Bergen!
We arrived in Bergen Saturday evening, when it was already dark. It was also raining and cold. (apparently Bergen only has 60 days of sunshine a year!) we had also just made the dismal realization that we did not bring our passports (or in fact any ID at all for me and Kitty) along on the trip. Pretty problematic, as we were flying back to Stockholm Monday evening. We were in disbelief- what an amateur move! How could we have been so irresponsible????? Of course, we had taken the train over the border to Norway, where no passports were required, none of us- not I nor Andrew, nor even Kitty thought ahead to airport security and the flight home.
The combination of these facts made it a very stressful walk to our lodging that night- a little BandB tucked just around the corner from the busy city center, on a hilly narrow cobblestone alleyway called "two sisters." Our room was delightful, a lofted attic happily big enough that Kitty could have her own little area AWAY from us which meant sleep was going to come a bit easier. We decided to think about the passport situation later- take trains back home if we needed to- and try to enjoy Bergen!
Though it was another cloudy day on Sunday, we were able to appreciate the charms of this fishing city much better in the daylight- so great to be walking distance from the port/famous UNESCO street in Bergen... though the famous Bryggen street itself felt almost staged. From pictures and shots in movies, it appears that ALL of Bergen is made of little wooden fishing structures, leaning this way and that, painted in traditional colors, when in reality it is just one short stretch of street that holds these structures (still darling and cute and wooden and painted!).
After strolling the area a bit, wandering in and out of the few open tourist shops, we realized that most everything is closed on Sunday... and the best way for us to take advantage of the day was to get on boat to take us back out into the fjords! We bundled up, boarded a large catamaran and set off onto another beautiful journey into Norway's natural wonders of the world.
Even though it was cold and windy on the boat the three of us stayed outdoors as long as we could to breathe in the fresh air and soak the sights. I said to Andrew "I'm trying to let my soul memorize the way this looks!"- beauty like that is something you want to remember and reflect on for your entire life! The further out from Bergen we got, the taller the mountains surrounding the fjord, and yet again there were countless waterfalls trickling their way down into the water. At a certain point it became apparent that one of our destinations on this 3.5 hour tour of the fjords was a waterfall- and the captain of the ship asked for some volunteers. We had no idea what the volunteers were for- but I slapped Andrew on the back, and made him go up front, where he was made to put on a bright orange rain suit...
He was one of the chosen to collect some fresh waterfall water!!!!!!! Super exciting and funny, Andrew (and the other volunteers) collected enough water to provide a refreshing treat for the rest of the passengers- and also get splashed in the face by the playful crew :)
We arrived a bit late, and a bit wet to church that evening- but yet again overflowing with gratitude for the beauty with which God graced Earth.
Monday was sunny and warm! We took a tram up one of the mountains (apparently Bergen is built on 7 mountains- no idea which 7, as it seemed there were about 70 mountain peaks all around us!) where there is a viewing area for us to see all the surrounding country, pretty stunning. Even though we purchased a round trip tram ticket, we decided to walk down the mountain (it was billed as a 45 minute walk- I was SURE the time was exaggerated, printed that way for fat tourists, who weren't used to walking, I convinced Andrew that we would get down super fast and in time for breakfast, after all I am a MARATHON runner... it took us 50 minutes:) Though we were a bit late for breakfast, we are happy we opted for the walk, the winding path was so beautiful, and the moss covered pine trees and rocks made us feel like we were walking through a fairy tale- we expected to see little gnomes running through the waterfalls and rocks at every turn.
After eating plenty of cod (though neither of us are huge fish eaters, we kept forcing ourselves to order fish dishes, as we were, after all, in Norwegian Cod county) and doing plenty of walking and sight seeing we headed to the airport, to try our luck with security. (we had been told that they often don't ask for ID and only scan our tickets, our fingers were crossed!) Hugely relying on Kitty's cuteness, we made sure she was facing outwards, smiley chattery and giggly as we went through security, and lo and behold-it worked! We were so relieved to be safely on our flight back to Sweden that we almost didn't mind the fact that Kitty screamed (nearly) the entire way home. almost. We did, however make the decision to not fly after Kitty's bed time ever again. Oh- and also to always check and double heck for our passports!!
