Month: August 2024

Gudvangen to Bergen

This morning before leaving Gudvangen we took a short hike above the Fjord.

Hiking near Gudvangen

Then we caught a bus to Voss and from there a train to Bergen.

waiting for the bus in Gudvangen
Arriving in Bergen
Walking to our hotel in Bergen

Since we are going to be in Bergen for two days and it was racing this afternoon we decided to take a break and play cards.

Playing cards in the 12th floor lounge

We had a great dinner tonight at a restaurant near us called Bryggeloftet & Stuene.

My mussels
Duke’s wolf fish

As we walked to the restaurant it was pouring rain. While we were playing cards the Feelings music festival started right next to our hotel. Both coming and going to dinner we were mingling with the crowds.

From our hotel stairs we can see some of the festival.

Bergen to Havila Polaris

Today around 5:30 pm we boarded the Havila Polaris. We will be cruising on it for the next four nights as we head north

This morning, although it was raining we went out for a walk.

Bryggen, the old wharf area of Bergen
The Bergen seafood market
The fish n the middle is a monk fish. We had monk fish for dinner last night
The wharf district from the other side of the harbor.

Later in the afternoon we visited King Håkon’s Hall. It is a beautiful building that was originally a medieval dining hall. It has been rebuilt many times and is now used for concerts, exhibitions and banquets

King Håkon’s Hall

Then we visited the fortress museum. It has exhibits about Bergen during World War II. Going into the Fortress museum we could see them taking down the stage from the Feelings Festival.

Taking down the stage

Then we walked to the cruise dock and checked in for our cruise.

Waiting in line to check in.
We couldn’t get into our cabin until about 6:15
Then we ate dinner

About 8:30 we left Bergen.

My sashimi at dinner.
Our cabin
The jacuzzi

This is a wonderful ship. It’s only about a year old. The view as we left the harbor was wonderful.

Leaving Bergen harbor

Bergen Day 2

Please note that starting tomorrow night for the next four nights we will be cruising north along the coast. It is unlikely that I will be able to post anything to the blog until we get off the ship.

It rained quite a bit here in Bergen today. We looked it up. The average annual rainfall in Bergen is 88.58 inches. Bergen is considered one of the rainiest cities in Europe.

This morning we played cards for a bit. Duke and I learned to play hand and foot. When the rain let up for a while around noon we went for a walk.

Playing cards while it rains
Going for a walk

But then it started to rain hard. When it started to hail we took shelter.

Sheltering from the hail

Then Gayle and I saw the yarn store across the street. We took a run for it. It was a great store and we enjoyed browsing. Roger and Duke did some more exploring. They found a grocery store and learned that in Norway you can only buy wine at government monopoly stores, Vinmonopolet.

Wonderful yarn store
One of the streets the guys saw when they were out exploring.

For dinner we intended to go to Enhjørnngen but we couldn’t get in. They suggested a sister restaurant a little farther down the side alley. We had a great meal.

At dinner
Duke’s Monk Fish
Gayle coming out of the restaurant.

Oslo to Gudvangen

This morning we got on the Oslo to Bergen train at 8:25. The scenery was gorgeous.

Getting on the train in Oslo
The view from the train as we went over the top of Norway

We didn’t go all the way to Bergen. Instead we got off at Myrdal and took the Flam Railway to Flam. From Flam we took at bus to Guvangen where we are tonight.

Getting on the Flam railway
On the Flam Railway
We saw at least 100 beautiful waterfalls
The train was packed. This cruise ship was docked right where we got off the train in Flam
Our room in Gudvangen is in this building

We had an excellent fish dinner overlooking the fjord.

The 4 of us at dinner. Note the heaters!
My halibut

After dinner we walked along the waterfront a bit and over this pedestrian bridge.

That’s Roger, Gayle and Duke on the bridge