This is Goodbye

April 4th 2023

Leila is visiting for a couple days and so I'm re-tracing my steps, returning to all the sights I had checked off my list in my first weeks in Oslo. Some of them look quite different without all the snow, and some I've never actually noticed before.
And then we're already in my final days. Funny how fast that happened. My roommate Daniel is at a wedding in Argentina for the month, so I've moved to the bigger room of the apartment and take care of the cats for a couple days.
I have absolutely zero chemistry with the guy who moves into my old room, though, which makes it a bit easier to leave.
For my very last weekend here, Oslo is dipping its toes into spring: The banks of snow are melting, the skaters returns to the steps of the city hall, and people pack their pick-nicks and head out onto the summer islands — what better way to say goodbye to a city you've only ever known in winter?
The sun is warm on my face to the point where I barely need my jacket and I take a wonderfully quiet ferry out to Hovedøya. They have ancient ruins of a monastery here and a smattering of other buildings, but mostly I just love how the people come out here to relax, eat, talk, maybe kayak a little, have their kids play on the beach. It all feels very lighthearted and warm and like spring after a long winter.

On my last evening, Eduard, who has just returned from Denmark, and a couple other colleagues invite me for a farewell dinner. They argue a bit about which research project should pay for our pizzas, and eventually we move on to an 'authentic pub for Norwegian drunkards'. The pub is almost completely empty and a bit depressing for my tastes, but hey, we're here for the experience, no? Eduard channels the knowledge of his friend whose ancestors were Aztec shamans to read my future from the foam in the nonalcoholic beer i got by saying yes to whatever the waitress said in Norwegian. It's that kinda place. Anyway, my life will be short, somehow related to dinosaurs, and both creative and logical. My taste in art is old-fashioned.

closing thoughts

Well, it's been a wild ride. Less than 90 days ago I got here, knowing absolutely nothing about semantic technologies and now I'm here writing an academic paper on the topic. I'm still not sure if I should be allowed to do that, but I'll take what I can get. In the process, I went much further north than I had ever been, saw the northern lights, talked to so many smart and wonderful people and sold my soul to the oil and gas industry.

Oh, and I kinda fell in love with Oslo.

It is the only place I have ever lived outside of Frankfurt, and right now it's also the place where I lived the majority of my time living alone. It also has the only airport I visited an uneven number of times larger than one, but at this point the criteria become a bit arbitrary.

It just feels so different getting to live in a city long enough to form habits, become fluent in the transport system, find your cozy spots and watch the seasons change.

What I am trying to say is: Oslo has earned a very special place in my heart, and I think it will keep that spot for a long time. I've loved the snow and the cold and seeing the days grow longer. I really enjoyed working at the university and all our lunchtime discussions, and I also got to meet a couple of people, just in time to miss them now I'm leaving.

what a lovely journey it's been~