rose's random rambly writings

I never thought I'd write a post about feet but here's a strange thing I notice every year when the temperature rises to sandal-wearing level.
People (mostly women), mostly over a certain age, squeezing their feet into footwear that's clearly too small.
Here's an example - a woman standing in front of me at the cash register in the supermarket:What is this? I can't think of anything that could explain why anybody would want to walk around like this. It can't be comfortable, and it surely doesn't look good.
Unless... it's a case of reversed footorexia (thinking that your feet are smaller then they actually are). If so, is it curable?

Oslo is boiling these days, and I would be lying if I said I didn't love it...

General holidays are right around the corner, and the city is starting to empty more and more.
With degrees around 30 Celsius (that would be around F86), and a sun that doesn't set until it's almost time for it to rise again, there's really no other option than to be outdoors as much as possible.
After all - this is what I have been whining about wanting to have since this last horrible winter.

Also - who knows when the summer will end this time. Will we have summer for two weeks this year? A whole month? Is this it, or can we finally look forward to a long summer here too?
In order to really be sure of getting that sweet summer taste, I will not be around as much as usual these days. I am aware of the number of feeds already building up, but hey - bad weather will be coming sooner than I hope and then I'll be running around this place bugging you all so much you'll wish I had summer again!

*gets picnik basket and SPF ready*

I'll catch up with you soon!

...or what I have been up to lately.

Pentecost - the Christian holiday hardly anybody knows why we "celebrate", but we do get an extra day off, so it sounds like a good time to go away for a few days, doesn't it?
I thought so, and so I did. To the Norwegian mid-western coast, to be slightly more specific.
Let me share some of that with you...Top left: It felt a little weird sitting in the garden with temperatures around 25 degrees (that's Celcius), looking over at a mountain still somewhat covered in snow.
Top right: However, those temperatures didn't tempt me to try out the temperature in the fjord...
Bottom left: A little later in the day/evening. Look at all the blue colours!
Bottom right: Although it doesn't show well in this picture, it's still not dark outside yet it's close to 1 o'clock in the morning.

Before I left, I bought myself a pair of new, lighter, hiking shoes/boots. I had plans to hike up one of the mountains nearby.Top left: It's a difficult angle, I know, but that's the top I hiked to.
Top right: There's an old hut from the old days when people stayed up there while herding their cattle. I love the roof there. It's so lush...
Bottom left:...there even grows trees!
Bottom right: The hiking is pretty tough. It took me a good hour to get here, all uphill of course, yet it's only 2-300 metres above sea level. But, when you catch a glimpse of the fjord and surroundings, it's all forgotten.

I didn't get to see any wildlife this time, so I had to make do with whatever was nearby...Top left:This oystercatcher couple had built their nest on the chimney.
Top right: Horses grazing = less grass to mow!
Bottom left: I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it was creepy!
Bottom right: Ok, so this might not be wildlife per se, but it grew wildly in the mountain... I just thought it was cute...

At this point, I feel I should clarify that I'm far from being sporty and/or a nature freak. Quite the contrary - I feel most at home in the city. But once in a while, I like putting on the boots and head out there.

Well then. Now that I've let you in on what I have been up to lately, it's time go check out what you have been doing!

Yesterday, while taking a walk in the neigbourhood, I saw something I've only seen in American movies before... I remember hearing that shoes hung up like this means there is some drug activity nearby, but could that really be true in this case?
I've seen 3-4 places with shoes in a couple of different streets, so I'm thinking it's either:
a) art
b) bullying
c) somebody getting rid of their shoes (but that doesn't add up... I mean who would want to do that ?)
And what's the difference between one and two pairs hanging there?
I'd love to hear your ideas.

So... I had to do a post about my latest trip to Berlin before Zaphira came back from Hamburg.
About time then .

Even though this was my fifth time in Berlin, I did some things I have never done there before...Left: I had a currywurst. It didn't taste curry at all.
Right: I had a beer bigger than my head in a biergarten.

Another thing I had never done before was visiting Potsdam - the Preussian kings' residence:Left: Sans Souci
Right: Neue Palais
We were there for hours, just walking around in the enormous park. No need to say, I'll have to visit indoors too the next time I go...

Berlin is a hotspot when it comes to culture. This time around, I had some very different musical experiences:Left: One night, I went to a Balkan Beat concert in the famous Kaffee Burger - a place that looks like somebody's living room. And it's about the same size too.
Right: The night after I got free tickets to the Berliner Philharmonie. As it happened, it was a Norwegian contemporary orchestra, Asamisimasa (no, I don't know them personally), who performed that day. I left during the break (), but it was nice to see the interior of such a famous place.

I don't have much to say about this, except I seem to love taking picutres of Alex, the TV-tower that got its pet name from where it's located - Alexanderplatz.Even though it's just a ball on a pole, I think it's a fascinating photo object that almost never turns out the same way on my photos.

And here are some weird "sightseeing" shots Top left: Oberbaumbrücke. One of the landmarks in ex-East Berlin. Looks like something from a fairytale, doesn't it?
Top right: Interior from the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz. Potsdamer Platz was once a busy square, but when the Berlin Wall was built, it was deserted and practically became no man's land. Nowadays, they are re-building the status the square once had with, among other, the Sony Center. There is a brick road along the path that once was the wall.
Bottom left: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche - sometimes referred to as the rotten tooth due to the severed top. It was bombed during WWII but this tower and some of its interor still stands. They have built a new church in connection to it, and the old building is a memorial hall.
Bottom right: On May 1st - Labour Day - I happened upon a celebration on Brandenburger Tor, and what else could I do than have a drink to celebrate my hard labour?

I'll leave you with a panoramic photo of one of my favourite places in Berlin - Gendarmenmarkt:I like just sitting here, looking at people and the beautiful surroundings. The place has two cathedrals (the French and the German) facing each other with the Concert Hall in the middle.

Of course, these are only some of the things I did during my seven days but I hope you enjoyed the tour anyway.