20 years ago today - Day 146

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Saturday, July 27th - the sculpture garden and a ride to Larvik, 7551 km

I am sandwiched between the naked bodies of Frank and Leif when I wake. I need to pee and my mouth tastes like a sewer, so I extricate myself from their arms and stumble into the bathroom. When I come out Frank is dressing. He has to do some important errands this morning. He kisses Leif, who is still in bed, and then me, sliding his tongue over my freshly brushed teeth and his hands through the crack of my naked ass as he does so. Then he grabs his bags and vanishes out the door, leaving me standing there with a hard-on. Leif has rolled over and closed his eyes again. I let his sleep while I pack and write my journal.

I had made arrangements to pick up a list of Servas hosts in Austria and Czechoslovakia from the local coordinator, but Leif sleeps in too long and I have to call back and cancel. By the time breakfast is done, Leif is packed and we are in his car on the way to Larvik, it is early afternoon.

Leif detours to show me the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park on the outskirts of town. It was begun in 1906, the concept of a single sculptor named Gustav Vigeland, who designed the park and added more sculptures to it until his death in 1943. There are hundreds of sculptures, too many to see in the hour or so that we were there. They are all life-sized naked images carved in granite. They feature a rainbow of different human interactions, culminating in a monolith or totem of humanity that rises phallically from a raised platform at the highest point of the park. It is an astonishing creation.

We arrive in Larvik around 4. We have been invited by Sverre, a handsome lawyer friend of former classmate of Leif's and his wife Jorgunn, a vivacious blond who works as a bio-chemist. They are on a nearby beach playing with their beautiful blond son, Carson, who is naked and brown as coffee. He reminds me of this morning's sculptures. Carson rolls all over his dad affectionately, whispering messages in his ear. He's terribly shy of me, but makes the cutest grins before hiding his face each time.

Couples and families begin to arrive and set up a large-scale lamb barbecue and picnic. While they are busy, I take my first dip in this side of the Atlantic since Sagres, Portugal. The water is warmer here because of the shallow bay and the propensity of rock surfaces.
One couple has just returned from a vacation is Italy where they say the water was colder.

I try to participate in the set and conversation, but Jorgunn, Sverre and Jorgunn's sister Hanna are the only ones besides Leif speaking English. Leif tries to translate from time to time but as more people join in it becomes impossible. Hanna tells me about the far north, where she is from. She misses it and tells me about her nursing career and the people up north. Overreact is quite up on Canadian affairs and impresses me with his knowledge.

As he evening wears on I am anxious to get to bed, knowing I have a long day ahead tomorrow, but my bed is in the living room, the last room to be vacated before everyone else goes to bed. The talk is all in Norwegian now, especially after a couple hours of drinking. I am resigned to being an outsider as I sit on the sidelines. Leif glances at me from time to time, but he is engrossed in his native language now too. The party breaks up finally sometime after 1. I am out like a light.


PHOTO 1: gates to the Vigeland Sculpture Park
PHOTO 2: tenderness - OK, I stole this pic from the Net
PHOTO 3: the challenge of youth
PHOTO 4: sculptures on stairs up to Totem of Life
PHOTO 5: man and wife
PHOTO 6: boys playing
PHOTO 7: platform for Totem of Life
PHOTO 8: detail, Totem of Life
PHOTO 9: picnic at Larvik