God tur!

After you've been in Oslo for awhile you start to notice something: Everyone's pretty ... in mostly the same way. The buildings are cute ... in mostly the same way. Most of the streets are clean ... but if you find one that isn't, you should look the other way. In fact, if you see anything at all unusual or out of the ordinary, it's probably best to ignore it, at first, until you can confirm that it isn't anything threatening.

After awhile you start to miss different colors ... of buildings, of food, of people. You wonder how hard it must be to be marginal in this society -- not to look like a model, for instance, or to harbor a strong desire to have a purple house or a green house instead of one that's red or yellow.

So, on one of our walks around the city, Lisa and I went in pursuit of some color--literally and figuratively. We tried to find The Blitz, a concert venue, cafe, and generally meeting place for the punk scene in Oslo for decades now. Alternatively, Lisa suggested that if we couldn't find it, we just follow the next interesting person we see.

We ended up missing the place that particular day, but on Friday my newly formed Gang of Three (with the arrival of Lisa's boyfriend last Thursday) set out in search of a different atmosphere and some "cheap ass cheap" food (in the words of Wes).

We definitely found what we were looking for. It was a huge relief to drink coffee and eat sandwiches in what can only be described as a dive, run by a kitchen full of kids with lots of ink on their arms and metal on their faces. It seemed like most everybody in the place knew each other, so, what with our insistence on speaking English and all, we stood out a little. But, honestly, not too much. I mean, we had our share of extra holes in our heads between the three of us, and Wes has a tattoo, so I was pretty sure we wouldn't get beat up, anyway.

I didn't take a picture of the place myself, but here's one I stole. Yes, that is a big fist punching a swastika. And there's a graffiti version of the Scream on the other side.

I used this particularly winning quote (from Gilmore Girls, no less; I am SO not punk rock) because Lisa and Wes are themselves products of a Christian upbringing in the era of such contradictions in terms as "Christian punk and hardcore" and "Pastor Cool." So, we have lots of fun stories to share about various embarrassing youth group activities and what bizarre things happen when you get a bunch of artsy, attention-hogging kids together and tell them they can worship God "any way they feel like it." Scary...

S'anyway. Our second excursion in search of "alternative Oslo" was a Sunday afternoon walk along the Aker River (really dirty in the daylight, by the way) to the outdoor market they have every week at Hausmania, an artist commune of sorts in Grunnerløkka. (Lots of cool graffiti around. And one very cool outdoor chandelier, see above.) There were lots of dreadlocks around, as well as vintage clothing, art pieces, and knitwear for sale. We were pretty pleased to find the felted coin purses with Che Guevara patches sewn on to them. Like every good Norwegian event, they also sold waffles, and people brought their baby carriages and significant others and moms and wandered around with a waffle in one hand and saft in the other. It wasn't anything big, but it was a nice diversion. As an added bonus, the whole shebang takes place on "No one's Street." I've got a pic to prove it.