Skiing and books

Yesterday Brittina took me, Mark and Alva skiing. She fitted us up with gear belonging to her daughters or husband and took us a bit out of town where the snow was soft and some tracks prepared through paddocks and woods. It was a perfect day - not a cloud in the sky.
None of us Aussies had skied much, Mark not at all before tomorrow, and Brittina was very patient in giving us tips and even pushing us up the slopes at times. I really enjoyed it - I'm not the biggest fan of speeding down slopes so I think cross-country is for me!
After a few hours of skiing we headed to a cafe/restaurant for a hot chocolate and some food at a flash place on the top of a hill overlooking Oslo city. The sunset over the fjord was just spectacular!

Today I have run some errands and had a long walk, even seeing some sunshine where it peeped in between buildings. With the low angle of the sun, you need some space and no tall buildings in order to catch some rays.
I also bought a couple of books to keep me company - The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and Possession by AS Byatt. Normally the subtitle "A Romance" would put me off, but a few people have recommended Possession and it did win a Booker prize.
I read some great books while traveling before arriving in Oslo: Crime and Punishment, The Grapes of Wrath, Foundation, Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, and The Years of Rice and Salt.

Tomorrow I might go ice-skating in the morning before I catch my flight to Berlin in the evening. I imagine myself as Marlene Dietrich, "Underneath the lantern, by the barricade, Darling, I remember the way you used to wait ..."