TH E THIEF – OSLO – A must go hotel experience!
First of all, crazy times… Two years without writing anything here. Struggling with an upside down world. Because standing straight when the world turns upside down does not help anything. But are you willing to turn yourself upside down in order to align with those crazy times? Took me some time…
So after a (too) long moment caged at home being told to just sit still, wait and avoid any contact – for reasons I was supporting from a rational point of view – but still feelings beat reason quite often at least in my libertine world, my seriously damaged gipsy spirit and natural hippy “lets hug the world” soul was craving for embrace, soul encounters, passion, being nurtured – electrifying energy between human beings. For example I simply couldn’t bear to only listening to live concerts or having to only watch them on a screen. I wanted to be part of it again. Inhale its intensity. Looking at photos of past journeys and encounters made me feel the darkest blue I had ever experienced. I wanted to go out there. Being alive again!
Until today those times did not come back, and I know that there are so many souls out there struggling exactly the same as I do.
But there was a little bright light this summer filling each pore of my human being with fresh energy, love and good vibes. TH E THIEF. So what is TH E THIEF all about?And why the strange spelling?
TH E THIEF first of all is a very well reflected, powerful logo, which alone is worth this essay. Why? Did you already get it?
TH E
THIEF
So the “THIEF” steals letters letting the first line look like “TH E ” which prior to this was also a “THIEF”. A touch of genius if you ask me!
As one of the most stunning hotels in Oslo, TH E THIEF regularly accommodates the glitterati of the music world, some of the concerts are even hosted by the hotel itself. a-ha‘s band member Magne Furuholmen himself designed on of the hotel suites. So imagine Corona times: NO concerts, NO guests, NOthing going on. Terrible for an inspiring and electrifying place like this. And then there comes Dominic – Guest Relations Manager (Dominic Gorham) – beaming with joy each morning taking personally care of each and every guest himself. Laughing away with spiritual presence those hard times this place had to face – feels like TH E THIEF was actually mirroring my own domestic Corona experiences being deprived of all those passionate and mind-blowing music scene encounters.
An absolutely stunning team, Helena, the chef, to mention in particular, a unique experience, #goodvibesonly! The choice of food and “do good” ingredients which offer unequalled opportunities, the best “betteraves rouges” I had in my life.
And Oslo itself is simply marvellous. Elegant. Relaxed. Puristic. Honest. Jumping into the Oslo Fjord in the middle of the city, just some steps away from the hotel, together with residents enjoying their after-work hours. Having the best spontaneous guide of the whole country: Helge Cato! Who, as it turned out, owns a real Hideaway in the Lofoten – a dream for a couple wanting pure nature, recharging solitude and a grounding & reconnecting experience. Why him? We needed a ride back to the city from Holmenkollen. He took us on board of his Tesla and spontaneously showed us beautiful spots of the city we would never have seen without him. We are so grateful for this encounter.
Another beautiful & simply unique curiosity of TH E THIEF: The Tonchos. No, I am not misspelling this one. It is a uniquely for the hotel designed poncho like a blanket but in T-form, which permits to easily keeping it on for outside dinners in the roof top restaurant or sundowners in the roof top bar without struggling with the blanket itself either falling from the shoulders while moving the arms or landing in the soup while eating. Genius, again! Must try. Must experience. Must go. Simply Must everything this whole place!
We will definitively return hopefully at a time when all the music vibes will be back at the hotel scene, making the, to our experience, still missing once in a lifetime trip to the Oslo fjord in one of those stunning hotel owned boats, probably continuing our journey to a magical Hideaway “somewhere over the rainbow” in the Lofoten ;-).
So thank you Dominic and his team for requickening my Corona troubled soul, for letting me inhale life and passion again, for allowing us to connect with the spirit of this unique place and being all present – serendipitous it felt.
Closing this essay by coming back to the upside down world since Corona got us: Sometimes daring an experience countercyclical to what is going on in the world, to what the world dictates you to be and do, leads to a new, soul-saving perspective. Daring the headstand, because something or someone made us find the courage and strength to turn ourself upside down.