Don MillerMy original plan after Amsterdam was to go to Denmark by Bus or train. After some research and some curious looks when I revealed that route to others, I learned that the scenery along the route is far from spectacular and a direct flight was way cheaper. So saving time, money and mind numbing boredom. And for the sake of not retracing my steps, I took a cheap flight to Oslo instead of Copenhagen since I was going to have to go back that way anyway.
I arrived in Oslo on a cold wet Friday afternoon and walked the half mile to the Anker Hotel, a surprisingly nice hotel for what I was paying. It even comes with a huge hot and cold breakfast buffet included with the room. My room was overlooking the city from the 12th floor so I had a great view of the low hanging clouds. Oslo doesn’t really have much of a skyline. You would be better off, getting a lower floor room and saving a ride on the slow elevator crowded with other tourists and their luggage.
I dropped my bags and headed back out for a walk in the rain. It was very similar to a Seattle winter day. Its cold and its wet and as long as you have a layer or two of Gore-Tex on, you will barely notice it. Unfortunately, the only Gore-Tex I have on is in my Firebrand II BDry treking shoes by Oboz shoes. My coat is from Costco for 30 bucks and I don’t think it will hold up under a steady rain. Everything else is cotton. So first order of business, find an umbrella.
No easy feat. I walked all over town but Oslo is one of those towns with mostly specialty shops, i.e. a shoe store, a bakery, Jewelry store, and electronics shop, etc. They don’t mix their merchandise so much. Which makes the odd duck like an umbrella a hard item to find. I must have hit 20 shops in the downtown corridor looking for one. I ended up walking into a luggage store and found one for $15. Used it for a couple of hours and then the clouds parted and the rain stopped. The rest of my Oslo days were rain free and the umbrella stayed buried in my pack.
During my umbrella search, I stopped into a guitar shop. No, not looking for an umbrella. Just a warm dry place that would probably be interesting. I got to talking to the owner and asked him if there was any good bands coming through town. A very open ended question so when he showed me a video of a popular Norwegian metal band in town tonight, I thought it best to narrow it down a bit. “How about not so angry?” “You’re in Norway, were all angry” was his reply. He searched around the web a bit and disdainfully showed me a youtube video for Unnveig Aas, a Norwegian woman singer in a country vein. “That will do” I said and he kicked me out of the store. Not really but there was a chill in the air.
The show was good. She spoke to the crowd in Norwegian but sang her songs in perfect English. Everyone speaks English here, better than I do. Her dance style was a cross between an acid dancer at a Phish Concert and someone trying swat away a bee. You can see some of it in the linked video above. It was good but beer was pricey and I was tired so just stayed for the first set.
I woke up the next day with the beginnings of a sore throat and a little headache. By mid afternoon, I was battling a bad cold. Another round of searching through the shops for my home remedy for a cold. A Hydrogen Peroxide gargle. It is one of the most disgusting things you can put in your mouth but it works. Couldn’t find any. I even looked at the hair care shelf at the grocery store but remembered that the blondes here come by it naturally. At the pharmacy, the clerk looked at me like I was crazy and just offered up some Ricola. I was going to have to ride this one out. I went back to the room gargled a shot of whiskey, ate a losenge and went to bed.
I woke up a few hours later. Not feeling any better but figured I should get out of the room. I wanted to check out the famous Oslo Soul Experience. A DJ spinning soul music from the 50’s and 60’s. Either I was early, 10pm, or the definition of famous got lost in the translation. It was a small upstairs venue with all of 10 very sedate people lounging around. I lasted an hour and went back to the room. Not a total loss, I did get to Shazam some new songs.
Sunday was more of the same with a sunny afternoon walk but a low key evening. I was ready to move on. Oslo just wasn’t happening for me. To be fair, I was sick and the weather was not helping.
