Up until about 5:00 PM, the weather here in Bergen was making London look the Caribbean. Nothing but rain, wind, and I'd say around 50 degree temperatures all around. I had a great time walking 2 miles from Edvard Grieg's home to a stave church in a downpour. I mean, my umbrella has pretty much become my best friend, but it can only do so much. Needless to say, I was soaked.
Grieg's house was really cool, mainly because it wasn't too crowded, and this tour guide lady basically gave me a private guided tour for free. It was fantastic. Rater like an idiot, I hadn't heard any of Grieg's music before I went to his house, but the woman was very accommodating. Great fun.
Probably the best thing I did today though was to ride the funicular up this large hill overlooking the harbor. On the top, there's some sort of city park/wilderness area, where I went hiking for about an hour before walking back down to the city. It was everything I was looking for; the opportunity to get out into nature without seeing or hearing anybody else. In retrospect, it's amazing I didn't break my ankle off walking on the slick rocks. However, in a stunning moment, the sun came out. This was the first time I've seen the sun since I've been in Norway, so it was extremely welcome. It helped to wipe away the watery hell I was in just hours previously.
Among today's culinary delights, I tried a piece of whale, and had a reindeer hot dog* for dinner. The reindeer hot dog was pretty good, I must admit. The whale, eh, I left unimpressed. I'm typically not in the business of eating whale, and I don't support whaling in general, but I figured you might as well try everything once. Moral of the story, if you're in Bergen, get the reindeer, not the whale.
So yes, in a little over an hour, I'll get on the night train to Oslo. Tomorrow, I hope to see the Viking Ship Museum, since Marv Slind told me to, check out some art, and maybe even have my sole European McDonald's of the summer. Now that I think of it, I haven't had a burger since I arrived in London.
I can accomplish those three goals. You just need to set low standards...
*People here love hot dogs/sausages. It is a little unnerving, to tell you the truth. Who eats this many sausages?
OH YAY! you went to the top of Mt. Floyen? FUN! I didn't get to hike around that area that much, but that's awesome. And you got to the Stave church? Niiiiice. It's a pity that it's not the original - but it's still SUPER cool! Too bad it's been rainy - when Kate and I were there it was nothing but sunny! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sooo jealous about Oslo! You'll have such a good time! The Viking Ship museum?! That's awesome! There's also supposed to be an amazing Stave Church in Oslo - but I'm not really sure where it is - and you might not have time to get there anyway... Can't wait to see pictures!