We tried to follow our footsteps from yesterday morning. I assumed that if we walked North-West then we would get there eventually, even if we walked down a couple of unfamiliar streets. The streets seemed even quieter than yesterday. We passed an antiquarian bookshop – there were first editions in the window display: Dag Solstad, Knut Hamsun, about 1756 volumes of Sigrid Undset. I liked the Dag Solstad cover. We carried on down some more roads and walked through a car park and over a small bridge. It was about here that we went wrong. Within minutes it was as if we were on the set of a war film in Nazi Occupied territory, only no cameras. We had actually walked into a military academy. We should have turned and gone back the way we came but I suggested that if we continue there should be an exit on the other side somewhere. We walked up some steps, some steep steps and came to a flat area with antique canons looking out onto the harbour and over towards Bygdøy. There was no way down except the way we came. We walked back down the steps and down a narrow road. A bird was flying towards us, well above our height, then as it came closer it suddenly swooped, making us both duck, holding hands, cowering with our available arms. On our way out we walked through a car park where there were several cars, red or blue, boxy two seaters. We had seen these being driven about and they clearly stood out from normal cars. In the car park they were all attached to metallic bollard-type objects by a long rubber tube like at a petrol station. We assumed this meant they were electrical and were currently charging. We both took pictures of this.

After our second visit to Wayne’s Coffee we walked towards Karl Johan’s Gate. From here, according to the map, we would be able to find Blitz café quite easily. We saw large groups of school children walking about in all-in-one snowsuits. When we found Blitz it had not opened so we walked around the area for a while. On the corner of one road there was a knitting shop. I said, I think it’s a Christian Knitting Shop. I cannot think of why I came to this conclusion now, it seemed ridiculous the moment I said it. We went back to Blitz and walked in cautiously. At the counter they had cold food like sandwiches, salads, crumbles etc. on display. There was a thick Omelette with lots of vegetables and a potato base. Could I have the Frittata? I asked. The man behind the counter looked confused. I pointed to what I wanted. The Omelette? he said. My girlfriend laughed at me and I said yes. On the wall across from where we sat there was a large painting. In English it said “Don’t cry Mama Africa” and then there was a painting of a black woman in side-profile against the continent of Africa, North Africa shaped like a head-scarf, then the southern region – Tanzania, Mozambique – reached down as if the front of her neck. She was crying tears of blood. This is my strongest memory of Blitz, maybe even the entire trip.

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