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

Copenhagen, Denmark

I left Jessica's house Wednesday morning and rode up through northern Germany. This is part of the Great European Plains, but unlike our Great Plains, there are a lot of trees and water here.  There are beautiful yellow fields all through this part of Germany.  Do you recognize the plants?

They are Rape Seed plants.  For obvious reasons, we call it Canola at home. They sure are pretty.

They have discovered wind energy here, and the turbines are everywhere. Thousands of them. Some people say they kill birds. If so, I can't tell it from all the birds that live here.  I think it would have to be a stupid bird to let itself get whacked by a windmill blade.

I planned to take a ferry from Germany to Denmark, but when I got near the coast it got to be cold and rainy. I found a nice room in a hotel for only $52.00.  It was warm and dry. Heavenly.  I hope I can find rooms like that when Jessica joins me in Norway next week. I doubt it though. I am told rooms there start at $200 per night and go up from there.

The ferry to Denmark was huge. It was like a Mall of stores inside.  Here I am with other motorcycle riders waiting for the light to turn green and signal us inside for our boat ride.

I got to Copenhagen about 5 pm. I was just in time for rush hour. The place is easy to ride in though, and the drivers are very courteous. I checked at the tourist bureau for a room. They sent me to a huge hostel down the street, but the only room available there was a dorm room with 7 other people in it. I'm too old for an upper bunk and a room full of snoring people, so I asked my GPS to find me a campsite. After a couple of false starts, I wound up at this very nice place.

Unfortunately, I ate something during the night that did not at all agree with me. It is the first time I have been sick at my stomach for years.  I tried to tough it out, and I took the train into the city center and then a tour bus ride to show me the sights.  I have to tell you though -- Copenhagen, although a nice enough large city, has very little to recommend it. You know that you are in trouble when your two biggest attractions are an amusement park and a statue.  

Here is the amusement park. It is right in the middle of the city. It is very old and very famous. It is called Tivoli.

I walked around the outside of the place (it is a couple of city blocks square) but didn't pay the $13.00 to go in. Even if I had not been sick, rides were not something I wanted to do.

The tour bus stopped at the famous "Little Mermaid" statue for six minutes so that we could take pictures.  Look. She is as big as my ear.

I'm just kidding. She is actually full size.

I was feeling very sick by the time the tour ended, and I had to be tough to take the train back to the campground. There is a nice warm recreation room here, and it has a couch. I slept on that couch all night. About 10:30 at night a woman came in and tried to talk me into giving up my sick bed so that she could have it. She was sure that I would be more comfortable in my tent. There was no way that I was going to give it to her.

I have not had anything to eat for a day and a half, and I am not at all hungry. I could drink a river dry though. I am so thirsty.

I am felling better this morning. It is about 9:30 now on a Friday. Time to pack up and head to Sweden. I have to pick Jessica up at the airport there Monday.  I have not figured out if I am going to take the overnight ferry to Oslo, or if I am going to ride up. It would be a long ride, but there would be a lot more to see.

I will have to decide very soon.

Ron