A collective reading session takes over the T-bane

The Oslo news of the past 48 hours: a collective reading session is held every Wednesday in the capital's T-bane, a restaurant in St. Hanshaugen has drawn protesters after adding bear meat to its menu, and the rail strike continues to reduce services to and from Oslo county.

Oslo news: the collective reading session takes over the T-bane

Every Wednesday in October, Vilde Østerholt Willeke and Tuva Svendsen Hesmyr, two 24-year-old friends, invite Oslo county residents to come and read in the metro. The principle is simple: each person reads their own book, seated in the same carriage. "It's a collective reading on the T-bane, where we sit down and each read on our own. It's individual reading, but together all the same," Tuva sums up (NRK Oslo).

The two young women launched the initiative before the summer. Attendance has varied from one session to the next: once, only one other reader showed up. They now hope to fill an entire carriage. "It would be completely crazy to fill a carriage one day! People standing, you bumping into people who are reading, not into people on their phone," Vilde says (NRK Oslo).

The stated aim is to make reading visible in public space and present it as an alternative to phone use. The organisers have invited friends, friends of friends, and people they didn't know. The meeting point is set every Wednesday in October in Oslo's T-bane (NRK Oslo).

Bear meat at Schrøder: a protest outside the restaurant

Schrøder restaurant, located in St. Hanshaugen, has recently expanded its menu with a limited number of bear meat portions, priced at 795 kroner. On Tuesday, several people gathered outside the establishment to protest the decision. "It is profoundly immoral and undignified," says animal welfare advocate Ida Skjerden (NRK Oslo).

She fears that using threatened bear species as a luxury product will help create a market and acceptance for hunting protected species. "It helps create a market and acceptance for the killing of threatened species," she explains, before asking: "Would you have eaten panda?" (NRK Oslo).

In front of the restaurant, Kristoffer Dale had not come to demonstrate, but to taste the bear meat. For the moment, the controversy remains confined to the establishment and its clientele (NRK Oslo).

Transport: the rail strike weighs on services

The labour dispute in Norwegian rail is approaching the one-month mark. More than 700 trains have been cancelled across the entire network since the start of the movement (The Local Norway). For Oslo county commuters, the situation makes daily journeys and connections to other parts of the country more difficult.

The capital, the starting point for many regional lines, remains directly affected by cancellations and disrupted connections (The Local Norway).

Season: autumn settles in Oslo

As autumn colours reach their peak in the capital, The Local Norway publishes a selection of the best spots in Oslo county to photograph the leaves. Urban parks and wooded areas are among the suggestions. The season remains popular with residents and visitors alike (The Local Norway).

📌 Local briefs

Car chase on the E6. During the night from Monday to Tuesday, police and customs officers at Svinesund were contacted by the Swedish police about a vehicle suspected of being driven by a person under the influence. The driver refused to stop at the checkpoint and continued towards Oslo. The car reached 160 km/h according to operations chief Melissa Krag, of the Eastern police district (NRK Oslo). The woman admitted to all the facts.

Sources: NRK Oslo, Aftenposten, The Local Norway — Period: 14 October 2026 and 15 October 2026