Bergen

Sidney and I went to Bergen for a few days, as this is our mid-term break. We took the ferry from Stavanger. It was about a four and a half hour trip with about seven stops along the way. Interestingly, the same boat we went whale watching on in Andenes last summer served as our ferry for this trip, as it is brought down here for the winter.


The ferry ride itself was very scenic and enjoyable, though there were some choppy parts due to weather. The stops were in both villages and towns, and it was almost like a postcard seeing the winter scenery. We also passed several lighthouses - always a favorite in this household!

We arrived in Bergen to - big surprise - snow! This year has been a very odd year for Bergen as well, with abnormally cold and snowy weather. The snow was quite heavy on Monday, then cleared out for Tuesday, and came back again Wednesday. They probably had over a foot of new snow while we were there.




The ferry docks in the most scenic part of the city, just across the harbor from Bryggen, and right next to the shopping district. Many historical buildings are visible, and many of the other attractions are within walking distance. This building is Haakon's Hall, where an early king of Norway was crowned in the 1200's. It is just beyond Bryggen, and very close to St. Mary's Church (also pictured), which is the oldest remaining building in Bergen, dating to around 1200.






Sidney and I checked into our hotel, passing some narrow streets along the way. We stayed at the Rica Bergen, and found the room comfortable, the staff friendly, the location convenient, and the breakfast outstanding (like a smaller version of the Rica in Tromso.) We then went out to see the Aquarium (Akvariat in Norwegian.)











The Aquarium was nice for kids. They didn't have a huge amount of specimens on display, but they did have a nice penguin exhibit and three harbor seals. We were there for the feeding of both, though we were in the brunt of the snowstorm for much of the seal show. There is a 3-D movie, but it is only in Norwegian, so we didn't try it. The Aquarium also hosts a large display of crocodiles and alligators.

In all fairness, as this is the off-season, they are preparing the Aquarium for summer. There is a lot of construction going on and they are developing new exhibits. I am sure it will be much nicer once it is complete, as it already does a good job displaying what is there. There is an exceptional display of the sea life native to the area, and some of the fish are HUGE!


I should also mention that our admission was covered with our Bergen Card. Bergen, like other large cities with a tourist trade, offers a card that covers admission to most museums and attractions, discounts on dining and shopping, and public transportation for a much lower cost than paying for those things out-of-pocket. We bought 48-hour cards for Sidney and I, and it was about 350 NOK ($65). We used the card at three museums, rode the bus a few times, and rode the Floibanen (more in a minute on that) and more than made up for our cost. I always recommend these cards when you are going to be in a city for a couple of days (check out New York's CityPass for huge savings there!)


After the Aquarium, we walked back up to the Sentrum and caught the Floibanen (the funicular that goes up one of the seven mountains surrounding the city.) We were joined by several people going up with cross-country skis and sleds. There were several trails at the top, and the fresh snow was a major draw for locals. Even with cloudy weather and some light snow still falling, the view was wonderful. We had cups of hot chocolate while watching the skiers, then headed back down for dinner (TGI Fridays - we couldn't resist!)


Bergen is a city very much in love with music. Several famous musicians come from here, including Ole Bull (violinist) and Edvard Grieg (composer). Even today, Bergen is known for hosting outstanding music festivals and concerts. Lynard Skynard was in concert this week, and Depeche Mode will be playing this summer.



Tuesday's weather was wonderful, with amazingly clear skies. Bergen gets about 270 days a year of precipitation, so a clear day is very rare. We headed for the Ulriken, a cable car that goes to one of the highest points surrounding the city (another of the seven mountains.) We were again joined by skiers, and this time there were some down-hillers as well. We saw them coming down the mountain in what I would describe as more of a fall than actual skiing. A few landed on parts of their bodies other than their feet.



After Ulriken, we went into the Sentrum again for a walk around Bryggen, then to lunch. Oh, and we bought Kimber's birthday present, which will be in a future post of great significance. The buildings in Bryggen are wooden and a few hundred years old, so there are no square corners anymore. In fact, you can see in the pictures that the buildings are all pretty much leaning in various directions.


The snow did make for some interesting pictures of the roof lines from the backside of Bryggen, and the crowded nature of the buildings themselves could make one claustrophobic!

We did a bit more shopping, and I got my haircut (only 150 NOK/$25 in Bergen!) before returning to the hotel.


