Sunday, June 24, 2018

Sweet Bergen

Onward we must travel, reluctantly leaving our lovely Oslo hotel on Gables Gate. Toting our bags down the block to the tram stop where we board and then dropped off at the Central Train Station. Our destination is Bergen, a medium sized historic port city sharing period architecture with modern.
Bergen view from a hike

Half the fun is getting to the city on the Bergen Train. When we made our way up into the car and found our seats Sharon quickly discovered we will be sitting backwards possibly causing motion sickness. We asked the conductor if there are any seats turned the opposite direction but the train was full with no unoccupied seats. The couple facing us overheard the conversation and offered to switch seats to accommodate our request. The invitation opened conversation with the young Iranian couple now living in Turkey. They were bright and very charming throughout the days journey.
our new Iranian friends
Halfway to Bergen...7 degrees Celsius

The passing countryside was dotted with magnificent snow patched mountains infected with the occasional village on the crust of a deep cobalt blue lake. Taking photos on the train was a primer in the quick snapshot before the train dashed into endless tunnels or the view blocked by tall trees.

We arrived into the Bergen train station, disembarked, and walked the long platform into the main station lobby. I pulled my phone from my pantaloons and entered the name and address for our hotel into my GPS app. It immediately popped up with information which we deciphered, hoisted our bags and began to walk the streets of Bergen to the Scandic City Hotel. Our first taste of the city wasn't impressive and thought it was a step down from Oslo. We walked for a while and I began to question our direction. We stopped a young lady walking the opposite direction and asked if she knew of the address or the hotel. As we discovered, Norwegians are extremely courteous, ready to help, and very engaging. She pulled out her phone, entered the info, and walked with us a short distance in the opposite direction we were walking, then pointed to us the direction to the remainder of our destination about a kilometer away.
Great restaurant for a hungry traveler.

 By the time we reached the front desk of the hotel our bodies were tired from lugging luggage and asked the desk clerk about a restaurant. He suggested a lovely bistro in the historic village a couple klicks away. He made a reservation which afforded us an hour  to relax and walk to "To Kokkers" (meaning two cooks).

The directions the clerk gave us were exact and the walk generated a new view of Bergen. It's a city not as cosmopolitan as Oslo but seemingly embodied a bit more charm. Arriving at the restaurant, we were quickly seated into a comfy old upstairs low ceiling room supported by rough hewn beams, plastered and wall papered walls decorated with old relic paintings, and an uneven planked floor. The food and mood was perfect. Walking back to our hotel in the night (actually looking like dusk) was enough to reduce our stuffed bellies and sullen us to sleep.

The next morning which always begins with the wonderful buffet breakfast (No really Chuck, I really like this Norwegian selection of delightful tastes), we discussed what to do in Bergen. Agreeing on a little shopping, exploring, and looking forward to getting lost in a foreign city. (one of our favorite travel pastimes) We discovered churches, shopping malls disguised as historic buildings, beautiful parks and back to the train station where we had to pickup our last handful of Norway in a Nutshell tickets from the ticket master. All the above was done between ducking in and our of the variations of rain. Without the rain it would be another boring beautiful day for us.
many products merchanised into one building

Walking back to our hotel from exploring we stopped into a pub for a quick Guinness and catch some of the World Cup, Japan the victor of that game. Then continued on when we both felt like a late dinner. Turning off the main plaza onto a small street to investigate. We saw a Japanese sign but it was for a photo company not a place for a celebratory dinner,  further down the avenue was a Thai restaurant. Yes we need to try Thai in the reaches of the Arctic. It was close to 9PM but the hostess/owner said it would be ok if we ate quickly. The smells from the kitchen convinced us to give it a try even under the time restrictions. The rice noodle salad and the Tom Kra Gai took time to prepare but we were rewarded with unbelievable perfectly prepared dishes with flavor beyond our expectations. If you are ever, ever near Bergen, Norway you must make the journey to the Samrab Thai Restaurant.
Oh yum, not just any old Thai food

The next day was hiking day. We decided to first take the cable train up the mountain from Bergen central, then hike up to a mountain top, then hike back down into the city center. The line to take the train was jammed with a myriad of cultures wanting to get a different view of Bergen and a few wanting to hike. We unloaded with the crowd once reaching the tracks end and began following the hiking signage up a trail. With deeply overcast skies, the weather was holding out but by the time we reached our summit with light rain, our return was met by a steady downpour.
Hiking trail into the city center

A repreave from the rain and hail mixture was from a locked up small building with a couple small overhangs just enough for a bit of shelter to wait out the intense rain. After an hour the rain reduced to a light shower without hail and we made our trek down the mountain passing the train stop and finally into town. Wet and a bit exhausted we both agreed we needed more Thai food to warm our drenched bodies.

After the repeat spectacular gastronomic performance we went back to our hotel for rest but rallied in time to return to the Metz sports bar to watch another World Cup game, Iran vs Spain and with Iran being the underdog  in respect to our new Iranian friends, we cheered for the Persians. This puzzled the roundish Irishman leaning on the bar next to us. He was astounded that two Americans would be rooting for Iran. We always cheer for the underdog and with that and with us drinking Guinness, the mother's milk of Ireland,  Wille bought us a round. The game was well played  but didn't turn out in our favor.
Sweet Willie was Irish but now Norwegian 

We left the bar feeling great in more ways than one but tomorrow we needed to get some sleep and ready ourselves for the "Norway in a Nutshell" experience.




Leaving the train station at Bergen
cable train up the mountain
Houses in the city center like Bisbee


National Theater in the city center

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