Norway Day 2

We had a reasonably early start and breakfast at the Hotel. As the weather looked decidedly unfriendly, we crawled back up to our room. Dana had a nap while Micha wrote up yesterdays adventures.

Around lunchtime we decided to brave the weather after all and checkout out of the hotel. From there we followed the directions to the Furnicular railway going up Fløyen, but Micha went the wrong way and we climbed up quite a few stairs before realising the mistake. We did get a nice view though…

Backtracking we eventually found the station and discovered why it was so difficult to find: the Furnicular starts off underground! After purchasing tickets we waited around for the next one and then rode it to the top of Mt. Fløyen. Hiding in the gift shop during the worst of the weather we nevertheless enjoyed the great view over Bergen before settling down for a rather expensive coffee and cake in the cafe there.

After riding the Furnicular back down we wandered through Bergen, covering much the same ground as we had the previous evening, but this time in daylight.

We eventually reached St. John’s church which, due to its imposing size and great location, is often mistaken for Bergen’s cathedral. After enjoying the warmth of the church for a little while we headed back into town and wandered around the harbour for a bit. There was a german warship (or at least one flying the german flag) docked, but it wasn’t open to civilians.

We had another walk around the fortress, this time in daylight and without gala-ball, and then headed back to the hotel to wait for our shuttle bus to the ship.

The bus arrived on time, and after picking up people from other hotels we arrived at the Hurtigruten terminal and quickly checked in. A short safety video followed after which we were allowed to board. We then spent explored the ship with all the other people until dinner was ready. Since we’d had hardly any lunch we were quite hungry so just as well there was a very nice buffet laid out. Afterwards we spent a nice relaxed evening listening to the music in the piano bar until the ship was ready to leave port. Micha rugged up and braved the rather dreadful weather outside to watch us cast off and leave Bergen behind. Then it was time to tuck up in our cozy bunks and settle down for our first night at sea.