A Day in Bergen – Thursday 3 March 2016

Yes, I know, another fishy breakfast photo, but with a huge plus today. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the Bergen Radisson Blu, but they came through big time. They had liver pate in addition to fish for breakfast. See, just when I think things can’t get any better, they do. Linda debated whether to sit at the same table as me, but in the end the desire to gaze upon her handsome husband won out over the slight aroma of liver. Lucky Bob.

“Lookin’ out our front door”, so maybe it is looking out from our 9th story balcony, but we like the view. Just don’t stay outside very long because it is cold up here.

Remember that train that couldn’t and the resulting 5 hour plus bus ride yesterday? Well this morning we went over to the Bergen train station to see what kind of refund we could get for the trip that wasn’t. It was unreal, they refunded our money for the entire trip. We said we only wanted a refund for the part that didn’t happen and the agent said he couldn’t refund just part of the trip, it was all the money we paid or no refund at all. That was said with a smile on his face. Linda really smiled when we got all our money back.
Then it quickly turned to a frown when she realized it was all going to be in cash. The rest of our trip, other than a meal when we come back to Bergen in thirteen days is all paid for. What to spend all those Krone on? Linda took the task to hand and went on a spending splurge the likes of which was…. Well it just was.

An example of where the money was going. When I question how many she bought, she said when we eat all these candy bars we will just buy more along the way. Some how or other she totally misinterpreted  my question, which was, how are we ever going to eat all those candy bars. I will have to start calling her Ms. Sweet Tooth rather than Ms. Health Food. Bad Bob.
A quick calculation resulted in the knowledge that if she would have spent the entire refund on KVIKK bars, she could have bought 432 of them. I guess I should be thankful that she only bought 14 of them, otherwise she would be known as Large Linda. Thankful Bob.

Linda took a couple of panorama photos of the Bergen waterfront, and being the wonderful husband, I will post them.

Hey, I don’t take them, and I don’t say anything about them. I just post them as they come out of her camera. We’ve been here twice and I have to confess that I’ve never seen the above view in all that time. Leave it to Linda to capture what the eye overlooks. In Big Trouble Bob.

All teasing aside, the water front is a beautiful place, it’s just hard to get any good photos that show it in its entirety without something in the way.

What is it with us and vehicles that run on rails. We wanted to go to the top of Mount Fløyen in the funicular Fløibanen. So what happens just as we are ready to board? They close it off, back it up the tracks a short distance and start working on it.  We decided we’d rather have it working right than careening down the 26 degree slope out of control.

Selfie of the day. Front row seats, it doesn’t get any better than this. Of course we were going up the hill backwards, but you take what you can get. At least they got it repaired and running, plus the brakes held when we stopped at the top of the mountain. Safe Bob and Linda.

Bob the videographer. Got to use my new mini video camera, a Sony HDR S20V on the ride up. For such a small thing it sure takes great videos. Hopefully whenwe  go on the snowmobiling and dog sledding excursions I will be able to get some good action videos. If I learn how to use it that is. Electronically Challenged Bob.

We’ve rode up here in the summer and now in the winter. When we return to Bergen we will have to go up after dark. What can I say, we like funiculars, gondolas, cable cars and chair lifts because what’s up on top is almost always worth it.


The view of the harbor area from the top of the mountain.



Our hotel.


Almost every surface up here was solid ice. The key to walking was to try and find the patches of snow.

Linda knew how to solve the walking on ice problem. Hang onto me for dear life until we reached this table, then sit at watch. Smart woman. Smart Bob for marrying her.

Back down the mountain. Along the waterfront there are all these wonderful alleyways that you can follow, and when you turn the corner you never know what you will see. In some places they carve totem poles from trees, in others they make them into canoes. In Norway they carve trees into fish.

Linda always points out how the buildings are so old they lean in all directions. As you might guess, most of the tourists are walking out along the street, going into the shops catering to them. I guess you could say we like to get off the beaten path and see what Bergen was once really like.

We did lunch in a little bar near the waterfront. Both the ambiance and the food were awesome. Our guide, Sara N. Dippity did us good once again. And Linda finally had her first gin and tonic since arriving in Norway. Bombay Sapphire with extra lime, and she personally thanked the barman for making one of the best G&T’s she’s had in Europe. Very Happy Linda.

Linda the KVIKK bar lover.

Linda has her thing and I have mine. An entire shelf of pickled herring in this grocery store. Norway is my kind of country.

We saw this walking down the streets in Oslo, and Bergen is no different. However something tells me won’t be seeing this aboard the ship.
Checking in at the Hurtigruten terminal. There are going to be less than 250 passengers on board which will make for a very nice voyage. In the summer the ships are full, with over 400 passengers which was our experience the last time. The best part of this trip, per Linda, will be the snow.

The left lower bunk folds up to look like the upper one. We leave it down as we spend very little time in our room. The couch folds out to make a bed, which is where Linda sleeps. She prefers that I hit my head on the edge of the top bunk, something about my brain being very dense or something like that.

Linda wears the patch throughout our time at sea. Still I like to have these little bags partially pulled out just in case. She’s never needed one yet, but you never know, so better safe than sorry. Considerate Bob.

Fish feast for Bob. Three plates full of assorted fish, and different each time. The pickles are to cleanse my palate, but they are good enough to stand on their own. Wonder if I can get a job working for Hurtigruten? Bob the Dreamer.

Fabulous food, an awesome woman and a bottle wine. Life simply can’t get better than this.

One last view of Bergen from the window in our room. Next time we see this same view will be when we return, the afternoon of the 14th. Until then, may the Nordlys be a boat that floats. Want to know where we are at any moment, just google “Nordlys position” and there will be a number of sites that show our present position. Till tomorrow.