So this isn't directly CCW related, but last week I found myself in a bad situation, and I'd like to hear your thoughts about what I did right, wrong, and what to do differently (I also don't know where else to post this).My girlfriend and I love to travel, and just got back from Norway. Norway is a fairly safe place, but you're going to have crime in any big city. We were in Bergen Norway, which is Norway's second largest city. Especially on vacation, I'm good about keeping my head on a swivel, and being aware of those around me.We left a concert near downtown at about 9:30pm, it was a folk music gig with an older crowd but there was a rave or something in the same building so a lot of young people coming in and a lot of people milling around outside.Because Bergen is a pretty cool place, I stopped to take a picture or two of various things as we walked back downtown.As we were walking down the sidewalk I car cornered very quickly turning onto the street coming towards us and then accelerated rapidly. This initially got my attention and I watched it. It literally came directly at is, crossing into the oncoming lane and braking sharply as it passed us. As it passed us the driver and I locked eyes. He was staring directly at me as he passed. The car stopped in the oncoming lane, and I quickly looked back and repeated the plate number to my girlfriend. I'm not sure if at this point she knew something was wrong. I glanced 90 degrees to the left and saw that two men had gotten out of the car and were just staring at us as we walked away.At this point I knew something was up, but we kept walking our original direction. I'd thought about cutting into the port area where we would be harder to follow, but in hindsight thank god I didn't (it was unlit and couldn't be seen easily). I had started making contingency plans in my head as I sensed we might be in trouble, and as we walked I think I directly told her I thought something was off/up.We turned onto a main street, and as we walked the same car pulled up behind us, the two guys got out, and began following us. I told my GF that the car was back, and that two guys were now following us.I'll give her credit, I'd thought of her as sheltered a bit, and she doesn't like my CCW one bit, but she led us across the street and into a 24 grocery. If you reverse the view you will see a parking cut out on the side of the street as the port, this is where the car pulled into the second time.We went into the aisles, and she took up a position where she could see the door without really being seen herself. This was great on her part, but I didn't quite realize what I was doing (she looked terrified and I assumed she'd lost her head a bit so this mistake is fully mine) and we didn't communicate it between ourselves. I didn't stay fully concealed. I knew they were inside with us, and decided to just leave with her. Rather than letting them get into the store and us staying out of their way, because we didn't communicate our their location we walked right past them, out the door, immediately and very quickly cut down an adjacent alley, made a couple other turns, and went back to our neighborhood where our hotel was (along with many other venues to lose ourselves in if need be). When we walked past those two guys I just looked ahead and didn't make my eye contact, my GF looked at one and she said he was just staring holes into her.We talked about it, and both agreed that they were likely sizing us up to rob us. I was taking pictures, and my GF had a backpack, which made us as tourists. I'm betting someone outside the concert venue spotted a mark in us, and called some people who were waiting to rob people, which is why the car driver knew who to look for. It's also possible I am just being paranoid, but there's a saying that says, 'just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.'What we did well: -I pegged trouble as soon as the car rounded the corner and came right towards us, and correctly read the signs that the situation was amiss (I work in emergency services, not unfamiliar with robbery victims).-We communicated fairly well. A couple lapses, but the important information got relayed.-My girlfriend led us into a well-lighted store, not just as a refuge but also because she knew it was under video surveillance.Improvement:-While I got a car make and plate number, my physical description of the two guys wouldn't be considered great (two white guys, one in a camo shirt the other in a black jacket).The Postscript:When we got back to our Hotel and spent 10 minutes decompressing, we both decided that if we were marks for a robbery then we probably weren't the first tourists that may have been targeted, and someone should be told. We looked up the location of the Bergen Central Police Station and made the 7 minute walk. It was closed. This was a Saturday night. It was only open during business hours, and closed all day Sunday. There was a non-emergency number which we called, and were sent to voicemail. Ultimately, I sent an e-mail to the Bergen Police describing everything that happened, with vehicle plates etc. I never heard back. There is a police emergency number, 112, but frankly this wasn't an acute emergency. It just blew my mind a little that contacting a police officer on a Saturday night was that difficult.Norway was our 15th country we've visited together, and the first time we have ever felt acutely unsafe. It was a good experience for us, and one hell of a learning experience. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/2Ng4JPF
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