Day 23: Oslo
Nau mai
Yesterday we played in Oslo, Norway.
We were treated to a proper bit of van touring yesterday that began with a 7am lobby call. I only just made it to the hotel breakfast before we left but I managed to slam down a quick meal of cucumber, tomato, potato cubes, watermelon, slice of bread, and a boiled egg.
There were 500 kilometres to cover, a journey west that would take us across the full breadth of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was a broody, overcast day, but the driving conditions were fair, and the highways were smooth and beautifully maintained. The rust and auburn of the Baltic forests were pleasing to the eye as were the old barns and farm buildings we passed. At some point we stopped for lunch and managed to lose the main highway for a while. The clouds cleared, the sun came out, and the scenery become even more picturesque as we drove the winding backroads that Googlina had chosen for our route. We were charmed by the small towns we passed through and by the old Volvo tractors we saw on the roadside. I was thoroughly charmed by the small, jagged lakes enclosed by forests of fir trees. Nothing puts me in a good mood like passing a serene body of water.
The border crossing into Norway was wide open, thankfully, and we cruised through without stopping, heading for Oslo and enjoying the liberal distribution of tunnels on this highway route. Norwegian infrastructure planners seem to have little respect for a hillside. I remembered fondly my days of playing Cities: Skylines and the reckless abandon with which I would dispatch a Tunnel Boring Machine.
We made it to the venue only half an hour behind schedule, which was well within tolerances. Emerging from the van we found ourselves in a familiar setting, the nicely manicured quadrangle that is Olaf Ryes Park sparking something deep in the memories of that hazy touring year that was 2019. Adjacent to this park was the venue, Parkteatret, that we had visited six years ago, playing to a tiny crowd in a curtained-off section of the room. Now we saw the full theatre, a generous stage that looked out over a tall, square room with a floor that sloped gently up towards the back, with standing room for 450 souls. Before I get a flood of questions, I’ll tell you that no, there wasn’t a sandwich station at this venue but there was a very nice pot of coffee to greet us, and the venue staff all came out to help us unload. It was one of the nicer stages we have played on recently, with a good natural sound that was pleasant and reassuring.
A few hours later it was showtime and we walked out onto the stage, looking down from our position of elevation at a sea of faces, a turnout that was quite a step up from the twenty or so people we played to last time. We only have two data points to review here so it’s hard to plot an honest growth line for Beths supporters in this city, but we could see we were headed in the right direction. Despite our tiredness it was a great gig. We enjoyed the shimmer of the Dan Electro 12 string that Jon was lucky enough to borrow for the night. We loved getting to know this room of Oslovians and the challenge of trying to play such an impressive show that they invite us back.
When I committed to writing Shower Door Daily I was hoping to provide interesting and insightful commentary on a mundane aspect of touring life. This came on the back of a string of challenging and exciting shower door experiences that I would have been proud to share with anyone in the world.
As I approach Day 2 of this segment I have lowered my expectations somewhat, faced with the reality that not every bathroom will be filled with exciting pieces of engineering and the dangerous thrill of a slippery floor. Shower Door Daily will bring honest shower doors to your inbox for as long as I can be bothered photographing them.
The shower I used at the Quality Globe Hotel in Stockholm had a double-leaf glass door that I have not encountered before. When you consider the unusual landscape layout of this washspace it makes perfect sense though. With both doors open there was ample room for me to enter the shower and with both doors closed the water was well contained.
“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”