We spent some time on our last day doing some "Sidney" stuff. It was snowing heavily again, so we went to the Science Center. They have interactive displays and experiments kids can do, and she had a great time. She actually didn't want to leave when it was time to go to lunch.




We looked around the shops a bit more before heading to the ferry for our ride home. The scenery was even more beautiful than the trip up, as there was more snow. We also saw a few more lighthouses, as well as this oil platform being built.

We will be back in Bergen at some point, as there are activities we saved for when Kimber can come as well. We are especially looking forward to doing the Flaam Railway, which has the steepest continual incline of any railway in the world. If visiting Bergen for just one trip, I would certainly recommend at least four days to see the majority of the sights.

Easter Trip

Since Sidney and I are off for vacation this week, we are headed to Bergen for a couple of nights. We previously considered a trip to one of the closer countries to Norway, but I waited too late to buy the tickets.

We will be traveling to and from Bergen by ferry and utilizing public transportation while there. We will make a posting about Bergen upon our return Wednesday night.

Our next adventure will be the Marathon ski trip in March, followed by our Easter trip. Originally, we were going to try and meet up with the family from Germany for a trip to Wales, but their vacation is the week after ours. Instead, we are headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia, for a week. We will also try to do a couple of side trips while there, perhaps to Sarajevo as well as to Montenegro. We are already looking forward to a change of scenery, as it is snowing again tonight in Stavanger.

Winter Above the Arctic Circle

We arrived back from our trip to Tromso late last night. We are all pretty tired, but we had a great time.

Here's a recap on our weekend. We left very early Friday morning and flew to Tromso via Oslo. The airport in Oslo is really strange, as you arrive and have to walk down a corridor that overlooks the gates and boarding areas, then down a set of stairs, then back to your connecting gate. I suppose it works well for people arriving to stay in Oslo because it keeps them from having to fight the departure crowds, but it does make transferring a little more difficult. (There is a Pizza Hut in the airport, but it was closed when we were there.)

We got to Tromso and it started snowing. There was a good bit of snow on the ground already. Temperatures weren't too cold (about 28 F), but we knew that Friday night would be out for seeing the Northern Lights. We were able to find a couple of things we had previously not seen in Norway - leyches and edamame. We bought a bag of edamame and took it to the hotel to put in the minibar fridge to take back to Stavanger with us.

We also bought a can of stuffed grape leaves and ended up having a dinner of those, as well as leftover airplane sandwiches and some fruit. Eclectic, but delicious! (We had a nice meal at a restaurant in town for lunch, so we were stretching our travel budget.)


We had a nice view from our room at the Rica Ishavhotel, and the room was quite comfortable (they have fabulous beds!) Our room looked toward the north, and we could see the bridge and the Arctic Cathedral.

Breakfast at the Rica was fabulous both Saturday and Sunday. This hotel won second place in the "Best Breakfast in Norway" competition, and it is well deserved. The selection is broad, ranging from locally produced foods to the full English breakfast to all sorts of fresh juice blends. The only thing lacking is a good coffee, but they made a passable latte when we asked for it.


After breakfast Saturday, we headed out to go dog sledding. The weather had cleared and it was actually getting "warm" (above freezing.) The bus ride out was about 1 1/2 hours, and was through some beautiful snow-covered mountains.


The bus was a bit late getting to the camp, so the sleds were pretty much set up already by the time we got there. There wasn't a lot of instruction starting out, only on how to stop and that the dogs would pretty much follow the leader, so we wouldn't need to know much about steering. I took the first half driving, with Sidney and Kimber sitting in the sled.


It was very quiet and the scenery was breath-taking. I will say this - it is a lot more work than I though it would be. We had five dogs on our team, and I had to help them out getting up the worst of the hills. I also found that it isn't quite "follow the leader", but I got a feel of how to steer by shifting my weight and pulling on one side of the sled or the other.


We switched positions halfway, but Kimber doesn't quite have as much weight as I do, so the sled didn't tend to go where she wanted it to go. We ended up stopping for a bit (one of the teams in front of us had some trouble - more on that in a minute), so we switched back. (This is our lead dog, by the way.)


The switch back was just in time, as the "trouble" the other team had was dumping their sled (and passenger) into a frozen river. Their dogs went straight, but their sled didn't and went down a small embankment into the water. The passenger was okay, but very wet and cold (we were treated to a show of him drying off by the fire in his long johns - very Bear Gryllis-esque for those Discovery Channel fans!) I am pretty sure that we would have been in the water as well had we not changed drivers.









