Tag: Bergen

Breakfast in Bergen

We finally called it a day at 11:30 last night and it was still light! There is something very appealing about a country that has warm sunshine after 10pm.

This morning, a leisurely breakfast called to us (Kim mainly) before our 5-6 hour drive to Sogndal

Kim was in breakfast heaven – fresh fruit, cheese, fish, more cheese, salad and unlimited tea!

 

Discovery of the day was that pickled herring in mustard trumped pickled herring in tomato. John’s face was a picture, he doesn’t do fish. Diane does so, perhaps Kim should have bought her mum along!
John really pushed the boat out with muesli and a boiled egg, his biggest surprise was when his egg turned out to be soft-boiled rather than hard

John’s new friends…

As you know John has a habit of striking up conversations with complete strangers. Last night he did it again and was invited in to the home of his new friends Geir and Judit Tangerud. Geir used to have two jobs so he could afford his hobbies, of cars and motorcycles, now he has just the one job helping drug addicts get rehabilitated, the cars have gone but he still has his bikes.

First was Geir’s Rowbike, no pedals you just pull on the lever rowing style, downsides and their are many is it looked very unstable and very hard work

 

Next up was Geir’s Pedersen bike, the frame is a work of art and the idea is to provide a very upright riding position. In the winter Geir fits it with studded tyres for riding in the snow,
Finally we have Judit’s, ladies version of the Pedersen, you would never know from looking at it.

 

John was only meant to take a photo of the pots!!

A long way down

The funicular up to Mount Floyen was fantastic and the views from the top spectacular.

 

In a moment of madness we chose the 45 min walk back down to the centre……. It was a long way down. At one point we were rather scared by the warning signs….

 

We zig zagged and then zig zagged some more, our legs were aching and suddenly we were back in the city centre, approaching it from a beautiful residential area. John has made new friends after we stopped to admire the display of plants.

 

Dinner was in the Fish  Market, eating at a trestle table and drinking a very expensive beer. It’s 10:30 pm and the sun is just about thinking of setting, the evening has been the best part of the day.

 

 

Bergen….

….is really rather lovely although, so far we have only seen the inside of a pub and been on a 4 hour ferry trip round Osterfjord. So much for plans to do culture!

 

We spent vast sums on a spur of the moment trip, fleeces were in the car and, as we headed up to the sun deck on the ferry, we wondered if we’d done the right thing. It was blooming chilly and got chillier as the ferry picked up speed and headed out of the harbour.  The sun made guest appearances from behind clouds, and when it did, it was beautiful. The scenery was stunning, the commentary entertaining.

 

Apparently Edvard Grieg was a local lad and key moments of the trip were accompanied by rousing blasts of his music (Peer Gynt suite for anyone interested!), very dramatic as we sailed through narrow shady gorges and passed waterfalls.

 

Not content with showcasing Greig, the captain pulled up close by a waterfall so that could drink pure mountain water and the romantics could pick flowers from the cliff side – full marks for skillful boat control. We were treated to a blast of Jailhouse Rock as we rounded a prison island, shortly followed by the captain encouraging a passing steam ship to acknowledge his boat by blasting its whistle, purely for the fun of seeing the steamship slow to a halt until it could build up steam again!
Now checked into our hotel to defrost before heading out for dinner and the funicular up to Mount Floyen.