Oslo

Coming to Oslo was a good idea. It's been the nicest day here this year, a local informed me. The sky was clear, the sun was out and the sidewalks were clear of slush even though there were patches of snow on the ground.

I slept in late, made an omelet, and set out on a day-long trek. I must have walked almost 10 km through the main downtown area. I passed city hall and the king's palace and ducked my head into a bookstore to get a book I needed. They didn't have it, so the clerk at the travel section sent me to a travel bookstore nearby that had exactly what I was looking for.

What I got was the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable (Spring 2006). It gives schedules for EVERY train in Europe, and includes any small town you'd ever want to stop at. I'm glad to have it, because now I can stick to local and inter-city trains where I don't have to reserve (and pay a stupid reservation fee).

After buying my book, I headed to a park on the far side of town. I was hungry, so I sat down at a cafe, ate, and dove into my new purchase. As I mentioned earlier, I'm turning into a rail fanatic. Having the timetable for the entire continent in my hands was like giving bubble wrap to a kid .

I lost track of time, and nearly missed going to the museum next door (the reason why I came). I rushed over and the nice lady at the ticket window let me in for free because it was 10 minutes til closing. I bounced around the room and looked at the persevered Viking longboats that the museum housed. I honestly had no time to read the displays, but I did catch that best preserved one was dug up from a burial mound. They were very beautiful.


I caught a bus back to town and have spent a good part of the evening getting my blog in order. I'm so glad to have it all up to date.