Bergen - where it all begins (allegedly!!)

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Another early start for us today. However, this time it wasn't wholly by choice. As the ship was only in port for ½ a day from 07:00 – 14:00 we decided that we'd ride the Fløibanan (funicular) to the top of Mt. Fløyen then afterwards have a wander through the old quarter . As every tour seems to go via the funicular as it is Scandinavia's only cable railway. As there are at least 3 cruise ships due in Bergen today we planned to get there early to miss the rush.

For this reason we ordered breakfast in our room. As it is only served from 7am, we ordered it for 7:15. I set my alarm for 7am to give me time to wake up before the knock on the door.

As I slept, I dreamt. My family were at my mothers and someone was knocking at the front door. I said that I'm not answering unless they ring the bell. My mum said that they'd never find it because it is hidden so the vandals don't rip it from the door.

'Knock, knock, knock'. Who ever it was, wasn't going away.

‘Knock, knock, knock',

‘RING THE BLOODY BELL', I screamed

‘knock, kno…..', I woke with a start. It was the cabin door. I looked at my watch. It was 6:45.

I jumped out of bed, earplugs still in. Grabbed a dressing gown and moved the armchair away from the door.

‘Breakfast, sir'. Said the waiter. Well that's what I assume he said as I still had my earplugs in!!!

I shoved a few dollars in his hand and he shoved a pen in mine.

‘Sign here please' I heard him say through the muffled sound of my earplugs.

Despite fitting it all on one tray, breakfast was quite substantial even down to the ham, egg and cheese muffin.

With this unexpected but in retrospect, welcome turn of events we were on the shuttle bus by 07:30.

A shuttle bus service normally costs a nominal fee of between $5-8. However, on this occasion, as we had berthed at the container terminal, passengers were not allowed to walk through the dock estate so as we had no choice in the matter, the shuttle bus was complimentary.

Bergen was founded in 1070 by ‘Olav the Peaceful'. It used to be the capital of Norway until ‘Olav the slightly aggressive' threatened ‘Olav the Peaceful' who immediately conceded.

Bergen is the gateway to the Fjords. Where it all starts (allegedly!). That's why, like in true British fashion, we're visiting this city last!!!

Today Bergen is Norway's second largest city and is dominated by the oil industry. The city's physical beauty is enhanced by the wonderful mixture of old and new buildings. 200,000 people call this place home. There has to be a unique charm or vibrancy that keeps the people here as it is said to rain 300 days per year. That's probably bollocks!! I reckon it's the oil that keeps them there!!!

The shuttle bus dropped us off in the centre of Bergen adjacent to the park. A neat and tidy piece of greenery dominated by a large lake as the centrepiece. This was further decorated by a working fountain in the lake's centre.

As we crossed the park for the short walk to the funicular station, a stage was being prepared for what looked like a day of entertainment. What is it with these people and stages? A few years ago in Copenhagen they were erecting a stage in Tivolipark. We passed this stage several times and never saw anyone performing. It's as if the council have bits of scaffolding left over and have decided to get rid of it by erecting a stage hoping no one will notice. My rant was making perfect sense until Roisin reminded me that we are in Norway not Denmark!!!

We took the first funicular to the top of the Mt. Fløyen along with 20 or so other individuals who had the same idea as us. The return journey was NOK70 (about £6.30). It is possible to buy a single ticket and walk back down. Possible but in our case, not probable!!! Both of us were starting to feel the effects of the previous day's hike to Briksdal Glacier.

We must have arrived in Bergen on one of the 65 days of the year that it doesn't rain because the view from the top was so clear. The unrestricted viewing platform gave a fantastic panorama of the city below.

On exiting the funicular from the return journey we expected a bit of a queue but were amazed at what greeted us. The queue stretched through the terminus and down the street maybe 200 yards. There were 9 coaches parked in the street. As the funicular runs every 15 minutes and holds about 100 persons there was probably about 1 hour wait. It's so true what ‘they' say about the early bird catching the worm or from a direct Norse translation: ‘The early Viking catches the Troll!!'

