Two Nights in Bergen

Flag on the stern of the Express Boat

We arrived in Bergen at about 20:40 (you should be accustomed to the 24 hour notation by now). We searched for the bus going to the hostel where we had accommodations. Beth, Jay, Randeen, and I wandered around until we felt more than 50% certain we were at the correct bus stop. The bus was only 35 minutes late according to the posted schedule. About 1/3 of the bus, was going to our hostel. We ate a sandwich made at breakfast and drank the last of our Duty Free wine. The next morning, we bought a bus pass and met up with the rest of the Torvik’s in Norway: Randeen’s brother, Ross, his wife Karen, their son, Ben, and their daughter, Alia with her husband, Greg.

Me, Greg, Alia, Karen, Ross, Randeen, Beth, Ben, and Jay at the top of the funicular

This is the view without the travelers

Outdoor restaurant seating along the old wharf

St. John's Church (Johanneskirken) Neo-Gothic style built in 1894

Looking through an old window in the direction of the fish market

We took a stroll through the park behind Ross and Karen's hotel. It was a nice park and seemed somewhat serene in the late afternoon. The park is named Nygaardparken; you may wish to make note of it if you are planning to visit Bergen. There were 9 of us discussing what to do for dinner. We were approached by a young man in his twenties. He spoke to us in Norwegian but quickly switched to English. He asked if I could help him with a problem. The social services took away his twins and his wife was distraught. You can see where this is going...I did, too. When I advised that we were not going to give him any money, he became agitated and his tone changed. After a less-than-polite rant, he said he would squeeze my head until my eyes popped out. Although somewhat intrigued by his threat and assessing his relative size, I was more amused than frightened. He departed with an ongoing string of insults. I would like to note that it became clear that we had chosen a park that was a center for drug sales and consumption. As we moved out of the park, we decided on a restaurant. We had a great meal and ended the evening none the worse for wear.

This flotation device is located in Nygaardparken

Our restaurant choice

The restaurant we chose is actually a fish market with a few dining tables. The name is Mermaid in English. The fish choices are basically what is in the sales case. They had fresh whale in the case but would not prepare any for me. Maybe they thought I was from Greenpeace.

Chillin' at the Bergen airport waiting for our plane to Trondheim