Aurland to Bergen Norway: Sunday afternoon Sept 13:
Boarded the Norled high speed ferry around 4pm and settled in for the 5 hour journey. This ferry hauls butt traveling at 35 mph which makes the scenery whiz by. The ship has plenty of space outside on top as well as comfortable seating down below along with a nice Cafe and a few bathrooms.
A few brave people are out on the bow which at this speed feels like I am strapped to the hood of a car during a wind tunnel test. I stay on the back side shielded from the wind unless a photo opportunity arises. Mostly a cloudy day but the sun does make an appearance on occasion to improve the view.
After 4-5 stops we arrive in Bergen around 8:45pm and after a short walk I check into the Scandic Torget Bergen hotel for 2 nights. After dropping my stuff off in my room, I venture out on this clear warm evening headed to Peppes Pizza before they close at 10pm. A beer and Veggie pizza ends this day.
Bergen Norway Monday Sept 14th:
After breakfast, I walked a few blocks to a self-serve laundry to wash a huge bag of clothes and was very happy it wasn't raining. It rained briefly while I waited for the wash/dry cycles to finish but there was no more rain as I walked back to my room to fold my clothes. Headed out for some sightseeing and rode the "Floibanen" funicular for a 6 minute ride up to Mount Floyen for some spectacular views of Bergen. Several cruise ships were visible at the ports which explains the busy streets this morning.
After taking too many photos I wandered down some paths to find one of the Floyen goats entertaining the tourists. There is a sign board showing all the goats along with their names. It wasn’t very busy on Mount Floyen which made for a nice visit and I am grateful for the weather being dry while sightseeing given the following details.
"Bergen experiences an average annual rainfall of 98 inches, making it the rainiest city in Europe. The city typically has around 202 to 239 days of rain each year."
Bergen is a transportation hub for Norway but has a charm all it's own. I rode the funicular back down and walked along the port to the Bergunhus Fortress and then headed back as a cold wind was brewing. Found refuge at Sostrene Hagelin which served me some hearty fish soup, with bread. Met a young couple from Canada who were enjoying some fish cakes and soup.
After my late lunch, I explored the city, and did some grocery and beer shopping. Norway is similar to Oregon with state run liquor stores called "Vinmonopolet" for hard alcohol, wine and certain types of beer. Headed back to my hotel for a quiet evening to catch up on some US Open tennis highlights and to watch the F1 auto racing results.
Tomorrow I head to the Bergen airport for my flight north to the city of Leknes on the Lofoten Islands where I will spend 5 nights.