vice

Yesterday I found the prostitutes and today I found the drug dealers. I have noticed that this town is pretty easy. There seems to be little crime, little homelessness, little urban blight. There is no part of Oslo that I wouldn’t walk alone at night. In fact I have walked most of this city and never once felt threatened in any way by anything. However, there is a particular street populated with grubby drunk people. Skippergata, just south of the train station. So I pegged this for the skid-like row. And I secretly wondered how a drunk, how a full on 9 in the morning lush drinking all day long eschewing anything that resembled responsibility could afford such a life style. It made me wonder if, in an economy such as this, would these people, by necessity, have to be the welltodo? I can’t say for sure, but I’ve given up the drink, at least for the time being and it is directly related to price. But that’s neither here nor there, because on several street corners a few blocks away from Skippergata, are trollops done up for solicitation. I have seen them approaching cars for the lean in negotiation and I have seen them in uncomfortable cloths hanging out on the sidewalk and I have seen politi patrolling certain parks in the neighborhood with a frequency that is astounding considering you never see a politi ever anywhere. Conclusion, Oslo’s red light district. Drugs, on the other hand, are for sale along the lower reaches of the Akerselva river. I have walked this many times. Seen the groups of men sitting on the park benches and thought nothing of them. This day I was offered hash three times. It’s a simple procedure. As you walk by one of the men will “ssssspppsss” at you. When you look over they smile and say “Hash?” Either you want it or you don’t. Their business men. And so, the vices of the city are uncovered. I bought neither the prostitution nor the drugs.

I did buy a train ticket to Stavanger. I leave tomorrow night at 10pm. Three days. So there is that.