These have been my first few days travelling alone. I don’t really quite know what I was expecting. There was a significant amount of internal stress at home that I was hoping to escape from by coming here, ie: the whole Who-Am-I-Really? question. And some of it has dissipated for more immediate demands of “Must-Find-Affordable-Food” and “Must-Check-Out-This-Museum” as well as “Must-Resist-Buying-Expensive-and-Rare-Collection-of-Tranströmer’s-Haiku.” Nonetheless, the identity questions still lurk around in the back of my mind.

I’ve been in the process of trying to meet new people. This is much more difficult than getting lost in a book, or the internet, or writing poetry, all activities that I love. In the first bar I went to I had one glass of wine and sat around waiting for people to show up, but no one did. The second was filled with an older gay crowd playing Bingo, and some fabulous queens were calling out the numbers. But I am really just not a fan of Bingo! Not even drag queen Bingo. The third bar has changed its hours for the summer—as most things have here—and was closed during the week.

And this little traveler went “Wee wee wee” all the way back to their hostel.

Norwegians typically don’t drink on weeknights, and if they do in summer, they’re probably out in a park hanging out with their good friends with a portable BBQ. I’m hoping tonight will be better, or at least more interesting. It’s a strange thing, craving friendship in a foreign place. The bonds are so ephemeral—unlike the Norwegian summer dusk—I wonder at the point of it all. I like listening and hearing people tell their stories. I guess I like being alone around people.

Tomorrow I embark for a guided seven-day hike around Hardangervidda, a huge mountain plateau at the center of southern Norway. Getting up to the plateau will be hard, but I’m hoping that the rest of the time should be okay. The DNT considers it “challenging.” But nothing can beat Kjeragbolten in a storm.

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Slottsparken

Park water fountain

is calculated chaos

laughing to itself.