day 12 - Day of the Slug

stavanger
Originally uploaded by wolftone.

Mistakes were made.

I had considered taking the easy way with the express ferry from haugesund to stavanger, but decided to tough it out on the bike. Bad idea. Most of the road passes through an unremarkable medium-density sprawl of aluminum-sided houses, light manufacturing, and strip malls. Also, it is coldwindyraining and the road is infested with a plague of slugs. I really don't want to inspect too closely the grey-yellow goo coating my wheels. (If I'm lucky, finely ground slug corpses will seal up some of the damage to the rubber.) To top it all off, I am now stuck in the tiny town of Skudeneshavn for a few hours until the ferry comes to take me away. When I asked the tourist info guy what I should do with my time, he told me to check out the moon rock in the city park. Things just get worse and worse.

I think that travel fatigue is starting to set in. Chafing, aching all over, and being cold and hungry all the time is starting to lose its appeal.

At least the voices have stopped for a while.

----- later --------

OK, things are better now. Stavanger is a pleasant town with cobblestone streets, random public sculpture, and colorfully painted houses serving as art galleries. Also, it doesn't rain here much.

I treated myself to thai food and specifically asked the waitress for "thai hot" instead of "norwegian hot" (which has all the kick of campbell's tomato soup). She shuffled into the kitchen with a wicked gleam in her eye, and eventually returned with a plate of chicken basil that had to be 1/3 red chili pepper by weight. My nose is still running, and I am a happy man.

Since I'm actually in a city this evening, I can actually relax in a plaza and people-watch. The results are occasionally frightening. Trend to watch out for: the girl-mullet. Yes, the work-in-front-party-in-back hairstyle choice of trailer trash from high school has returned and it has attatched itself to the scalp of the more fashion-forward scandanavian women like some kind of retro parasite. Black out a few of their teeth and they could scab for the NHL. It never worked on the men who wore it and it certainly doesn't work on the women. Most cutting-edge euro fasions will wash up on the shores of new york in 2-3 years, so keep an eye out. You have been warned.

I have seriously overpaid for my hotel, but it was the cheapest remaining in town. At least the fare includes waffles and coffe every evening. It's exactly what I need to feel human again.