We arrived in Bergen Saturday evening, when it was already dark. It was also raining and cold. (apparently Bergen only has 60 days of sunshine a year!) we had also just made the dismal realization that we did not bring our passports (or in fact any ID at all for me and Kitty) along on the trip. Pretty problematic, as we were flying back to Stockholm Monday evening. We were in disbelief- what an amateur move! How could we have been so irresponsible????? Of course, we had taken the train over the border to Norway, where no passports were required, none of us- not I nor Andrew, nor even Kitty thought ahead to airport security and the flight home.
The combination of these facts made it a very stressful walk to our lodging that night- a little BandB tucked just around the corner from the busy city center, on a hilly narrow cobblestone alleyway called "two sisters." Our room was delightful, a lofted attic happily big enough that Kitty could have her own little area AWAY from us which meant sleep was going to come a bit easier. We decided to think about the passport situation later- take trains back home if we needed to- and try to enjoy Bergen!
Though it was another cloudy day on Sunday, we were able to appreciate the charms of this fishing city much better in the daylight- so great to be walking distance from the port/famous UNESCO street in Bergen... though the famous Bryggen street itself felt almost staged. From pictures and shots in movies, it appears that ALL of Bergen is made of little wooden fishing structures, leaning this way and that, painted in traditional colors, when in reality it is just one short stretch of street that holds these structures (still darling and cute and wooden and painted!).
After strolling the area a bit, wandering in and out of the few open tourist shops, we realized that most everything is closed on Sunday... and the best way for us to take advantage of the day was to get on boat to take us back out into the fjords! We bundled up, boarded a large catamaran and set off onto another beautiful journey into Norway's natural wonders of the world.
Even though it was cold and windy on the boat the three of us stayed outdoors as long as we could to breathe in the fresh air and soak the sights. I said to Andrew "I'm trying to let my soul memorize the way this looks!"- beauty like that is something you want to remember and reflect on for your entire life! The further out from Bergen we got, the taller the mountains surrounding the fjord, and yet again there were countless waterfalls trickling their way down into the water. At a certain point it became apparent that one of our destinations on this 3.5 hour tour of the fjords was a waterfall- and the captain of the ship asked for some volunteers. We had no idea what the volunteers were for- but I slapped Andrew on the back, and made him go up front, where he was made to put on a bright orange rain suit...
He was one of the chosen to collect some fresh waterfall water!!!!!!! Super exciting and funny, Andrew (and the other volunteers) collected enough water to provide a refreshing treat for the rest of the passengers- and also get splashed in the face by the playful crew :)
We arrived a bit late, and a bit wet to church that evening- but yet again overflowing with gratitude for the beauty with which God graced Earth.
Monday was sunny and warm! We took a tram up one of the mountains (apparently Bergen is built on 7 mountains- no idea which 7, as it seemed there were about 70 mountain peaks all around us!) where there is a viewing area for us to see all the surrounding country, pretty stunning. Even though we purchased a round trip tram ticket, we decided to walk down the mountain (it was billed as a 45 minute walk- I was SURE the time was exaggerated, printed that way for fat tourists, who weren't used to walking, I convinced Andrew that we would get down super fast and in time for breakfast, after all I am a MARATHON runner... it took us 50 minutes:) Though we were a bit late for breakfast, we are happy we opted for the walk, the winding path was so beautiful, and the moss covered pine trees and rocks made us feel like we were walking through a fairy tale- we expected to see little gnomes running through the waterfalls and rocks at every turn.
After eating plenty of cod (though neither of us are huge fish eaters, we kept forcing ourselves to order fish dishes, as we were, after all, in Norwegian Cod county) and doing plenty of walking and sight seeing we headed to the airport, to try our luck with security. (we had been told that they often don't ask for ID and only scan our tickets, our fingers were crossed!) Hugely relying on Kitty's cuteness, we made sure she was facing outwards, smiley chattery and giggly as we went through security, and lo and behold-it worked! We were so relieved to be safely on our flight back to Sweden that we almost didn't mind the fact that Kitty screamed (nearly) the entire way home. almost. We did, however make the decision to not fly after Kitty's bed time ever again. Oh- and also to always check and double heck for our passports!!
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