20 years ago today - Day 144

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Thursday, July 25th - first day in Oslo, 7543 km

Johann meets Shiya and I at the reception desk at 7:15 am as planned. We go to the deck to watch the shores of Oslo Fjord glide by in the morning sun. Then we go to the cafeteria to share a light breakfast and coffee. Johann is not staying in Oslo but Shiya is. I give him Leif's home phone number in case he is free to have a drink with us over the next two days.

At the dock, we say our goodbyes and I roll onto the service road on my loaded bicycle. The service road flows right onto an expressway that separates the dockyards from Oslo's "sentrum". I am not on it for long. I find a traffic circle and make it to the Sentral Station, where I change money, buy stamps and call Leif. Leif has been waiting for my call in his law office behind the Radhus. He hurries over to pick me up. He looks great in his lawyer's suit and tie, and he is very happy to see me.

He takes me, my bike and bags to his penthouse condo on the fifth floor of an older city block. There is no lift, but he helps me with my seven bags. Fortunately there is a place to lock the bike in his garage. We sit and chat for a bit, but it isn't long before he whips out a list of Oslo attractions for me to see, including the Folkesmuseet, the Viking burial ship museet and Thor Heyerdahl's Contiki and Ra II exhibits, all of which I want to visit.

First though, he takes me to Oslo nude beach on the southern tip of town. The beach is quite small, mostly a lawn with a pebbly shore. It is populated by middle-aged locals who definitely look straight. I don't see any bushes or cruising trails that one usually finds near gay nude beaches. We can't stay long because dark clouds roll across the sky on what started as a perfect, sunny day.

The rain showers start. Leif and I share a drink at his place while we wait for them to pass. It is still sprinkling lightly when we head out on the museum trek. Our first stop is the Viking museum, where the centre piece is a fairly intact hull of an ocean-going craft that was resurrected from the sea floor a few years ago. We happen to run into Shiya there. He is with a couple acquaintances from the YMCA, where he will formally check in at 6 pm. He says he will try to call me later. He has bought as train ticket to Bergen on the west coast leaving early the day after tomorrow.

Next, we are off to the Contiki and Ra II exhibits. The story of the Contiki expedition was required reading material in the 60s when I was in school. Thor Heyerdahl's adventure captured imaginations around the world. I wonder if it is still being taught. I try to imagine him crossing the Pacific and Atlantic on these flimsy rafts, which seem too small to life on for a week, never mind crossing an ocean.

The Folkesmuseet is mostly an outdoor exhibit featuring traditional Norse houses from different parts of the country. They are log cabins in stilts with sod roofs. Goats are grazing on a couple of them. The main feature is an elaborately constructed church that proves that remarkable churches don't need to be made with anything other than wood. I shoot off a roll of film here.

Back at Leif's home, we rest and then make love. It has been three months since we met in a bath house in Barcelona and I have been dying to tear off his suit since the moment I met him again this morning. After a quick shower together, we dress and he drives me to a site north of the city where the ski jump course and a telecommunications tower overlooks the city in the distance. It is not as high or as close to the city as mountains above North Vancouver, but the view is still spectacular. I can see the fiords, the harbour, the North Sea and surrounding hills and forests that are full of cross-country skiing trails in the winter.

We return to Oslo where he treats me to a fine dinner of traditional Norwegian food - smoked and salted lamb with cabbage and Trondheim beer with Aquavit (Schnapps) - at a local restaurant. Wow, this is the way to see a new country! Back at his place, we cuddle and talk until midnight before going to bed. Life is sweet!


PHOTO 1: Viking ship
PHOTO 2: Thor Heyerdahl's "Contiki"
PHOTO 3: Folkesmuseet, traditional houses
PHOTO 4: Folkesmuseet, heritage church
PHOTO 5: Heritage church details