We got up early and said farewell to Gunnar, who left for work before 8:00. Birgita joined us at the breakfast table and at 9:20 the cab arrived to take us to the airport. The girls were pretty excited because they had never been in a cab before.
At the duty free the girls were amazed that anyone would want to smoke cigarettes, given the warnings. I like the top one in the photo below. What man would want to take that one up to the register to buy?
We checked 4 bags instead of 3 this time. Going through security we noticed that no one was taking off their shoes, and when it was our turn, we asked about it, and the security guy said, "We still leave you some dignity here." I assume that means that instead of criminalizing everyone, they probably rely mostly on profiling. Great for the average traveller, not so great if you happen to be an innocent person of Middle Eastern background. I have mixed feelings about this.
Never too old to go down the slide, though with long legs you get to the bottom pretty quickly.
Aubrietta and I sat next to a Bergen native who was traveling with an apricot toy poodle in a soft carrier. He held the dog on his lap, zipped securely into its carrier, until it was time for take off and the carrier got tucked under the seat in front of him. The dog did not make a peep during the 70 minute flight, and most people had no idea the dog was there.
The flight attendants gave the girls vinyl sticker sheets with an airplane scene.
First view of Bergen outskirts.
A photo from the internet showing Bergen on a clear day.
We arrived safely in Bergen and were happily reunited with our bags. It's always a relief to see your bag come off the plane.
We took the flybus to our hotel, which was the last stop on the route. We were staying in the Clarion Collection Havnekontoret, a luxury hotel. It was a splurge in one sense, given the cost, yet it was the best option for us in a city with very few beds. Bergen saw a lot of tourists, but many came on cruise ships and never spent the night. Most hotels had rooms for only 2 people, so we would have been required to get 2 rooms. The youth hostel was near the University and had a reputation of being a party house, so we didn't want to be there. Bed and breakfasts were 2 people per room, and often adults only. The only rental apartments I could find were on the outskirts with sketchy transit connections, or up in the hills (also without transit).
Our room, one of only 6 in the hotel with two beds instead of one.
What made our hotel a real bargain in the long run was that they fed you all day. In addition to a lavish breakfast buffet, in the afternoon they had make your own pancakes, and starting at 18:00 a huge dinner buffet, which is unheard of. Coffee, cocoa, and tea were available 24 hours a day. All this together was a huge savings in a country where a cup of plain, drip coffee costs $5.00 USD, and a small packet of cold cuts from the grocery store costs $10.00 USD.
Coffee and pancakes and strawberry jam... YUM!
In the basement was a "relax room."
Our hotel was a beautiful historic building just to the west of the famous Bryggen section of buildings from the 1700's. Our hotel was built in 1915 to house the harbormaster's offices, and it was palatial. It had remained the harbor offices until just 6 years ago, when it was converted to a hotel.
The old entryway, made into a sitting room. The enterance to the hotel is on the side of the building.
I've been in funiculars from Switzerland to Hong Kong, but this was the first time for the girls, and they thought it was pretty nifty.
Interior of the tower at 23:00.
Across the harbor you can see the 3 Fjord boats. Ours was the middle one, which we would take on Wednesday up the Fjord to Flam. I wasn't looking forward to it at all now, as Bergen had already won my heart. We'd have all day tomorrow (Tuesday) to explore the rest of Bergen, and then we'd leave early the morning after.
NEXT: Day 20 - Bergen, Norway - Tuesday, July 3rd
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