We finished the sledding just in time, as the snow started falling. Then it started blowing sideways. Then it looked pretty much like a blizzard. We were back at the camp by then and warming up in the little tee-pee by the fire. We had a nice lamb stew for lunch and got to talk to some of our fellow sledders.




We then boarded the bus for the journey back. I must say, it was almost as much of an adventure as the dog sledding had been. The bus was having some mechanical issues with losing water, and the roads were very icy. The snow was coming down very hard and visibility was reduced. At one point, there was a car that stopped in the middle of the road for some unknown reason. Our driver tried to stop, but the brakes were locking up and the bus was only sliding. He ended up steering around the car at the last minute, but probably gave the driver in the oncoming lane a heart attack when he did it. I was sitting right behind our driver, and I even leaned away from the side when it happened. We did finally make it back in one piece.


The snow continued Saturday night, so again, no Northern Lights. Sunday at breakfast, some British tourists told us they don't believe they really exist, or at least they appear only in relation to the amount of vodka one consumes that night.








We went to Polaria on Sunday. It is a museum dedicated to the ecological study of the Arctic wilderness. They have a pair of bearded seals (the only pair in captivity anywhere), as well as some great exhibits and panoramic movies. They also have a nice play area, which helped us kill time on Sunday since nothing else is open, it was snowing (again) and our flight wasn't until almost 9 pm.


Finally, the flight home. We got on the plane pretty much on time (which was good since most of the other flights were getting delayed by almost 45 minutes.) After we got on, we found out we had to wait on a) the runway to get cleared of snow and b) and incoming flight that had three passengers for our flight on it. We ended up taking off almost 45 minutes late, which was a problem because our connection in Oslo was only for 45 minutes of layover. They ended up holding the plane in Oslo for an extra 10 minutes for us and about 6 others going to Stavanger, and we made it back to Stavanger by 12:30 AM.

It was a long and tiring weekend, but a lot of fun. We have decided that we will try to do the Northern Lights in December, before all the snow starts again.

Another New Visitor

The Dingxianghai left over the weekend, and a new ship arrived. It is the Skandi Bergen, and ROV/Service Vessel. It has a very nice shape to it. According to the company website, the ship is only a couple of years old.



Sunrises are becoming more dramatic, and the sun is actually coming up at a reasonable hour. We get the first indications of light around 7 a.m., and the best light just before 8 a.m. Here is a view of Dalsnuten from our balcony the other morning.

The snow is melting away slowly but surely. Our last snowstorm gave us several inches of very nice snow, and we were able to get enough for a couple of batches of snow ice cream. Here is the recipe:

About a gallon of fresh, clean snow
1/2 Cup Starbuck's Flavoring Syrup (we like Toffee Nut the most)
1/2 Cup half and half
Milk

Mix all ingredients by hand except milk thoroughly. Start adding milk, mixing by hand, until the mix reaches a smooth but thick texture. Best eaten immediately, but can be stored in the freezer and eaten as desired.


Sidney got a new book at school called "Look Out!". We just have to share this picture of Kipper riding his Big Wheel through the laundry line. Fortunately, Sidney did not ask for thong underwear like Biff seems to own.

We are looking forward to our trip to Tromso, but a little disappointed that the forecast currently is not conducive to us seeing the Aurora Borealis. Oh, well, at least we will have good dog-sledding weather!

Stavanger Cathedral

In looking through the archives the other day, I realized I did not have any posts about one of the most unique and oldest buildings in Stavanger - The Cathedral.

The building of the cathedral began around year 1100 (though there are indications that an older wooden church from around 1025 lies underneath the stone building. Stavanger was actually established as a separate bishopric in 1125. The cathedral itself is dedicated to St. Swithun, who was chosen by the first bishop of Stavanger, Reinald (he was later hanged for not telling the king where the holy treasury was.)


There was a fire in the cathedral in 1272. Some speculate that this was intentional so as to get money to build a bigger cathedral. There is a definite difference in the architecture between the original part of the church and the part built after it burned.

One of the next major events was the changeover from Catholicism to Lutheran, which occurred in 1537.

There is a school attached to the cathedral, and it is among the oldest continually used schools in Norway. The cathedral itself has been in continual use for over 900 years.

On another note, we depart Friday for Tromso for an attempt at dog-sledding and hopefully a view of the Northern Lights. We hope to get plenty of good pictures and not freeze our bums off!