OSLO

Rain, Rain, Rain.
It's been pissing down non-stop since I got here on Wednesday night. When I arrived it was as usual, late (about 12:45am). I knew something was up as the train station was full of hammered Norwegians staggering around, singing and dressed in bizarre red painter smocks. Wednesday was "Constitution Day". Everyone gets drunk, then spends the next 364 days paying off the debt and saving up for next year's celebration. A "glass" of beer is 65kr. That's $10.64 for a GLASS of beer....at a cheap place. Oslo is the only place I've ever been where people routinely pay for one drink with a credit card. Despite this, people still over indulge when they go out. The morning after the night before, there are quite a few people sleeping off their binge.
For the most part, the people are blonde and healthy. There's also a fair number of immigrants, and the crowds thronging the downtown area look cosmopolitan and prosperous. There is however, a darker side to the city. Heroin has hit Norway hard. Addicts can be seen wandering and broken, thin wrists holding out cups, begging for coins. At night, African girls from Cameroon, stand in side streets accosting you as you walk past. The first time it happened , I almost jumped out of my skin it was so unexpected. She burst out laughing at my surprise and I scuttled away through the rain. I wonder how they came to be here so far from home? I'm sure there are some sad stories to be told.

Norway is expensive. To give you an idea, the meter starts at $8 when you get in a cab and then spins like wheels on a slot machine. A package of cigarettes is $15.

Norway is a no smoking country, though the fact that everyone has to go outside to smoke, gives the impression that the whole country is puffing away. Every restaurant and bar has its crowds puffing and laughing on the sidewalk.

This is a cradle to grave society. Norwegians have free healthcare, childcare, subsidised housing, university and enjoy almost full employment. There are legions of "guest workers" doing all the stuff Norwegians don't want to do. I'm told that they come and work for 4 months or so, take the money they've made and head back home, returning again 6 months later to make more money to build another house in Romania or Bulgaria or Poland.

I've been attending a conference here for the past 4 days. I gave a presentation and sat on a debate panel, and it went well though I was shitting myself at the begining. I feel like I've been to hundreds of these things, but this one has been notable for the "highbrow" level of the entertainment. The dinners have been impressive and held in some of Oslo's best restaurants. At the opening night dinner, opera singers performed during the break between courses. It all felt rather "worthy" and cultured. Imposter that I am, I clicked my tongue in approval and adopted a studied air of appreciation. My colleagues weren't fooled for a minute and hid their smirks as I chatted away with the people at my table.

Last night we ate in an old house decorated with original art from some notable Norwegian artist who seemed to have an obsession with "trolls". Nodding solemly eyes glazing over I sat through desert while the enthusiatic host explained the significance of the ram's horn being used as a musical accompaniment to the traditionaly dressed young folk dancers kicking hats off sticks held above their heads. I don't want to say its been dull, but it hasn't been a white knuckle ride either.

I had a couple of hours clear today and tramped around in the rain. Oslo is a city of statues. They're everywhere, so they're a key feature on today's post....riveting huh?

This my 10th or 11th visit here. I usually come in the winter when it's freezing and dark for 19 hours of the day. The last time I was here was last August and the sun was shining, transforming the city to a place with a real liveable feel. The rain over the past 3 days, doesn't do the place justice. As I sit and write this the sun has broken through the clouds and the city is bathed in light. I'm going to yet another dinner tonight, and will no doubt put the company credit card through a workout.

That's it for today. Reading this post over it all looks rather stilted and awkward. I guess I can't get it right everytime, but I hope you get some idea of what Oslo is about. I hope all is well wherever you are.

T