Norway, Day 10

Norway, Day 10

I didn't get this written on June 30 because I was just too tired to do more than brush my teeth after travelling all day yesterday, So I'm typing on the next day instead from my mother-in-law's apartment in Barrie. It's still very early in the morning but of course I'm hopelessly jetlagged & after 20 games of solitaire (trying to bore myself back to sleep) decided to do something productive.

Yesterday started out as yet another hot sunny Oslo day. Rhia & Eivind helped me haul my luggage the kilometer or two from the house to the train station. After another combination of trains & buses (it really helps to have a policy of bringing no more luggage than you can manage & still leave one hand free) I arrived at the airport. There's not much to say, really. The naturally high prices for everything in Norway, coupled with the exhorbitant prices that you usually get subjected to in airports, freed me from the temptation to shop for souvenir gifts.

The trip was uneventful with no missed connections, no surprises. I did get called out at the security checkpoint in Frankfurt to explain my little XO laptop... The very efficient security supervisor, in grey suit & tie, took me to a little room & wanted to know what this is ('It's a special laptop computer developed for children in Third World countries'), where I was going ('Toronto, Canada') & where my trip had begun ('Oslo'). 'Hm,' he said, writing all of this down, 'Oslo, Norway... ' but apparently that was the right answer because he stopped writing, motioned to the door, & told me I was free to go.

Would I choose Norway as a tourist destination? Probably not. For one thing, it's just a bit too similar to Canada so you don't feel you're satisfying the natural desire for novelty when travelling. The sticker shock is another damper. I would not describe the Norwegian people as a whole as outstandingly effusive & warm, although the people we visited specifically were extremely generous & hospitable. So would I visit Norway again? Given the coelescing family ties between Rhia & Eivind, a return visit seems inevitable.