Bergen, Norway - March 27, 2017

Last night we debated about taking public transportation from the train station to our apartment but considering our luggage and the late hour of the day, we decided to take a taxi. No Uber or Lyft in Bergen. Although the distance from the station to our apartment is just 2-3 miles, it was a good choice to taxi because once we left the station it was uphill, left then right, and then uphill some more winding through narrow streets. Then this morning we learned where the nearest transport would have dropped us; we said, thank you Lord. It's one thing to walk up hill, but dragging luggage in twilight when you really aren't sure where you are going is an altogether different story.

We have a cute apartment and can see the water from here. We settled in and then walked to a near burger/kebob shop and had a bite. We were tired; it was late and we did not feel like venturing out.

We woke to foggy skies that made us think of San Francisco; the layout of the city, however, reminds us of Wellington, New Zealand with houses on one side of the street above street level and houses on the left below street-level. The city center of Bergen is situated on the only flat land in the area facing the sea. The foothills rising to the mountains begin immediately around the city so that most houses are built on hills overlooking the city and the sea. The streets make little sense, turning all about and finally going upwards going further into the mountains or blending downward into the city grid.

Bergen, once the capital of Norway, is a very pretty place. Much of the old city stands from 1600's and many medieval relics still exist to prove its history from the 1200's. Its quaint and ancient loveliness is very appealing but the weather is just a little too damp and chilly for my tastes.

We took a public bus to city center and did some exploring. We found the Torgallmenningen Plaza which is surrounded by nice stores and shops but features a powerful monument depicting the history of Bergen . . . Viking times through later periods in its development.

We had hoped to take the Floibanen, the funicular railway from the city center to the top of the Floyen Mountain but the clouds and fog were so dense today that our plan had to be scratched.

We walked around the harbor on cobblestone, read placards to learn some facts and perused Byrggen, the famous old section of Bergen that dates back to the 1200's. It is the very cool section of town often seen in photos depicting narrow buildings with the pointy roofs lining the harbor -- very nice but very ancient and hinting they might lean so far one day as to in fact fall down, domino-style or at the very least go up in a puff of smoke from a fire. The city has burned at least four times already!

We toured the Bergen Museum where we saw remnants of first tenement houses from the 1200's before the first fire. The museum houses a replica of a Viking ship that contains a few real wooden beams from ships of the time. It also gave us an idea of how the wooden ships were constructed.

Next we explored the Festningstoypen, the Fortress of Bergen. In place since the 1200's the only time this fort defended Bergen was when King of Norway and the King of England conspired to capture a big fleet of Dutch cargo ships and share the booty of spices and diamonds from Indonesia, bought by England for 30 million dollars' worth of gold. The fort did not receive the kings' message in time and fired on the English ships to defend its grounds resulting in big losses for both Kings.

We had a late lunch at the Bruggeloftet Stune (think Bergen Loft and Living Room) on the harbor. We shared the most wonderful lunch - salad and steamed Halibut with carrots, parsnips and roasted potatoes. The fish was topped with salmon caviar. Yes, I now, it sounds fishy, but it was divine. We meant to take a picture of the dish but when it arrived, it looked so good, we simply dived in. As we lingered for our check, we met an Aussie couple who were of our same spirit. They are on a six-week outing and were as happy as can be and loving every minute of their travels. We talked about being in Sidney. I read them an excerpt of my blog of when we were there. We laughed; we shared a moment and then said good-bye.

Stan and I keep reminding each other . . . we are here. We are here, right now, maybe never to return again. And we give great thanks for the moment.