Planning a family trip to Norway this summer. Will spend a couple of days in Oslo before pushing on to Kristiansand/Mandal (wife's ancestral family farm) and Stavanger.

Will be using public transit. Is Wendelboe's shop a must-visit when in Oslo or should I just grab some of his coffee from a shelf? Anyone visited the shop?

Any shops in Kristiansand or Stavanger which are compelling visits?

Thx, Dave

I've been to Oslo and Stavanger. I would say Fuglen is more of an "experience" in terms of a cafe but you'll want to go to Tim Wendleboe because it's already in an area you'll probably be visiting (Grunerlokka)- with hip restaurants, shops and things to do and see. I would also try visiting Supreme Roastworks when you're in Grunerlokka. Solberg and Hasen is also worth taking a look. In Stavanger, I only had decent coffee at Blue Bird.

I was there once and needless to say, the coffee was tasty. At the time, however, I didn't really have many reference points so even in hindsight it's difficult to compare to elsewhere. Being in a hurry from the airport to the bus terminal didn't help memory.

The place is pretty small (only 2 chairs iirc) so depending on your family size, that could be an issue if you want to sit. I'd say it's no trouble reaching it with public transport. I'm not very familiar with the city so I can't say if there is anything else of interest on the way or in the neighborhood, but if you're not on a tight schedule it's not much more time lost than sitting down at any other café.

Still the only place I've seen serving Aeropress. I had one and (I think) a cappuccino.

PS. I just checked for you: It's 10 min away from the central station with the tram, including the walk.

Thanks for the ideas, all. Keeping a list and will map them out with the benefit of Google's public transit maps.

toincoss wrote:... In Stavanger, I only had decent coffee at Blue Bird.

Will hit Bluebird. Glad to hear there is at least one good shop there and will steer my wife's airbnb reservations to that area while in Stavanger. Same thing with the Grünerløkka region of Oslo.

RE: Small size of Wendleboe's shop, I do my coffee crawl's without my wife. She pleasantly will tell me to get lost for a period of time, smile, and off I go. Works well that way.

Found a site with featured Nordic shops. Lists two in Kristiansand to hit: http://nordiccoffeeculture.com/read/places/page/2/

We are flying through Reykjavik. Will grab a cup in the airport so I can say I had coffee in Iceland as well <grins>.

Kaffitar has two shops within the airport. Score! http://kaffitar.is/

I had the opportunity to go this summer. It was great, some of the best espresso I've had. Top 5 easily. Tim was running back and forth experimenting with something, but the people he had working there were excellent, and fun to talk to! Definitely worth the stop. Take an uber.

Fausto wrote:... Take an uber.

Thanks, I will have my daughter give me some tutoring on Uber.

My 18-month old grandson is part of the entourage. I have threatened to have him at the cupping table. He will be two by the time of the trip and old enough to do a crawl with me.

Boldjava wrote:...Will hit Bluebird (in Stavanger)...

Our home reservation in Stavanger is a sweet 10 minute walk from Bluebird.

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Nice! If you get a chance, my girlfriend just came back from Stavanger and she mentioned they opened a new food hall called Mathallen http://www.mathallen-stavanger.no/- looks like there's a local roaster serving coffee as well.

toincoss wrote:...
Stavanger and she mentioned they opened a new food hall called Mathallen http://www.mathallen-stavanger.no/- looks like there's a local roaster serving coffee as well.

Thanks. Looks like the coffee gods are looking down on the trip. 20 min bus or walk from where we are staying. Looks like I am going to crawl my way through Norway.

Fresh salmon for lunch. http://www.mathallen-stavanger.no/meny/