Saturday 6th June - Oslo

Not a proper blog today as I did what I promised myself and had a day off.  Went into Oslo and just wandered and as there was some kind of carnival on it was a great atmosphere.  I don't think though that all the costumes were authentic. You'll never convince me that this chap's National Dress includes a llama on the head.

Had a few things go wrong, my crash helmet, my shavers bust and a headlight has gone. Now my blinking camera focus seems to be playing up...  and they were such lovely cowboy hats!!!!!

So, just a few musings on things I’ve overlooked on other days.

First of all I learned that however tempting it is on a warm sunny evening not to pop out and cover the bike up, it ain’t worth it. Woke up to this this morning – it was pelting it down but it did clear up and the afternoon in Oslo was lovely.     

I don’t know enough about it to go on too much – I know that doesn’t usually stop me – but Sweden, Denmark and Norway seem to be doing pretty well even though they are not members of the European Union. The roads are great, the trains amazing – I went into Oslo on one – and everything looks so, well prosperous.

You can’t generalise I know, but I have read that the Scandinavians can appear a bit blunt, a bit brusque. I have found that. When I’ve spoken to anyone they have never been anything but incredible friendly and helpful. However they somehow don’t seem to acknowledge you or your presence. If you wait at a door to let them through there’s no smile or thanks, they don’t seem to want to make eye contact. If you leave a bag on a chair in a café and they need it they’ll kind of stand there until you move it and not acknowledge your apologies. Maybe it’s just me – I can’t be a pleasant sight – or smell – after a week on the road!

And the macho bit – why is it that they don’t go strutting around the world righting their perceived wrongs with interference and threats – could it be because their politicians look like this    and their soldiers that?

                              

They are very matter of fact, and that must cost them sometimes. For example honest as this sign may be I can’t see it drumming up much business for the gym!!!

They do have a sense of humour though – when I was trying to get the train into Oslo I asked a guard if the train that just pulled in went there. I guess all trains from that particular station must have called at Oslo because he smiled to himself and said yes of course.  However when he came to collect tickets he looked at mine closely and then said enjoy your trip to Copenhagen!  I was tempted to mutter the name of a place I’d stopped for petrol recently!

Made a bit of a fool of myself in a café. A family went out and I noticed a glove on the table near where they had been sitting. Being gallant for once in my life I picked it up and chased after them. No, it wasn’t theirs. When I went back into the café I was confronted by a rather stern but immaculately dressed older lady who was confused as to why I’d taken her glove. Apparently it’s the thing here to leave an item of clothing – well a decent item of clothing - on a table if you’ve claimed it but have gone to the counter, toilet etc. She unusually hadn’t got very good english and my Norwegian is yet to blossom but we did sort it out and she laughed when  explaining that you only left only glove as a pair would probably be stolen – the twinkle in her eye obviously saying that today was the first time anyone had stolen a single glove.

Anyway, it’s a lovely evening here and all packed up for heading north again tomorrow – weather is set fair – which is good as tomorrow night is my first in a campng cabin – wonder if I'll meet any trolls - mmmmmm!