Traveling solo and jazz festivals in Norway
Last summer, I planned a trip to Norway with a few friends of mine, my so-called ‘travel buddies’. I planned the itinerary to include Oslo, Bergen and Ålesund. Disappointed I realized we did not have enough days to visit Trondheim too. Upon my return, I found out there was a direct flight from London to Trondheim. And then, I read about the jazz festivals taking place all over Norway from late spring till the end of summer. Trondheim Jazz Festival, which takes place in May, was just the excuse I needed. Decision made. But this time I went without my travel buddies. It was my first time traveling solo from start to finish.
Traveling solo-ish
Truth be told, this was not the very first time I was traveling on my own. But it was the first time that I considered myself traveling solo. As a student, I had taken part to exchange programs abroad (Prague, Amsterdam, Cardiff and Leicester), but there was always an officer responsible at my destination – not to mention the other students I would end up socializing, traveling, and making friends with. And of course the primary purpose of these exchanges was educational rather than recreational.
Then, there was New York and California.
A few years ago, I wanted to travel somewhere special during my Christmas holidays, so I mentioned this to one of my best friends. The following day, as of a miracle, her boyfriend invited me to Connecticut, where he would be spending six months (another exchange program). I accepted the invitation without much of a second thought. Then, I realized that New York (where I would be flying to) was so close to Connecticut; it would be a shame not to visit it. And, so I did, and enjoyed every single moment of it. I explored Manhattan walking from dawn to dusk from Midtown to Upper West Side and from Greenwich Village to Upper East Side. I visited galleries and museums (MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art, was my favorite) and sat at cafés.
Then, in 2017, I won a bursary for the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine in Palm Springs. Again, the primary purpose was educational. But I was not going to fly for 10 hours to California, where I had never been before, just to attend the meeting.
So, I planned an itinerary that took me to San Francisco (where I flew to and from), Napa Valley, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles, and I enjoyed every single moment of what was essentially a solo trip (though at the time I refused to name it or consider it as such). In San Francisco and LA, I followed a similar approach to my NYC holiday. But in Napa Valley, I booked myself in a wine tour, visited several vineyards and tasted the locally produced wine. In Palm Springs, I spent most of the time at the meeting, but I also visited Mt. San Jacinto State Park.
Why travel solo
So, the decision to travel solo to Trondheim came to me rather naturally.
The festival provided structure to my days: with the afternoons and evenings full of music, I had the not so daunting task to find activities to fill my mornings. Once there, with Trondheim having so many places of interest and inviting cafés, I was actually worried I wouldn’t have enough time to visit all those places I intended to. But still, traveling solo provided me with both the flexibility to design an itinerary and the freedom to stick to it or break free. I think this is probably the greatest advantage of traveling solo.
Walking is another benefit of traveling solo (unless my travel companions enjoy walking as much as I do). Fitness aside, I find walking an excellent way to explore a new place, get off the beaten track and discover hidden gems. Traveling solo also allows me to do those things that I enjoy but I wouldn’t normally do (or would do less) in the presence of others: exercising, listening to music, writing, and reading.
Why not travel solo
There are of course challenges too. For example, I personally struggle with the idea of going to restaurants or bars by myself. Even though I feel quite comfortable going to a café on my own (usually with a book or my laptop), solo dining/drinking is not my forte. This means that I don’t go to some places I would’ve gone with my friends, especially in the evenings. Instead, I am more likely to have a casual (and less pricey) dinner; for example, when I visited New York and California, I almost overdosed on burgers and fries. On a more positive note, traveling solo also means that I drink less, not necessarily a bad thing, especially when I may not follow as healthy a diet as usual.
Last but not least, another challenge that a selfie-hater like myself may encounter when traveling solo is the lack of that trusted photographer who (almost) never complains about my countless photo-shoots. Despite this major drawback, however, traveling solo is such an eye-opening, soul-searching experience that I would happily do it again.
Jazz festivals in Norway
If you’re looking for an opportunity to travel solo in Norway, and you happen to be a jazzophile like me, you have plenty of choices. Norway is renowned for the beautiful fjord scenery and railway journeys that offer spectacular views of ravines, waterfalls and mountains, and also boasts a thriving jazz scene: every year from May to August, when the days just don’t turn into nights, no less than 10 festivals take place across the country.
