Oslo is a faily small town, so it's quite easily cycleable, but we have a fair amount of public transport as well. Cycling for transport is not unusual, but it's pretty much the domain of the young or the sporty, and mostly in summer. We don't have anything near the volumes of everyday cyclists in everyday clothing that, say, Denmark has. But we have very comfortable biking temperatures all through the summer season.

I asked about the rack, you see, because I rarely ride with one on, but I didn't consider it to be especially for panniers. I do have panniers that can be attached (and have been used exactly twice in the past 15 years!), but the hooks are all on the panniers, the rack is just a metal rack. Like you I grew up with a "rat trap" on the rack for small stuff, and with friends hitching a lift on the back.

I usually ride with a small, narrow backpack, but it is nice to have my back completely free, at least for now when it's still warmish out. I'm not fond of the way the rack makes my bike backheavy, but it does make for some interesting moments when everybody and his grandmother "has" to pass me on my commute because of the rack...