These skis don't slide back

After 3 hours of cross-country skiing in the norwegian near-wilderness, on a virgin experience, it spells rather-be-dead tired and severance of all cross-country skiing ties. On the contrary, i got more and more invigorated until i finally rested at charlotte's place at night when that familiar rather-be-dead tiredness took me by storm and made me an instant incapax to my bed. But boy that was one experience to remember- trying to duck walk up the slopes whilst doing the 'danish walk', turning ur skis inwards so just to cut the snow to get more friction upslope. and the downslope which made me feel like a complete baby taking his/her first steps. but to take in the sights of norway snowscape at the same time with a good norwegian friend by your side encouraging you along the way subsumes the fatigue and the negative feelings one can easily produce since trying to even slide on cross-country skis on a first-time basis is thoroughly frustrating. when we reached the top of tryvann, ingrid and i sat down, eating a kvikk lunsj (pronounced as though it's 'quick lunch', which is a typical norwegian cross-country snack having an uncandid resemblance to kit-kat only tasting heavens better) and an orange, chatting about life whilst being encapsulated by the white around, onlooking the oslo cityscape. the cliche goes words only does injustice, but it is truly the case here. as tired as it got, i would want to feel that sort of rush again anytime.

and so that puts a grand full stop to my oslo trip, me having done all the things i set out to- ice-skating, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. and this is topped by seeing friends that i probably won't see for some time to come. and to see them all at once is indeed a rather heartening pleasure. i had a hasty rush through oslo the last time but this time, with a more thorough immersion in the norwegian way of life, made more acute through the locals that were such great hosts, i must say norway is beautiful in more ways than just it's mesmerizing scenery, be it at sea level or 500metres up. i guess friends make all the difference and in a way, they show you their city/country through their eyes and that can make or break your experience or outlook to that certain city/country. so all credits go to ingrid, charlotte, karine, anders and andre who, through their generous spirits and all-embracing hospitality, have made Norway one of the loveliest countries i've ever been, to say the very least.