The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.--Richard Bode



Monday, May 25, 2015

Good morning from sunny/rainy Oslo.

Odysseus and I had a very beautiful ride from Copenhagen to Oslo, coming across south Sweden on a Motorway (Autobahn? Interstate?) where the traffic flowed along at a comfortable 70 miles per hour.

It was a gorgeous Sunday, and people were out driving. For hours I kept passing scores of nicely kept-up American cars built around 1958--1965. Why anyone would want one of those things is beyond me because they were not very good machines even when new, but as I recall the European and Japanese cars from that era were junk too.


Speaking of junk -- take a look at this thing. It was being driven around by some young Hooligans who were dressed up in their version of 1960 rockers. Notice the huge speakers in the back window. What in the World? What kind of game do you suppose they were playing at?



 Here it is again. Lovely machine, hey?


This one was only slightly better.



I was really awed from my first glimpse of Oslo from high on a hill overlooking the city. It is called the "City on a Fjord".


Somehow I wound up down by the waterfront. It was teeming with people out having a good time. I parked Odysseus right in front of the beautiful building which houses a display of the Nobel Peace Prize winners.  


One of the most recent winners was Malala, the girl from Pakistan who was shot in the face by the Taliban for trying to go to school after the Radical Muslims had banned girls from doing that.


Here is another picture I took from off the wall in the building. Do you recognize the people in the picture?


I got to thinking of how each of the winners of the Peace Prize down through the years were hated by so many who did not want human progress. I mean, how could the radical Muslims hate a child like Malala enough to climb on her school bus and shoot her in the face? Will human stupidity never end?

On  a happier note, I can tell you that I enjoyed exploring the waterfront very much. There was so much going on.  For one thing, they were having sailboat races. There were boats from many countries. They were very good at what they did.



Oslo is the "City on a Fjord", but I guess it could also be called a city of flowers and small neighborhoods. I really like it.




I took Odysses out into the countryside around Oslo for a ride and kept running into bike races. They were having a swell time. I think you better stop for a quick break guys. Maybe somebody has a flat tire.


Better slow down on those curves. You might hit a sign. Ha.


This guy was guarding a fortress up over the waterfront. He must be doing a good job because all the stones of the fortress still seem to be there.


I am close to the "Land of the Midnight Sun" These kids were out playing at 10;00 at night. Don't they have parents making them come in and go to bed? I guess they had better take advantage of the sunlight while they can, because in winter it must get dark about 3 in the afternoon. Ugh.


Well, enough about Oslo for now. Tomorrow is another day of exploring. Gotta be bright eyed and bushy tailed for that. 

Ron