Our experience in Bergen

Accommodation Air BnB.
Second-floor (1st floor European), no lift and the stairs narrow and winding. Most comfortable space so far. Lots of room. Great place for relaxing, furniture very comfortable. Kitchen good with a couple of minor issues. W/D separates and oven worked fine, cooktop typical European, all icons, minimalist controls but worked fine. Bathroom large and good storage, W/D worked fine.

Food.
We ate mostly at home. Our last night we ate at Bryggeloftet & Stuene; local dishes well-prepared and the food was tasty. Good service as well.

Attractions.
We took the funicular up to the top of the one of the mountains ringing the city. It was rainy but still had superb views. Otherwise we focused on the water: harbor cruise and then a second cruise up the fjords (the first was from Flåm).

Public transport.
This is one of the rare instances when we did not use any public transport except to get to the airport. The city is quite small and eminently walkable and we remained in the greater downtown area.

Off to the Netherlands by tram, plane and train

27 May 2022.

Today we said goodbye to Scandinavia and Norway in particular. As expected, we were both up before the 06:00 alarm. Showered, dressed, we finished packing up, took out the garbage and left the apartment as we found it. The early morning heavy rain had lightened up by the time we shlepped our bags out the front door. Off we went to the tram stop close to Byparken. 

It was an easy and quick walk, a large part of it under the protection of building arcades. Trams left every 5 minutes or so for the airport and we were in luck. When we got to the stop, one was already there and we no sooner boarded than the doors closed and we were off.

Some 48 minutes and 25 stops later we left the tram and made our way up the escalators and into the very modern and slick airport terminal. The checkin counters for KLM were not self-evident at first and most folks were using check-in kiosks. Anyway it turns out nearly all the desks serve most of the airlines. Easy. 
A few minutes later we were checked in for our 10:45 flight to Amsterdam and made our way to the gate to sit and wait. 

a nearly empty tram

it was unclear to us why there was a question mark after the Bergen name at the airport

Norwegian modesty, again

Walking to the gate we passed through the "no-return" portal, making our departure all that more poignant.

leaving Norway

our flight, a KLM "Cityhopper" jet

saying goodbye

Our flight landed on time at Schipol airport. We found our way to the train into Amsterdam Central Station where we transferred to another train, this one taking us to Gouda.

waiting for the Amsterdam Centraale express

waiting for the Gouda train

The only glitch on the trip today was the absence of transportation at the Gouda train station. My map showed the hotel was not terribly far but we were a bit tired and thought a taxi would do just fine this time. We followed the signs for the taxi stand but hey, no taxis! 

Frustrated I tried Uber. After over 20 minutes of "connecting to a driver" we gave up and decided to walk. Susie had gone next door to a government building to ask about local transportation. (No busses stopped at the station either.) She was told that it was only a 20-minute walk and so off we went.

Although my phone battery was dropping fast it nevertheless got us to the hotel, maneuvering us through the city's central square, which was packed with tourists and travelers enjoying the large open-air market. After checking in and dropping our bags we found a seat in the hotel's courtyard, ordered two glasses of wine and a selection of Gouda cheeses.

After our mid-afternoon repast we strolled through our neighborhood, past tiny canals wending their way through the main old city, which was itself surrounded by a larger canal. 

tourist nightmare

On the hunt for someplace to eat supper that evening we found ourselves back in the main town market, ringed by restaurants, none of which felt right. We then poked down a couple of narrow alleyways and asked at a couple of eateries but they were booked for the evening (and the next as well.) 

Near our hotel we had passed Chaplin's Bistro which looked intriguing - small, low key and simply set up with fresh flowers on the tables and a calming vibe. We returned there and, fortunately, they were able to accommodate us. After that any potential customers without reservations were turned away. The ambience was lovely, service attentive but respectful, the wine exceptionally good but the food!! 

Susan had a mustard soup for a starter followed by a dish of grilled tofu with various vegetables and a timbale of spiced rice in a curry sauce. I had lamb tenderloins in a Madeira sauce over a potato mousseline.

But it was the culinary show that really impressed: working all alone, the chef prepared each dish within easy view of where we were sitting. His choreography was truly exceptional and a sight to behold!

After a superb dinner it was back home and to bed. 

Tomorrow it's off to explore Gouda!

Bergen to Mostraumen - Cruising the Western Fjords

 26 May 2022.

The day began overcast but no rain - yet. 

As part of our breakfast routine of fruit and yoghurt for Susie and toast and banana for me, we split a croissant and a pain au chocolat from Baker Brun. We had picked them up late yesterday afternoon and they looked really good. Heated up this morning we were impressed with the texture: light and airy with a good crumb. 

Yet the taste seemed off somehow. Susie thought it might be some sort of ambient flavor from the oven and sure enough as they cooled the "offness" seemed to have dissipated. Still, they weren't very buttery at all and rather bland overall.

We dallied at home until about 9:30 when we walked the 5 minutes or so down to the Rodne dock where we boarded our boat, the "Ryggertroll", for today's cruise up the Bergen fjord to the Osterfjorden and on to Mostraumen and turning around at Modalen.

It was a fine day to be inside for a cruise of the fjords: blustery and chill winds with the occasional bursts of rain tracked along with us most of the way and back. Still, we were given the chance to see more of Western Norway's incredibly beautiful water and landscapes.