Hamar Jazz Festival, also known as AnJazz, this festival takes place in Hamar over five days in early May.
As the name suggests, Maijazz is another jazz festival taking place in May; it is held in Stavanger.
Also in May, Bodø Jazz Open takes place in Bodø, a small city above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, about an hour and a half on the plane from Oslo.
Then, there’s Trondheim Jazz Festival, or Jazzfest, as it is also known.
Bergen International Jazz Festival, also known as Nattjazz, is the fifth jazz festival in May.
If you want to attend one this summer, there’s still time… Coming up this summer are the following five festivals:
Kongsberg Jazzfestival
Kongsberg Jazzfestival is due to take place between the 3rd and the 6th of July 2019. Even though Kongsberg is a small town in southern Norway (less than an hour and a half away from Oslo either by car or train), this festival features some of the biggest names in the international and Norwegian jazz scene (such as Ms Lauryn Hill, Jamie Cullum and Ane Brun). The motto of the festival is ‘Jazz Is More’; yet, it should have been ‘Jazz And More’, as this year’s program also features pop, rock and house Norwegian artists and bands, such as Madrugada, Sigrid and Alan Walker. You can buy a festival pass (NOK 3395), day passes (NOK 1000-1420), or even tickets for individual concerts.
Moldejazz
Molde International Jazz Festival, or simply Moldejazz, is one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. Molde, on the west coast of the country, is known as ‘Town of Roses’; yet most people know this town because of Moldejazz. Due to take place between the 15th and the 20th of July 2019, it will be hosted at various venues of the town, including the Cathedral, the Romsdalsmuseet (an open-air museum worth visiting anyway) and several squares. Rymden will play on the 17th of July 2018 (NOK 470). The day and week passes may have already sold out, but there are concerts free to attend. To get to Molde, you will have to fly to Ålesund (55 minutes from Oslo); from there, it is a 2-hour drive.
If you stop in Ålesund, go for a walk around the art nouveau town center; then climb the 418 steps to Aksla. From there, you can admire the spectacular view of the town, the surrounding mountains and the nearby islands.
Sildajazz
Named after the Norwegian word for herring (sild), Sildajazz takes place in Haugesund, a small coastal town in south-western Norway. It will take place between the 7th and the 11th of August 2019. Sigrid and Madrugada will also play here, on the 8th and 9th of August respectively. The flight from Oslo lasts only 50 minutes.
Tromsø Jazzfestival
Tromsø is the largest town in northern Norway, lying 400km north of the Arctic Circle, about an hour and 50 minutes on the plane from Oslo. It will host a jazz festival between the 8th and the 11th of August 2019. Whilst there, make sure you visit the Arctic Cathedral, then take the cable car to the top of Mt Storsteinen.
Oslo Jazz Festival
The Norwegian capital is home to the last festival of the summer, which takes place every August, when the city enjoys 16 hours of daylight and 8 hours of twilight. This year it will be held between the 11th and the 17th of August and will be hosted at various venues around the city: the Opera House, Nasjonal Jazzscene Victoria and Grønland Church. You can buy day passes or tickets for individual concerts.
In addition to these (summer) festivals, there are also a few taking place during the rest of the year:
Dølajazz takes place in the town of Lillehammer about 2 hours on the train from Oslo. It is due to take place between the 17th and the 20th of October 2019.
Polarjazz is the northernmost jazz festival in the world. It takes place in Longyearbyen, a small town in the subpolar archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. Polarjazz takes place around the end of January or the beginning of February when Longyearbyen enjoys zero hours of daylight.
Vossajazz takes place in the town of Voss the week before Easter (late March/early April). It will take place between the 3rd and 5th of April 2020.
Further reading
To better prepare for my trip, I used the Lonely Planet Travel Guide
You can more about Trondheim, but also about Oslo, Bergen, and Ålesund; make sure you also read my post ‘Fjords and Jazz: Norway in 9 days’.
To read more about the jazz festivals in Norway, check out my post ‘White Nights & Jazz: 10 Summer Festivals in Norway‘.
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God Tur1,
Alex
(the Traveling Psychiatrist)
1 Norwegian for ‘have a nice trip’