Away from here....

'The view from the ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen', i-pad painting

After my morning at the Munch Museum we climbed aboard the DFDS overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen in the afternoon. It was great to shower, use a proper loo(!), and lie down on a decent bed. The three of us were in a small cabin, but after the week outside in the cabin, which had felt like a camping trip I suppose if I was being philosophical, it felt good to be moving on from Norway and put some distance between some difficult feelings left up there in the forest.



We were very weary but we all felt a weight began to lift as we headed to Denmark, which in no small part was helped by Cliff Richard singing ‘we’re all going on a summer holiday’ as the ferry pulled away from Oslo. It wasn’t something I expected to hear in Scandinavia, but somehow it seemed to sum up what had been a strange and unexpected week.

If you ever have the opportunity to do this journey I would recommend it. Below deck the ferry was like a big floating nightclub full of boozy Norwegians heading to Copenhagen for a weekend’s cheaper shopping. I was on the top deck on my own with my thoughts while Diane and Isaac slept below, enjoying the views across the open sea and seeing Oslo disappear from view. I stayed there until late, watching the sun go down and the waves around the ship get blacker and blacker. On one side you could see Norway and on the other the lights of Sweden flickering in the distance.