out and about

 

Well it was a very early start and I was off to get the coach to Flam.

Bergen at 6.45am is a wonderfully peaceful place.  

We all got onto coaches and started the 2.5 hour journey to Flam.

The scenery made up for the length of journey and the sun was shining which was an added bonus.

Arriving at Flam we had a 25 min break for drinks and toilets. then on to the train.

The journey to Myrdal started and the ascent began, interesting to note that our journey would take an hour with a 5 minute stop, before the railway it was over 4.5 hours in a horse and carriage!

breathtaking. especially as we reached the point where the train takes a curved trail around the mountain, s huge feat of engineering.

we stopped off to see Kjosfossen, a stunning waterfall, except in April when most of the snow has not yet started to melt to feed it.

Having seen pictures of it in full flow it is amazing, however today it was not to be.

We arrived in Myrdal which was covered in snow and looked beautiful

And after a 10 minute stop, we headed back down to Flam and lunch.

How stunning Flam looked as we arrived back.

I headed to the Flam Museum which covered the  preparations and building of the railway, so much of the  excavations for tunnels were done by hand! 

I was interested to find out more about this  but didn't have time!

Then we were boarding the electric boat for a fabulous Fjord tour.

I decided that it was the right time for ( and they sold) Champagne.

It was amazing, and so peaceful, 

The beauty of Norway condensed into 2 hours.

Seeing so much natural beauty is breathtaking and although I have been through Norwegian  fjords before it was just wonderful.

A lot of tired travelers headed back to coaches and 2.5 hours back to Bergen, it turned into a 13 hour day which was unforgettable, but for me physically draining.

It was worth every minute though.

And today...............

well its a case of head out and see what happens         

Day 2 in the big Bergen house

 

The day dawn as it had ended and carried on through the night, raining!!!

I had an early breakfast (6.30am) and then decided to go back to my room and watch a film for a couple of hours just to let the city come to life.

I finally headed out and toward The Bryggen, however I was distracted by a department store which had lots of 'pretties'. I'm not sure why I am tormenting myself with this as .

1. I cannot carry any of them home safely.

2. I possibly would have to sell a kidney or remortgage my house to get some of the things I had my eye on.

3.I'm not allowed to buy anything else until I clear some more things in the house already.

I do love to look though, and there were some beautiful things today.

These candlesticks and the cocktail set being favourites, closely followed lots of  le Creuset!!

The rain was showing no sign of letting up so I just carried on walking, The Bryggen is made up of wooden buildings on wooden foundations, these are all now souvenir shops, bars or cafes. Perfect for the tourists.

Walking on I came to Bergenhus Fortress which is located at the start of Bergan harbour it is the oldest and best preserved fortifications in Norway,

The grounds were beautiful and I imagine in sunshine would be an absolute jewel.

Heading back to The Bryggen, I wandered up through the alleys 

And I was just in time to see the fabulous  3 masted Stratsraad Lehmkuhl which was built in 1914, leave on a 1 year sailing expedition

 There was also a whaling vessel in the harbour, I had never truly imagined the size of a vessel like this, it was huge.

by this time I was feeling very hungry and so looked for somewhere for lunch.

All I will say is that I am on Santas naughty list.

The restaurant was very grand  and a tad spendy, but when in Norway......

I then wandered back to the hotel to have a nap, I'm very tired at the moment and so trying to get as much rest as possible.

About 6pm, I headed back out to get some dinner,  and a quick peep in the shops, didn't really fancy these,

back to hotel stopping off in reception for a cup of mint tea, and a browse through their library, and there in a book about Bergen was the ship that I first took to Norway back in 2004.

please note its not the green, blue or black one , but the white one at the back, Fjordline which is no longer in existence.

Early night as a busy day today.

Off I go again!

 It was a later drive to the airport for me yesterday morning, I left home at 4.30am and I was parked up by 5.15am. Just in time to walk over to the airport with the first shreds of daylight breaking through.

I was in Duty Free by 5.35am and then went to have my obligatory glass of champagne ( might have been two!) and watch the sunrise over the Jet 2 planes.

The flight was pretty nippy and in 1hour and 15 mins we were suddenly touching down in Bergen, Passport control...... well anyone who has travelled to the EU recently will know how awful the queues are, however Norway is not EU and we just sailed through, there were 10 booths open!

A 20 min drive from the airport to the hotel, where my room was all ready for me and I was in, quick coffee and then out to explore. This is not my first time in Bergen, so I had made a list of all the things I wanted to do this time and repeat from when I had been before.

The weather was as bad as Spain in March, ( and yes you will all be basking in sunshine again) but it never deters me. I headed off to get my bearings, and also a good soaking.

My hotel is across the water from The Bryggen, which has Unesco World Heritage Site,status but it is actually just a 5 minute walk which takes in all the boats that are moored next to offices ( and yes people go to work on their boat!).More of this tomorrow.

Not much call for a fisherman workwear shop in Darlington , but must make a fortune here!!!

I had booked to go to the Magic Ice Bar tomorrow, but as I was passing I decided to head in. After being dressed in a huge insulated cape ( if you've ever been to the Ice Bar in London you know what its like) and given insulated gloves I headed in. WOW!, the ice sculptures were just amazing, and looked even better after 2 glasses of Norwegian liquor wine! Sitting on ice seats at ice tables sipping form ice glasses whilst freezing your wotnots off. It was brilliant.

I cancelled tomorrow and wandered on.

The cloud was not lifting from any of the  seven  mountains that surround  the city.

The Lego shop was huge, and had so many displays, but I was drawn to a shop  with a beautiful display outside

And it was full of 'pretties', sadly most of which would not be able to be carried home, but beautiful to look at.

I carried on to destination, which was the outdoor seawater swimming pool, right on the edge of the sea ( you can go in the sauna and then have a dip in the sea but I wasn't up for that). The pool itself looks straight out into the fjord, just stunning and a perfect way to wash away the travelling tiredness.

Had a 15 min swim with half of Bergen and I loved it. They change to their summer timetable on Saturday so I am hoping that they will be open in Sunday and I will go again. 

I headed back to my hotel and a shower and bite to eat. Then time to have an early night as its another exploring day in the city today.

I had a couple of glasses of champagne ( my little 'plant' was a gift from my little friend Georgie, when I lost my sister, so it goes most places with me at the moment).

And day 1 in Bergen came to an end ( it was still light at 9pm! and it was still raining)