Lofoten to Bergen!

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Travel blog 5
Monday the 1st - New Month New Adventure

It appears Lofoten will say goodbye to us just as it greeted us - with wind and rain. However the islands have softened toward us though as the rain is a drizzle and the wind is mild rather that the rain and wind that pelted is our first day here.

Our friendly cabdriver, the only driver where we were, arrived early to pick us up and escort us to the ferry. It seemed appropriate that it was cold and wet but not so windy. We loaded on the boat and Peggy immediately disappeared twisted to the back to fall asleep. Isabell, Lois and I found seats by the windows and waited for the kitchen to open. Breakfast consisted of cold waffles with strawberry jam, coffee and a cake of sorts.

The ferry ride to Bodø was uneventful. We disembarked and lo and behold there was the taxi (a Mercedes van) that had taken to the ferry just a few days before. We hopped aboard and an Asian family asked to join us. Our ride to the airport was quick but not uneventful. When we arrived there the drivers card machine would not work! Peggy had enough cash to pay for us but the other group had no cash. Peggy offered to pay their fee for them and now she had new friends! They agreed to buy her breakfast in the airport in return.

Once we were all thru security we found a comfy place to sit and a place for Peggy to get breakfast. Come to find out the family was from Vancouver BC. They were traveling in Norway for a month and had been on the islands for 20 days!

We had several hours to spend at the airport so we all got comfy.Several hours later it was time to load on the smallest airplane I’ve ever been on! Lois said they sound like egg eaters when starting out. I thought it sounded that way the whole time! I took a seat by an elderly lady I figured was probably from Norway. I should’ve noticed the Columbia Sportswear jacket I suppose. She was also coming from the Lofoten Islands. She had been part of a group of 12 cycling Lofoten from north to south?. It sounds like they even used the same adventure company we had! She was from New York State! ??

It was an uneventful flight to Bergen. It actually wasn’t raining when we landed! It was amazing how well this day went. It drizzled on us a bit as we head to the light rail station to hop a ride to city center (the last stop) and our room for a couple nights. We headed to Bergen Base Camp to check on the status of our bike rentals for Bergen and Bremnes. We arranged to pick them up in the morning - he was swamped with bikes that had just been checked in and we were to tired to deal with it, so off we headed to find our room. For the most part the evening continued to go without incident. When it came time to go out exploring and find a place for dinner I consulted Google and we found the amazing restaurant Bare… (something in Norwegian that I can’t pronounce). It was a tapas style Norwegian restaurant with amazing food and great beer. We picked the four course chef’s choice for the four of us and we’re delighted with the amazing gifts of great food we received. Our waiter was also spectacular and it was a great night. We went by the 7-Eleven after we left to pick up some laundry detergent so we could wash clothes however it was not like our 7-Elevens at home and had only food and junk food type things. We found a Kiwi (Lois had us looking for a Cupie store but you know...) store and we were able to purchase a few odds and ends and some laundry detergent there. On our way back we wound around the side streets to find her room rather than going back up the main street. Though we are in a very touristy area, because of the cruise ships that come in, it still is quite beautiful and full of old world charm.

Back home we proceeded to unwind and relax and get ready to do laundry… However in checking out the washing machine I quickly discovered that we couldn’t. The plug on the washing machine had been cut! Who does that? Now our hopes of clean clothes had been dashed. However several of us washed clothes in the shower. We discovered that the bathroom had a heated floor and it was quite delightful. Further Lois and I had a TV in our room but there was no plug in our room to plug it in. This funky little apartment was full of oddities however Lois discovered the vibrating recliner which she truly enjoyed!

After a 45 minute shower which included washing some of my clothes it was off to bed with me. Another great day comes to a close!

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