Winter City Life

OSL2O11 was the plan, to see the ski world championships in the winter city of Oslo.  The possibility came up because of new club mate Anders Nordberg living there, and because of very sheap flights between Finland and Norway. It was maybe my 12^th time in Norway, but still the very first time in the winter time. Before that I had also visited Oslo couple of times during summers and made some training in Holmenkollen area.

It was pleasure to be in OSL2O11. I was expecting something similar between big football match and AC/DC on tour. And it really was that kind of! Tons of people, a huge mesh, lot of noise, smoky foggy... Indescribable atmosphere and you couldn’t see a thing! Well, did I expect to see the race well – No. The main idea was just be in the queues and get the taste of winter city festival, and of course to train well.

And why so? Well, what can you expect to see from the race in nowadays mass starts as a spectator along the ski track? A easily followed and enjoyable race? Noup! There is just a rapid moment when the athletes are passing you by in a one unrecognizable group. And the result of the race you see in TV when you’re home. This is where we are in nowadays sports. I think, I hope, we are living in 2011 in the period of ascendancy of mass starts, and they will lose their hegemony in future. I wish it to happen as an athlete and as a spectator. Who ever wants mass starts in endurance sports like skiing and orienteering, Northug, Björgen? I don’t think they want, really.

Well they say that Oslo is the capital of winter sport. After OSL2O11, I think there is no doubt about it. After all, I found there is many things similar in winter cities Oslo and Jyväskylä – the winter city of Finland (Sorry Lahti and Rovaniemi). For example, both cities Oslo and Jkl are located in the north ends of the bays, between the nice hills and “mountains”. There is a good possibilities to do sports in both cities, and the people are keen in sports.

But what is different between those cities? Here are some notes of mine. These are minor things, but still there is some bigger things behind those:

• Metro
• Tents
• Surroundings of city
• Icehockey

Metro. This was maybe my biggest surprise. There was some T-letter in OSL2O11 ski track maps. I thought it was some map maker mistake, but it wasn’t. People can get metro to forest of Frognersetren and also to other parts of Oslo surroundings. In Helsinki they are still building metro connection between Helsinki and Espoo centres. What would they say about building connection to Nuuksio forests? In Jyväskylä I have used local busses to go skiing this winter, and I have had always feeling, that people are looking at me as I’m some stranger, when I’m having skies with me in buss. In Oslo metros there was always people going to ski.

Tents. This was also seen in TV:s many times. People are living in tents in Holmenkollen in the middle of snow during OSL2O11, even the people with their children. Nothing to compare to.

Surroundings of the city. There is something done different in Oslo surroundings too. Behind city’s settled area, there is “nothing”. There is just endless old forest close to the city, without loggings and buildings. But there is something too, about 2000 km of ski tracks and more and more summer outdoor tracks too. In Jyväskylä surroundings, the forest industry has done “good work”.

Icehockey. I couldn’t find any signs about ice hockey during the time OSL2O11 in Oslo. Back in Finland, they were telling in TV, what was the situation in standard incomplete ice hockey match between Kuopio and Jyväskylä. They said it straight after that Matti Heikkinen had won World Championship. I have nothing against to ice hockey. Indeed, I like to play it very much, and I’m playing ice hockey almost every week. But there is just too much of it in TV, and sometimes it seems to be almost a sport in Finland just to watch it. Anyway, I think there is more variety in sports in Jyväskylä, even it’s much smaller city.

Timo, from the city centre of Jyväskylä