Keep reading if you want some more story time.
I arrived Monday evening after surmounting the typical last second problems one faces when relying on Deutsche Bahn these days, and found my way to the Oslo AirBnB. The host, Martin, was there to show me around a bit. The design and intrinsic comfort of the apartment struck me immediately, man, I could live here! Martin was also quite the character. I kept pointing out details, and he had a story for each one of them. He was a carpenter, making his own table and cabinets. He was a musician, with several instruments laying around and a seemingly endless stack of vinyl. He was a location scout for films, seen in photos placed on the wall here or there, and this uncanny eye for that intangible artistic vision. We hit it off immediately, and what seemed to be planned as a quick handover led to almost two hours of conversation. Eventually, he departed, but not after extending an invite to join him and his family on a boat he is restoring in a southern part of Norway, Tønsberg.
The friendly greetings didn’t stop with Martin. I also came to know one of his neighbors, Frederik, who in all honestly spoke English more eloquently than I do. In any case, he was also above and beyond kind and helpful, and we ended up exchanging information that day. [Later we go on to share a Limoncello with him in the backyard, and get to know more of his story. His wife is actually from Stockholm, and they have some of their best friends near Gothenburg, both stops upcoming in the next weeks. That means we were able to get some more valuable local tips!]