Rica Travel Bergen

... preparation for boarding Hurtigruten and setting out for a sailing jaunt all the way up the north coast, past the North Cape (Norrkapp) on to Kirkenes (past Sverige and Suomi and to the Russia border, almost) and back. My memory is that the coastal ferry will stop at 67 places along the way in 12 days. The ports missed (due to the midnight hour and need for sleep) will be revisited during the day. How sweet it is.<br><br>

... the harbour<br>to see where the boat left from the next morning, we headed to bed and<br>slept fitfully. Although the hotel is very nice it was next to a noisy<br>bar, and it was Saturday night. Nevertheless, we set off early (7.30am)<br>on Sunday morning to the aforementioned harbour, and embarked on a<br>cruise up the Sognefjord followed by a train ride home through Flam<br>Myrdel. The scenery was spectacular, and despite my ...

... upon finishing at Marken. Anyone who completes the hike receives an official Diploma and T-Shirt and commemorative plaques are also available to buy ranked by Bronze, Silver, Gold etc. depending upon how many times you have done the hike. Frank and I had to part with 300 Krone (Roughly 30 Squid) for the privilege but you can do the hike on your own for free and at any time. We (probably me slightly more!) ...both wanted the T-Shirt and Diploma, no ...

We went to Bergen and I actually have some family there so I could stay there for free, but otherwise I've heard that the Montana Youth hostel should be nice and cheap! In Bergen it was raining so we went around the "brygge" and did not go for the mountain tops this day. I think Bergen is known for it's rain and so we did need to experience it. If you haven't seen Bergen in rain you ...

... is some of Norway's beauty from the ferry... Here is some of Norway's beauty from the train... Our traveling ...

... end, we walked amongst some local sheep and grilled our lunches (delicious on the river!), and then paddled back in a double kayak and posed for some more candid shots. The beauty of the area is amazing, with waterfalls appearing around every turn from the cliffs. When we got back to the city of Voss, we explored the tiny city and headed up the mountain to our hostel. Unfortunately I didn't realize the mountain side hostel was two miles away (my eyes betray me) so we ...

... of Bergen with its crooked wooden buildings and alleyways. The rain was coming down hard now and we lost an umbrella to the wind and my shoe started to leak! We walked on to the Rosenkrantz Tower and did the walking tour of the tower taking some photos of Hakons Hall and the harbour area from the top of the tower. We then walked back through Bryggen to the hotel ...

... anyone being in the streets. But still we were not the only ones jumping the tour bus. We were among the youngest ones, though. A kind of elderly people day trip. Fortunately, there was also two young chinese girls among this touring group formed by coincidence otherwise we might have thought we were in the wrong film. Under the overcast sky every landscape in Norway seems to have certain dramatic elements. And soon the signs of civilisation got more sparse. It was not long until we ...

... I couldn't see anything until we were almost at the runway. The first thing I saw was the choppy ocean, then rocks, then immediately the runway right on top of the rocks. You see, if there's one word I would use to describe that section of Norway, it would be "rocky". There must be very shallow topsoil in that region because there were rocks everywhere. Now I had heard that Norway is very expensive (probably the most expensive country ...