The entire week was pretty much spent gazing out the windows on the boat, trying to make out the coastline through the fog and sleet!! VERY disappointing.....
The ship did stop a couple of times along the way, briefly, and on one occasion Arthur and I hot-footed it up and down a few streets, in the freezing cold, for an hour - mainly just to get off the boat really!!!
A very festive mob from Sydney had managed to secure themselves very swish suites, so we had "drinkies" there most evenings, prior to dinner. We had all brought casks of Australian red on board, (purchased in Finland prior to embarkation), and we had our bottles of Rum, so all was well, and by the time we got to the dining room we were happy to drink water. Although one night, I did have a glass of "house white wine", and it was very drinkable, and only about $15 anyway!!
We knew wine was horribly expensive in Norway, but they told us yesterday that it is taxed at 80%!!! Lots of lovely taxes here - motor cars are taxed at 100%, and one of the things which perplexed us was that EVERYONE pays something like 0.5% tax to the state for the upkeep of Churches, and one of the major old churches in Bergen is being renovated at great expense, a project which will take about 4 years. And, only about 3% of the population actually goes to Church!!! What-the?????
By the time we left our last port of call Thursday morning, the sky had cleared and we had a lovely voyage into Bergen.... Even got up on the top deck in the sunshine for the last hour or so. What a difference the sunshine makes! Bergen's a lovely town, very large area-wise, as it clings along the banks of the Fjord, and spreads out for miles in a narrow strip, below the hills.
We had a nice tour around the city for a couple of hours when we arrived, and it was good to get a view from the bus.
Hotel's okay, and very handy to everything. We walked about 15 minutes around to the very old part of town for dinner, arranged by our "waste-of-time" tour guide.... Dinner was pleasant enough, but typical of a 'meal-for-a-price' which these tour groups seem to think they need to provide. However, it was a chance to say good-bye to those who were leaving very early this morning.
Friday 1st March
Awoke to a beautiful sunny day, so after breakfast, headed off before it rained. Bergen has about 245 days of rain every year, so the odds are stacked against having a totally dry day!
We tagged along in a group of six to have a look at a couple of Museums in the old part of town, and then Arthur and I decided to go up in the Funicular (sp?) to view Bergen from on high. Great view, and with the sun still shining, everything looked amazing. One cup of very bad coffee later, we exited the cafe to find the sun gone and heavy low cloud coming in across the fjord, very quickly!!! Surprise!
Down town again, we wandered around a few shops, but it's really annoying - you get all rugged up; hat, scarf and coat, perfect for negotiating the approximately 2 degree days, but then when you enter a shop of any sort, you have to strip because they're so heated, that you can barely breathe...
So cute to see all the little kids - 3 and 4 year olds, rugged up in their little ski suits and boots. Have not heard one child being a pain yet - must be something in the lovely clear air up here!!
One interesting thing is that EVERYONE in Norway (it seems) speaks fluent, perfect, English, but there are very few signs of any sort, in English, no menus, no descriptions of food in refrigerated cabinets, or on shop windows. There are some of course, but very few.
We're having an early dinner tonight, one of our couples is leaving the hotel at 4am tomorrow, so no late nights for anybody. There are about 10 of our whole group left in Bergen, but by Saturday night, there will only be four of us I think. We leave here on Sunday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment