Stavanger,
Norway
Saturday, February 23, 2008
After a good breakfast, we made our way by bus to the zoo in the Prada park area. Some fellow passengers told us where to get off the bus, which was helpful. We saw a wonderful, Russian Orthodox church, and hoped to get time to come back and visit it after the zoo trip. We were a little confused at first, after alighting at the bus stop, but after trying to ask a few people who didn't speak English, we eventually found someone who pointed us in the right direction. When we arrived at the Prada park, we knew the zoo must be really near, but since we didn't see it, we asked two young boys sitting on a rock if they spoke English. They replied in rather a rude manner, "No, only Polish", so we thanked them and moved on. Suddenly we spotted the entrance to the zoo through the park, but we were hungry by this time, and decided to buy a hot dog first at the kiosk on the road-side. It was about the best hot dog I had ever tasted, full of salad and good bread, and I stood with my back to the rear of the kiosk as protection from the wind, my camera hanging from a strap on my wrist. Paul Eric finished his hot dog, and walked around the other side to dispose of his rubbish. As I gazed into the park, I suddenly felt someone push hard into me from the other direction, and before I knew what was happening, the camera had been pulled off the strap, and two boys could be seen running fast into the park. When Paul Eric saw it, he was ready to run after them, but I told him to leave it, as it would be difficult and dangerous to catch them up. My immediate reaction was simply one of relief that I was still standing, together with my bag, containing money and bank cards! It was just a camera! Yet........as I thought of the 200 photos I had taken, and all the memories of our wonderful holiday contained in them, I was filled with sadness. The camera could be replaced, but the photos were irreplaceable! I was also rather shocked, still not able to believe that someone had actually attacked me to steal my property!
We looked around for the police, but there were none to be seen. Eventually, we decided that nothing was going to stop us from seeing the zoo we had come to see. It was a nice zoo, especially the reptile house, where we could come in from the cold. We also enjoyed seeing the elephants, which was indoors, near the café where we bought coffee and waffles. Not seeing any police around, we made our way back to the hostel and reported the event. They contacted the police for us, who came to the hostel to talk to us. However, they didn't speak English, and the girl at the hostel translated for us. We had to accompany the police to the station to make a statement, and got a ride in a police car for criminals, with a plastic seat, no handles and little room. At the station, there was nobody good enough at English to take our statement, and they took two hours ringing around for a translator. They were unable to find one, and by this time, it was time to get our stuff and leave for the airport. We got a taxi, picked up our stuff and got driven to the airport. I had just about enough money left for this trip (having intended to get the bus). The tiny airport for the cheap flights to Norway was packed and badly organized. However, we made it, and even got to take Paul Eric's little souvenir knife which they had discovered on the xray system. Wow, that was close! After the late night, it was home sweet home!
