Clarion Bergen Airport

... plugs, and inflatable pillows!

Bergen was a lovely little town set on a fjord. It has nice old buildings that have been preserved as a UNESCO site. It also has an interesting leprosy museum, which we couldn't help visiting.

Bergen train station also had a great bread and water deal: only 8 dollars!

Our last day in Bergen - mixed emotions about this. We are sad to see our family vacation come to an end, but we are definitely getting homesick and looking foward to getting back to the states. I'm sure you all are getting ready for the big weekend, so I'll make this blog brief. It might also be the last...

Today, we walked down to the fish market to take a look around. We saw eel, whale, lobster, salmon, monk fish, crab, and shrimp just to name ...

... put one foot in front of the other... one foot in front of the other. The descent was equally precarious to say the least and frustratingly we hit another 15 minute bottle-neck at the base where you cross through Town on your way over to the next mountain. Lovstakken was a supposedly familiar friend but we were approaching from a different trail from the west and the ascent was a long and gradual one. Reaching the Summit around 2p.m the weather was ...

... s sleep and woke up to a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and coffee made by Terje. (I never drank coffee until this trip, and I still doubt I'll continue to when I return back to the states. Maybe those are famous last words.) The weather was cold but clear, and we went into Bergen. Our first stop was the Bergen fish market, which Nancy says is the most photographed part of Bergen. She said it's smaller during the winter, but we were still impressed. Nancy and Angie tried caviar for the ...

... in the languages and cultures of the places I was visiting instead of speaking English with fellow travelers or depending on the biased opinions of the tour guides. It also forced me to be open with the customs and the standards of living of the foreign countries. And in this adventure, I learned a lot about human understanding. Even when the Russian or Japanese tourists could not communicate well in Norwegian or English, I found that ...

... Norway is so expensive! Their currency is the krone, 1 USD is 5 krone. A personal pan pizza is 100 krone so 20 USD, a bottle of soda is 20 krone so 4 USD, a five piece pack of gum is 15 krone so 3 USD. Crazy. Ok I'm going to explore some more, we are going to a leprosy museum. The museum is an old hospital it was in use for over 500 years. More fun facts to come! Skål! (Norwegian for cheers) -Jess

... slot. Not sure why i proceeded to another bank, and another, and another. By the fourth bank i was really starting to panic, i was starting to sweat from the anxiety rather than the carrying of my heavy backpack in the heat. I just couldn't believe that my card was no good, how could it be possible, what would i do for the next few days with no money!! Eventually while watching somebody else at the machine i realized that over here the card goes in with the magnetic strip side facing ...

Had a sleep in and then had breakfast at the hotel before setting out to the Floibanen, the funicular up to Mt. Floyen. Magnificent views over the city and surrounds from the top des[ite the rain setting in. Weather was cold, wet and windy but we continued on catching the funicular back down to Bergen and walking down to Bryggen, the World Heritage listed old ...

This day, as we already expected, was grey and pretty moist. Not really wet as it was rather a drizzle than a proper rain. Breakfast could not go without the ever-present Thai-soaps on mini-movie players that either Nuch and P'Kim took with them wherever they are. As we (particularily the two women) could not be bothered to walk to the bus station where the tour would start we had a taxi booked for bringing us there. Bergen is virtually dead on an early Sunday morning. I can't ...

... yep, with a special announcement just to advertise them)) The plane ended up being almost full, but I got there early so I got a window seat in the 3rd row from the front. It was a smooth 1 hour, 40 minute flight. As we left Britain, I got to look down at the countryside and small villages of the Southeast corner of the country. Once we got out over the North Sea, it clouded up. When we flew in to Haugesund, the clouds were very low ...