Goodby Bergen, hello Flam - Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway
We left lovely little Haugesund on Monday morning after the race. Jeff's bike back in the HenHouse and all the rest of everyone's gear meticulously paced into a XXL duffle. I doubt customs will care to open it. The dogs won't even want to sniff it down when it finally gets home. Feasted one final time at the breakfast buffet. Fresh baked bread every morning with really flavorful blueberry jam. Just the best! LT, LF and I walked to King Herald's monument, saw the Iron Age burial grounds and the lighthouse. Was about a 4 mile walk and although we were tired, it was good to get out and move. One last snack and off to the bus station which was about a mile walk from hotel. Met up with Jim n his sister and we were all off to Bergen. Bus went on to a ferry after 2 hr ride to cross the fjord. Everyone gets out of cars, buses etc and heads up to a seating area. Complete with cafe. Snack on lefsa and pancakes with bacon in the pancake. Quite tasty. We r like newborns-need to feed every 2 hrs or we get cranky. Refueled, we r back on the bus, docked and motoring. We arrive in Bergen, which is much larger than Haugesund. Has the bustle and feel of a big city. Hotel is historic old train hotel right by, of all things, train/bus station. Denise n Roger arrived the day before and have been out on reconnaissance. They get back just as we r checking in. Their mission has included purchase of cold beer. Yes! Mind you, beer here is is quite expensive. Easily $10 a pint in restaurants and bars. $4-5 per can in grocery store. Food is also expensive by our standards but is very good, fresh and seems like a lot less processed. There is Norwegian brown cheese which is, of course, brown. I wouldn't have probably tried it were it not for our Scandanavian friend Kristina who said try it. She was right. It's very good. Like cheddar at home but not dyed yellow. Straight from the cow. A brown one I suspect. Speaking of fresh. Bergen is a huge seaport with a fresh fish market off the docks. And they cook it for you and you eat it right there. Best salmon ever! Dinner taken care of. Sample reindeer, moose and whale sausage. Pick up some reindeer. Good stuff. Walk around old Bergen and call it a night. Get best nights sleep since arrival. It never gets dark here. Sun goes down after 11 but it's still light. Comes up again about 4am. Body has no clue what it's supposed to do. Besides eat. After an awesome breakfast buffet at hotel, we r off to explore. First is the Maritime museum which is a big part of Bergen history. Then on to take the gondola to the top of Mt Folyd, high above Bergen with great views. It's cloudy but the clouds aren't too low. It is very typical weather for a seaside town, reminds us of Maine. 60, intermittent fog n rain. But we got lucky. Explore the old fort at the end of the peninsula, check out a 12th century church and it's a full day. LFs Garmin says we walked almost 9mi. Explains why we don't see anyone overweight here. Everyone walks, takes train and there are not fast food restaurants on every corner. Population seems much healthier on first pass. They do have nationalized health care. Chill for the evening as train for Flam is an early one.