We moved into our new apartment in Bekkestua yesterday, and it is absolutely perfect for us. Back in March when I came to Norway on my scouting visit, I stayed in central Oslo and came out to Bekkestua to visit the Oslo International School as a possible school for our daughters. Right when I got off the train and saw this apartment building next to the station with a grocery store underneath, I thought it would be a great place to live for a year, but I never imagined that mostly blind luck would land us an apartment in the very complex I had fancied.
The place is a pretty huge mess right now, and these photos are from right when we moved in, so please be understanding.
This is our kitchen. It came furnished with all the basics and has a large pantry. Norwegian stoves are interesting—there are nearly a dozen oven settings and I look forward to figuring them out.
This is our dining room next to the kitchen. The door looks out onto a small balcony overlooking the main thoroughfare. We have all the doors open here because we are having a heat wave–temps are getting up to 85°F and our apartment seems to be getting a lot of afternoon sun so it can get quite hot in here.
This is the patio that looks toward the center of Bekkestua. It even has a 1000W heater on it, so maybe I’ll get a furry blanket and sit out there during the winter like real Norwegians.
I’ll take a moment here to admire Norwegian construction. That sliding door is about 3 inches thick, and the window is a double pane window that seems super energy efficient. When you close the handle, the door seals with a satisfying lock that feels like I’m really locking down the hatches. 
The living room, with a working fireplace and a TV. Maddie and Ada have developed a fondness for Norwegian cartoons thanks to their friends. Still working on the internet (I’m typing this post on my phone).
Our bedroom with lots of closet space.
Maddie and Ada’s bedroom. In the second photo, you can see their window looks out to the toy store.
This is the hallway/entrance.
This is the entrance to our actual apartment. It’s a funky little journey to get to our place. You enter a door, climb a set of interior stairs, and then walk along a sort of outdoor garden area to get to our place. I think we can plant things in this garden bed, but I imagine the growing season is going to be quite short.
This is the door to our place.
Maddie pointing out the toy store again.
So that’s the tour. I’ll try to put together a better tour when we’ve unpacked and organized a bit more.
It feels so good to be home and know that I won’t be schlepping around full size suitcases for the next 365 days.
A Year in Norway 