Norway: Day 2

June 22

Over tea this morning we made our plans. On Thursday we will head into Oslo and do some sightseeing. We will travel to a fiord somewhere. Then we will return to Oslo to look around some more before I head back to the airport on Tuesday. Activity-wise, it sounds reasonable. Financially-wise, it is perhaps a little ambitious: as Rhia put it, Norway is not a bargain-basement tourist destination. For example, we had lunch today at a nice but not-at-all pretensious sidewalk cafe. We each had a salad & a glass of beer. The cost? More than $80 CAN. Wow. No wonder there are no busloads of tourists seeing the sights.

Nevertheless, we spent a very pleasant day touring Tønsberg, the nearest town. Tønsberg is not a big place - 10 000 perhaps - but it feels much more impressive than a town of similar size would in Canada. Maybe this is because the accumulated population is so much greater and the concomitant history adds to the impact. Tønsberg is the oldest city in Norway & celebrated its 1000th birthday not long ago! We climbed the hill (which contributes the 'berg' part of the city name) & walked all over the old walls as well as the foundations of the church, king's home, and guard buildings.

I still find it fascinating to be at such a latitude. We walked around all day in the brilliant sunshine - not a cloud all day. But even though we wore no sunscreen the entire day and even though Eivind is blonde Eivind & Rhia is a redhead, none of us perceptively deepened a tan. And here it is almost 11 pm again & I still don't need a light in my room.

I'm hoping if I can get a decent sleep tonight I can feel more or less at home in this timezone.