We were among the first aboard but within minutes the boat filled up -- we shared our three-seaters with four women from Spain. The one in the red (below) spent most of the time on her phone fiddling with photos it seems at the same she talked almost incessantly. 

The number of waterfalls in these fjords never ceases to amaze us and some of them, as we would see today, are powerfully dramatic and very picturesque.

the village of Modalen

back at the dock

Leaving the boat we walked all of about 50 feet to Olivia's right on the wharf. It was lunchtime! Susie had a frittata and I had two starters: fried polenta and an artichoke salad with chopped olives. Yumyum!!

After we left the restaurant we walked across the street and bought our single-trip tickets for tomorrow's tram ride to the airport. It was back to the apartment to relax before one final stroll around Bryggen and the small alleyways of our neighborhood. We stumbled across an old church graveyard -- so far I've visited a cemetery in every place we've stayed except for Flåm.

graveyard in St. Mary's church near the waterfront

St. Mary's

Tomorrow will be another early morning for us. A short walk to the nearby tram stop which will take us straight to the Bergen airport and then it's off to the Netherlands!

Cruising Bergen Harbor and just walking around

 25 May 2022.

We had sun today! After a couple days of overcast and rain the sun actually broke out with the intention of remaining out. We had been warned by many that Bergen is known for its rainfall.

Our breakfast was leisurely (no surprise there). We relaxed at home, caught up on our blogs, talked about getting to the Bergen airport on Friday (a discussion that repeats itself but is nonetheless fun to have). A little after 10:00 we grabbed our coats and headed out the door. Our harbor cruise was scheduled to leave at 11:00 and it was only a 5-10-minute walk to the dock, but we thought since the sun was out we should be too.

Before we boarded the boat I took a few snaps of Bryggen and our neighborhood from the other side of the harbor.

looking out of the harbor toward the Bergen fjord

Following photo: the ship on the right is one of the Hurtigruten Coastal Voyages vessels that makes the round trip from Bergen north to Kirkenes on the Russian border; two red ships and one yellow one are North Sea oil rig supply vessels.

We also strolled up the quay on the south side of the harbor before launch.

a view back down to the waterfront

the "Eric Bloodaxe," our boat of the day.

Along the quay near Bryggen is the 55-meter long "Shinkai", a super-yacht with its own 3-man submarine reportedly belonging to Russian owners but that remains unclear. Back in March the local police went aboard to check credentials but little was gleaned about ownership. In early May a local ship gently collided with the yacht causing damage on the starboard (right) side, which is shown in the second photo.

the "Shinkai"

note the damage on the upper hull caused by a recent collision

The video clip shows the various ships, including the "Shinkai," lined up along the northern side of the harbor. You can see the Hurtigruten Coastal Voyages vessel, followed by three ships dedicated to providing supplies to the oil rigs in the North Sea.

On our swing around Bergen's harbor we had a good look at a World War 2 German U-Boot bunker, which belongs to the Royal Norwegian Navy. Were were informed that today, behind the three garage doors of the old bunker are three Norwegian submarines, which were moved here recently due to the increased tensions with Russia.

the three garage doors in the center is the World War II German U-boot bunker "Bruno"

looking back up to the funicular, top distance

looking up the Bergen fjord

aircraft engines or cars? I suspect the former

At one of the city's public swimming areas one can take a cold dip in the ocean then back out into a heated pool. One of the crew members on our boat claimed she used to do this several times a week. . . 

the public pool/swimming area

better times await

A second video clip showing part of the northern side of the Bergen harbor.

a survey vessel whose purpose remains a mystery

one of the high-speed express fjord ferries 

getting ready to dock

Strolling another side of the city we haven't seen before, near where our boat docked.

Heading home we stopped at this very fine "gourmet" grocery to pick up a few items -for lunch - OK, mainly chocolate, salsa and chips.

The city's music festival kicked off today. Set up in the pedestrianized Torgallmenningen, or "all people's square", there will be a variety of concerts at various venues through June 8. Note the line of vintage fire engines blocking off the area.

Back home we had a nice lunch and relaxed for the better part of the afternoon. 

The rain came and went again. After it went we left the apartment for a late afternoon stroll and to do a dry run to the stop where we'll get the tram to the airport early Friday morning. That done we walked past the Seafarer's Memorial in the Torgallmenningen. The memorial represents four distinct eras in the history of Norwegian seafaring. Along the way we stopped at the shop of Sebastien Bruno where we picked up an eclair for dessert later this evening, and afterwards passed another street sculpture. (We've seen several of these around the city, most often in doorways.)

We walked over to Bryggen on the way home.  My hope was that the pastry shop Baker Brun still had skolebolle but they were all out. Nevertheless, we settled for very nice looking croissant and pain au chocolat to supplement tomorrow's breakfast.

Tucked in for the night, supper was broccoli and roasted potatoes followed by the eclair we had bought earlier. While the supper was tasty the eclair was rather less so. The choux was OK but overall the pastry was bland with little pistachio flavor. It should also be noted that the cost was over $8.00!

Tomorrow it is back on the water but this time for a longer cruise up to Mostraumen. Stay tuned!