Bergen - A Second Time

---

Geo: 60.3881, 5.33185

I can feel the ship's engines shuddering and revving as I slowly awaken in the morning. It's almost 8am and the Rotterdam is making final maneuvers in the docking process at Bergen. We have no major plans for the day so there is no rush this morning. While most of the people are making their way off the ship, we enjoy a leisurely breakfast upstairs. I grab a couple of milks and return to the stateroom to stash them in the refer, then meet Karen and we disembark the ship. It's difficult to find milk in the evening so I grab them in the breakfast area and take them to our refrigerator. Later at night, I have milk and cookies while watching television. Mmmm.

The port offers a free shuttle bus to town since we're docked at the industrial pier, not the normal cruise port close to city center. After a few more people board the bus, it takes off, drives to the other side of the parking lot and stops, letting us all off. What? We could easily have just walked that far. Now, armed with a map, we walk about 10 blocks to the main tourist area. We're familiar with that part of the city, having been there just over a week before. Remember, with the King & Queen? It's warm out with the sun partially out from behind the clouds and I take off my jacket. Maybe we should have left earlier and tried that boat ride through the fjords.

This time I feel much better so we stop at a few outdoor stands. Now the rain starts to come down in torrents. These souvenir stands now become our refuge from the rain. We wander down the Bryggan and into some shops for some shopping and to dry out some. The rain doesn't let up and about 11:30am we start the trek back to the ship. Looks like that boat ride probably wouldn't have been all that today with the rain. The rain turns to drizzle which helps us stay somewhat dry while walking. Karen makes pretty good time and we're back on the ship in time for a hot chocolate and some fruit in the Lido. I work to catch up on all the blogs including today. I spend another hour in the library before we get dressed and go to dinner around 6:15pm. We sit with two other couples and have a nice meal. The salmon seems a little salty tonight so I don't finish it. Mom has chicken.

We intend to go to the show tonight starring the Rotterdam Singers & Dancers but we don't finish our dinner until 8:15. We stop by the shops on the way and Mom finds some good deals. We never make it to the show. She makes a few purchases and we just return to our room for the night.

---