I Had a Clever Title, but Have Since Forgotten!

---

August 2, 2019

If today is Friday, this must be Bergen. And what a Charming “Big City” it is! One of the first capitals of Norway (way back when).

We arrived in town quite early and were at the dock before 7am. We both woke up a little “under the weather” – Christopher with his deep sexy voice and dry throat, me dealing with a touch of vertigo – just couldn’t get my balance nor bearings. Perhaps a bit of food will make it right for us both.

I had eggs benedict (1) and sausage (2), Christopher had oatmeal with strawberries and a hard boiled egg. So- I’ve had some “situations” with the breakfast sausage (which, by the way are great and SO much better than bacon…not a bacon fan). Anyway…Typically I cut the sausage up to eat with a bit of egg. When cutting, the casing for the sausage – which can be somewhat tough provides resistance (particularly with these dull knives). SO….on more than one occasion, when cutting the sausage it LEAPS off the plate and onto the floor. When this occurs I endeavor to pick the stray piece off the floor. The first time it happened, this process took a while (and, it happened at the Grand Dining Room…can’t take me anywhere). SO….upon picking it up, I made the comment that this particular piece resembled a severed finger. The woman at the next table looked at me in HORROR as she thought I had found a severed finger on the floor of the Grand Dining room. WHOOPS! Those sausages are pesky little devils. Well….it happened again this morning. I remained silent and quietly placed the wayward sausage on the plate and went on my merry way. Dodged a bullet.

Unfortunately, we were NOT the only ship in port – there were at least 4 ships, 2 of which were SIGNIFICANTLY larger than us! AND….the foot traffic in town bore this out! Once we disembarked, we walked towards town. First a stroll around the wharf and then more detailed “visitations”. We had planned upon taking the Funicular up to the top of the mountain for the view, but the morning was a bit soggy and grey, but no rain.

So...we walked for a good hour just wandering the streets of Bergen. Such a beautiful town. The Hanseatic Wharf is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and well preserved. In fact, there are some much needed restorations going on right now. I DO mean MUCH. NEEDED! These poor buildings are holding one another up. It seems that in WWII, a ship blew up in the harbor (landing an anchor at the top of the mountain) – which caused the Hanseatic era buildings to “lean” even more. I’m telling you, the staircases are quite squirrely and some of the doors don’t close properly. Still….charming and open for business.

We wandered around the fish market (like one row at the Boqueria in Barcelona). It is small, but intensely trafficked. I have NEVER seen live king crab…HUGE! Tanks of them as well as lobster and other delights – even a submarine sandwich aptly named “Luxury Sandwich”. If it lives locally in this sea, you can probably purchase it here.

Well, the skies have cleared, and it has become quite warm. So, perhaps a trip to the funicular. We saw the line…less than half a block from the main street and QUITE a distance from the funicular. PASS! Don’t want to miss our early departure (more on that later).

Since we didn’t go up the funicular, we chose to explore the Hanseatic wharf. We discovered that there exists and entire “village” behind the facades of the wharf. Small warrens of leaning buildings built of wood and standing only because they rely upon the building next to them for support. We found an interesting Jewelry shop, made locally – purchased nothing!

We found an incredible kitchen design store….gathering ideas!!!!

After this, we headed for the Fortress. We walked about the park scoping out the grounds and buildings but did not enter the “castle.” We realized how close we are to the ship and so decide to get back on board. Still not feeling 100%, we thought it best for us both to rest up a bit.

At The terrace for lunch – a simple hot dog (better at waves, because they have relish) for us both and back to the room to change for the pool. It’s warm, but the winds are picking up, ever so slightly. We sat in the shade and read. Christopher is reading the Underground Railroad, loves it (I LOVED it); I’m reading about Catherine de Medici…WOW.

We each ordered a frou frou drink for sail away. About 15 minutes before “all aboard” we heard an announcement for 2 separate couples to “pick up the phone and call reception IMMEDIATELY” – UH. OH! Guess some people may miss the ship. The warning was repeated every five minutes for 15 minutes. Finally, a CHEER went up in the starboard side of the boat (facing the dock side) so we figured they made it on board. The announcements stopped and we were under way a few minutes later.

We sailed under a bridge – not the nicest bridge, but still a bridge which is always cool. We sipped our Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri and said goodbye to Norway. Tomorrow is a sea day and on Sunday we arrive in Southampton (which for some is the end of the cruise BUT…not for us)!! We are doing a London to London around the British Isles.

Dinner tonight – Jacques. I had the Escalope of Fois Gras with grilled Pineapple (YES. It WAS that good) and Christopher had the Goat Cheese souffle (which I had the other night). For our main we shared the Filet of Sea Bass for 2. Presented in puff pastry shaped like a fish. The fish was cooked to perfection, the pastry puffed sky high complete with “scales” – so tasty with the tarragon on the fish. LOVELY! We opened one of our FAVORITE whites…a Lambert Bridge 2017 Cuvee Blanc. PERFECTION - absolute perfect pairing. For dessert Christopher had the Pistachio Crème Brulee, I has the Mille Feuille – neither of us were able to finish our entrée or dessert. Even so, we savored each and every bite.

After dinner, sated but not overstuffed, we went up to Horizons and watched the sea. A light fog hovered over the ocean; but did not obstruct the entire horizon. Ahead of us was, perhaps, one of the other ships in port…HUGE…we could see it off in the distance hugging against the fog but not entering it. We followed a safe distance behind.

Back to the room. Exhausted and full – where we find, much to our surprise chocolate dipped strawberries, courtesy of Sonu, our Butler. So thoughtful.

Tomorrow – a day at sea. This should be interesting…

---