Oslo Odyssey 2

Drobak is a small island outside Oslo. It is an hour by boat or by road. It is ethereal with the flowers and the little houses. There is a church by the fjord and an art gallery with a sea view.  When we stepped into the art gallery in a hundred year old house, I forgot to admire the paintings as I was so fascinated by the play of sunlight on the water through the quaint windows. The artist himself was present. All the paintings were based on the colours of the sea. The nature was much more resplendent. There is a village square which had the locals of different nationalities set up food stalls. There is a second hand shop as soon as you get off the boat and walk towards the village.It is a gold mine. Crockery in Norway is so beautiful. I wanted to buy the unique green crockery there. I just managed to buy a vase and get it back intact. The fjords here are lovely, the cruise liners pass through it. We swam in the sea at 16 degrees temperature. There is no beach. You walk into the water which has sea weeds underneath and swim. The children are just jumping into the water with so much ease just like one sees in our villages and Mithi river. You can swim in the entire shoreline. Tourists are all over, loving the place. The ice-cream parlours do very good business. Ice -cream tastes uniquely different in Drobak. The food at village square was freshly made and from different countries. Almost all the cuisines there had vegetarian options. I could not believe that people from so many nationalities have come and settled in the small island of Drobak and that too before globalisation. 

People do a boat cruise to see the fjords. I would recommend a day trip to Drobak. Go by boat on a weekend morning and return by bus. The farms on the way back are beautiful. We saw some golf courses too. The farm houses are built in red brick to identify them. Of course, all of this green spectacle is there only in the summer months. Rest nine months it is all covered with rain and snow. 

The Ikea store has a free shuttle service from the centre of the city. It is a bus with free Wifi.  I think my Ikea story deserves a whole new post. About Oslo, I am still living it in my mind. It is a global city yet has a strong character. People speak Norwegian and English with ease. In France, it was funny. The restaurant waiters could not understand our English. But as soon as an American or a British family came to the next table, they had no issues understanding the language. That time, the French waiters could follow instructions and recommend dishes. When I say character, I do not mean that there are too many old buildings like Stockholm. It is not stuffy or larger than life sculptures. It is just young and lively. The transport system is efficient and reasonable. The old factories are restored to residential buildings or offices. They have not destroyed the character in the name of modernisation. I kept wondering how people reached Norway and were living in this cold climates, hundreds of years back. 

Met a couple on the boat to Drobak. They had their 19 month baby with them. Got playing with the baby and subsequently talking the Mother. She married at thirty. She said that is the average age the women are marrying. In the villages, it is about 26 years when women get married. They all work at offices so the child has to be in Day care. She and her husband have opted for flexi timings at work, so  that the child is for lesser hours in the Day Care centre. She was very well versed in world matters and had no weird comments for Asia. The mothers are the same everywhere pining for their children while working to make life work. The Food stores and Super markets had lot of health food. E.g. Ginger lemon shot with basil, versions of which has been our Grandmothers' recipe to deal with so many ailments. There was dry fruit laddu which was called Dry Fruit ball or Nutritious ball. There was some jaggery sweet which is exotic. Yoga classes every where.