After kind of a rocky night sleeping, we awoke and put together an awesome breakfast of fried eggs, toast, fruit and bacon. Our plan for today was to go to the top of Mt. Floyen, just on the edge of town. Mt. Floyen is an imposing peak that looms over Bergen. They have put in a cool funicular that shuttles thousands of tourists a day to the top. It was a short walk to the base where you pick up the Funicular. We arrived about 9:30 and crowds had already formed. We bought our tickets and waited for about a half hour to board. The school next door is the oldest in Norway. Love the bicycles on the fence. Nice touch.
It’s a steep, nearly vertical climb to the top. The train whisks you smoothly and quickly to the top. Once arrived, there are spectacular views of the city and harbor.
On top, there is a restaurant, playground and hiking trails.The trails wind around the top of and through an old growth redwood forest. We ended up walking a circuit that took us around the scenic edge and then down through the forest past an alpine lake and back to the top.
The park people added to the fun by placing signs strategically through the woods, like “Beware of Witches” and by placing oversized carved gnomes randomly in the trees. We spent a few hours hiking around and then caught the return train for a ride back to the bottom.
We were feeling a bit peckish, so went in search of grub. It was a little tough to decide what to get and with an eye on our wallets, we opted for a hot dog stand. But on closer examination, this was no normal hot dog stand. They had about seven exotic varieties. I opted for reindeer with lingonberry sauce. It was awesome. We each also got a delicious cup of fresh squeezed raspberry juice. Yum.
We then headed back to the ranch to take a siesta. Being the middle of the day, it was a little tough to rest. After a few hours of futile effort, we decided to head back into town. Clay and I decided to check out the local aquarium while Susan and Jean decided to visit the Hanseatic Museum on the waterfront. The Hanseatic settlement were a group of German settlers and merchants who moved to Bergen to trade in the local fishing catch. They dealt fish all over Europe. Their legacy remains today in the traditional buildings in the historic wharf district and in the museum. Once they got their though, they discovered that it was a guided tour and they would have to wait an hour and a half for the next tour. So they bailed.
Meanwhile Clay and I trudged several blocks until we finally reached the aquarium. Now, being a scuba diver and having visited several world class aquariums in my time, the Bergen Aquarium was pretty disappointing. It was expensive ($29 apiece) and quite small and limited with a very underwhelming and half hearted ecology message thrown in. Their fish exhibits were pretty limited and they tried to fill the void with snakes, small primates and spiders. Even stuffed versions of Norway’s big mammals. Really? The high point of the place was a penguin exhibit and show, a couple of small crocodiles. Pretty lame.
We met the girls downtown afterwards and stopped at the fish market to pick up something for dinner. Food is very expensive in Norway. We had been warned about that many times. We experienced it first hand when we ate dinner out the first night in Bergen, so decided to cook for ourselves the second night in town. We stopped at the market and bought some beautiful fresh caught salmon and a piece of Monkfish (the “poor man’s lobster”). We also bought some locally grown strawberries and raspberries and some veggies. We had a great fish meal with sautéed veggies and Belgian chocolate for dessert. We toasted the Harmons on their 42nd anniversary. Now we’re on vacation!