IFLA 2005, Oslo: Reading up

It's almost 4am now and I'm still reading up on Norway and Oslo for my trip for IFLA 2005. Picked up two travel guides from the library a few days ago:

1) Norway (series title = Lonely Planet guidebooks)

NLB Call No.: 914.81 N -[TRA] (Travel Guides section)
ISBN: 174059200X
Click here to check for item availability.

2) Norway: The rough guide

NLB Call No.: 914.81 N -[TRA] (Travel Guides section)
ISBN: 1843530546
Click here to check for item availability.

Reading the guide books thus far, I have three major impressions of Norway:

• It has beautiful wilderness areas (which I doubt I'll have the chance to visit, as the conference is in the city area)
• It's a cold country (highest average temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius. Brrr... I can't stand cold)
• It's terribly expensive and things are heavily taxed (which means being a miser, I'd be doubly miserable. At least it's a good excuse not to buy presents for the missus)

Anyway, I'm so glad there's the public library. It's so easy to go pick up a few books to learn about the country (I mean, the Internet is convenient, but the books tell a whole lot more). I'm not the adventurous type, so filling the information gap helps reduce much of the anxiety I face in travelling to a new country.

Maybe I should go search if there are any Norwegian librarians who are blogging (in English preferably). That might be helpful, I think.

Tag: IFLA