Literally a few minutes from the funicular station is the colourful façade of Bryggen. Bryggen is an area of Bergen that was developed by the Hanseatic League. This is sort of a trade agreement with Norway, Netherlands, Germany and a few other nations. The façade that one immediately associates with Bergen on all postcards was originally merchants' warehouses. These buildings and those behind that go to create Gamle Bergen are of wooden designs and to be frank remind me of the ‘House that Jack Built!!'. They are not the most symmetrical buildings I have seen. In fact if they were built today, I'm sure they'd fail EU safety standards. But of course Norway isn't in the EU. Thank you Dr Roisin McCleverdick!!! Most of the buildings in the Bryggen area are now shops, boutiques and cafes with the odd museum thrown in.

We walked back to the shuttle pickup stop through a market where, apart from the usual tat one could buy moose fur and sets of antlers. I'm sure these wouldn't be allowed in to the UK due to CITES (endangered species) laws or something. I've never fully understood this. If you import endangered species such as coral, certain snakeskin, turtle shell, ivory it is all confiscated because they belonged to endangered species. Seizing them isn't going to bring the animal back, is it?? These goods either get destroyed or end up in a museum where it only encourages people to think, ‘Oh yeah, I wouldn't mind one of them tigers heads' so in a way it's egging on this illegal trade. Slap a large duty on these items so the rhino horn or ivory chess set is only on view to friends and family rather than millions who visit museums. It has to be a win/win situation.

We arrived back on the ship at 10:30, just in time for our daily dose of Trivia.

George was in the middle of telling Alice and Kaye about the tours he arranges.

"Has anyone ever died on one of your tours?" Alice asked. (I guess that's a valid question and concern when you get to the age of some of these passengers!!)

“Sure”, George started. “We were on a Mediterranean cruise and had just docked in Barcelona when one of my group had a heart attack and died. The authorities wouldn't release the ship until the coroner cleared this unfortunate event. They wanted to remove the body from the ship but as Malta was our next and final port we asked if the body could be transported this way, as it would be an astronomical cost to return the body from Spain to Malta. The coroner and Captain agreed and, give them their due; the ship was only delayed a few hours. In the circumstances, that was fantastic. Anyhow, they kept the body in the freezer compartment below decks”.

I bet there was a few ‘sickos' in the galley who played a trick on one of the unpopular crewmates by sending him to the freezer for some provisions without telling him of the ‘addition' to the ships supplies!!!

This evening was the formal champagne reception for Captain's circle members. As there are 900 of us on board, the reception was in 2 sittings. This may sound a lot but there are 1700 passengers who are sailing with Princess for the first time.

I was surprised that there were no formal photos with the captain. He stood at the entrance to the Vista Lounge with his senior officers with his hands behind his back. Not even offering to shake your hand. We met up with Kaye and Charlie, Alice and Ken. Kaye said that she had extended her hand and he reluctantly shook it saying, “We don't have to shake hands”. What an extraordinary thing to say!

During this function a special award was presented to the passengers who have cruised the most days with Princess. The winner had spent over 660 days at sea with Princess, on a total of 61 cruises. Wow! If that's an average of 2 cruises per year, that's 30 years. They got a bottle of champagne for being so loyal. In fact it was the same type of champagne that we got for winning the trivia a few days ago. Nice to know what loyalty is worth these days. (if you know what I mean??!!!)

Oh, and no prizes for spotting the Macbeth parody in this entry!!!

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Comments

[Ragnhild]

Nice to read about this beautiful place. Oner day I will have to go there!!

[Dave B]

Met a girl from Bergen in 76 called Merete. Absolutely gorgeous and I fell for her. She kept on about the land of the midnight sun which we didnot believe. Can you ask if anyone there knows her? Looks like a great time again mate.