Gynt-Suite”. They represent a presentation of the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen’s, famous work Peer Gynt. Most of the sculptures are acquired through international sculpture competition. So far 13 sculptures have been installed. The children can play and climb on them – which is cool. 
“The Button Moulder” by Kamila Szejnoch, Poland
“The meeting between Peer, Solveig and the Button Moulder” by Jan Kolasinski, Poland
These beautiful blankets are made from recycled fabrics by dutch designers. Some of the profits are donated to an Amsterdam shelter for the homeless. I love the idea and the blankets. Visit Ladak.nl if you want to learn more or buy one. Via Boboho.com
Next time in Paris, what about Mama Shelter?
Are you looking for wild, edible foodstuffs? Head for the forest. In August-October you will find delicious mushrooms and berries. The photos are taken from my trip in the woods near Oslo last week. We found three kilos of funnel chanterelles and one kilo of lingonberries. Yummy! 
