(no subject)
For some reason I've not gotten any notification e-mails from LJ lately, so I'm sorry if I've not responded to anything important!
Kristine and I left the books to their own devices today; we walked through town, had coffee and pastries by the harbour, had more coffee, and were dead on our feet at four. Oslo is lovely in spring, the parks are full of the first flowers and people crowd together around disposable grills. I always wonder where all these people hide through winter. In January and February the streets are almost deserted, and when the sun returns the sidewalk cafés are full. Perhaps they hibernate?
One of our collective rituals as a people is 'utepils', it translates directly into 'outside beer'. It involves finding a sidewalk café and drinking beer. It's only done in the sun, and everyone posts pictures of their first 'utepils' of the season on Facebook. The earlier the better, particularly at lunch on a Friday, and everyone else comments their envy. I can't stand beer, but I drink wine and eat seafood instead.
When we were walking towards Karl Johan after lunch, some boy took a picture of us. He stood ahead of us, pointed his phone at us and quite obviously took a picture. He didn't even have the manners to look apologetic when we caught him, he just raised an eyebrow and grinned. We must have made an impressive picture, walking arm-in-arm in the sun. (That was ironic. We looked very ordinary.)
At four, we found Fiskeriet and had moules frites. We perched on bar stools around a tiny table, with two large plates between us. And we had sun! I love irresponsible Saturdays that do not involve books.
