Day 30-2. Visiting friends in Oslo.
After the rituals and rhythms of a cycle tour through lots of Norway's quiet places it was a shock to the system to see the busy roads round Oslo. So many people heading back and forth cars full of flatpack furniture or people and plenty with a couple of bikes hanging precariously off flimsy looking cycle carriers. We were reminded of just how many people there are on this planet. I was glad that I wasn't driving. A short while later we arrived at the beautiful house that he and Marit share to find Captain Petter waiting for us with Marit. We received a warm welcome and instructions to change clothes quickly so we could drive straight to Oslo harbour and Petter's boat.
Petter's boat was a nice one and in lovely condition, big enough to be stable, but small enough to be manageable. We clambered on board and spent a couple of hours bobbing around in Oslofjord. Oslo, together with Berlin is my favourite capital city in Europe. This was the first time we'd been on Oslofjord other than taking the ferry to Copenhagen. On the cruise ships you look down at everything from high up. Here we were almost at sea level looking up at the fjord. My opinion of Oslo was enhanced by the afternoon. Here are a few pictures of the cruise.
Once back on dry land we headed back to Per-Christian and Marit's place where we were treated to a gourmet (vegetarian) meal and chatted until late in the evening. Petter's wife turned up later in the evening and it was probably close to midnight when we all turned in. It had been a wonderful afternoon and evening and after all those years in Holland where such days were few and far between, is was lovely to be welcomed in such a way.
It was strange catching up with Per-Christian too. We met whilst I was still hanging around Salford University. But fifteen years ago we lost touch. A couple of years ago I tried to find him searching on the internet. After six months of sporadic searching I found two addresses that looked promising and sent a card to each address. An email came back and we eventually met up a couple of times.
When we were both in Salford we had a common interest, that of Ballroom Dancing, long before the revival in the UK took place. Once when driving back from an evening dancing at the Manchester University Ballroom Society, a drunk student decided to cross the road just in front of Per-Christian's Saab 99. All of us survived the incident although the student spent some time in a coma. It might have been a different story altogether if Per-Christian's Saab had not had a laminated windscreen.
However, that shared moment is one I will not forget.
We slipped into sleep savouring a lovely day. Damae had had her rest day, and tomorrow we would take the bus back to Kongsvinger and resume our cycle tour. We were hoping that the cycling would become more interesting than Day 29 had been.
Or at least that the weather would stay dry and sunny.
Or, even better, both.