Bergen

If Norway is “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” Bergen is “The City of The Midday Rain.” All hotel rooms here are fully equipped with beds, baths, TV’s and … umbrellas. I have many soggy stories of Bergen, so this time I put out a prayer to the Norse gods and it worked. Only a few white clouds scudded across the sky in the fresh sea breeze this morning as we slipped past a string of rocky, windswept islets towards the seemingly impenetrable coastal mountains. Bergen, the capital of the fjords and the second largest city, straggles along the lower slopes of Mount Floyen and is protected from fierce storms by a double screen of islands and peninsulas. We threaded our way along a watery blue ribbon as we passed grey rocky outcrops tinged green with scrubby crabgrass and wind-battered bushes. The treeless shoreline was dotted with wooden huts with landing stages – once the humble abodes of fishermen, now probably holiday retreats for yuppie Bergenese. Then, after squeezing through a snaking fjord, we burst into the open water of Bergen harbour. But we were not alone … No – Not the Germans again. This time we were dwarfed by an ugly block of floating Italian appartamenti. Having sailed twice with Costa lines I know their ships’ interiors are comfortable and stylish, but why do they have to look so awful outside?
However, berthed directly alongside us, was a beautiful, super-luxury, (read … very expensive), cruiser, the diminutive Hebridean Princess – carrying 38 crew for just 49 passengers. I think that John, our travel agent friend, was surprised I knew of her.
The fjord pokes its watery fingers into many different areas and over the years I have found myself berthed in at least four different places. I am quite nostalgic about the first time I set foot here on Norwegian soil in 1962. Back then, the £2 it costs today to send a postcard to England would have bought four club sandwiches, (or a whole bucketful of herrings). At that time the daily coastal steamers were the lifeblood of the country and the locals used them as buses. Now, bridges, tunnels and airfields have made life easier, though they lack the charm and character of the ferries.
Lots of folk on board Ocean Majesty today have made this voyage before, but I've not met any who travelled so long ago. In the sixties, Norwegians were still feeling the aftermath of the occupation and were proud of their new buildings and eager for tourists to see them. But it is the old buildings of the Hanseatic Quarter, (1370-1754), that are the main draw today. David and Jean went ashore to see these iconic gabled buildings which are separated by narrow cobbled twisting alleys…

They visited shops crowded with shoppers of all nationalities and David almost burst into fluent Japanese when asked by a Japanese tourist to take her photograph – but words failed him. Then they boarded a sightseeing train near the 850 metre Mount Floyen funicular, (in operation since 1918), and saw many city sights and historic buildings, including an early twentieth-century bath house which has been converted to a restaurant. The train took them up the mountain from whence they had this spectacular view…

Pst! … Want to know a secret? Whilst everyone was ashore I sneaked up the steep ladder-like steps to the top deck and levered myself to my feet. I felt a bit like a child with her hand in the biscuit barrel … But what a fantastic view! I was finally ‘discovered’ by a deck steward who chatted for a while before I took the lift back down to my cabin.

After a final stroll around the bustling fish market to sample the sights and smells of countless types of raw and cooked seafood, David and Jean visited the wharves that were rebuilt after the Voorbode, a German ammunition ship, blew up on Hitler's birthday in 1944, killing 150 people and injuring nearly 4,000.
Here's David at the market - hoping to find something equivalent to a stuffed reindeer as a gift for his sister's sixtieth birthday.

Cruise ship crew members, in whatever capacity, work extremely hard for long periods, both day and night. The entertainment teams clearly enjoy themselves, although they must sometimes get fed up with all the jollity. Once again they had a busy night with two performances of "Pirates;" a lavish pantomime written by Barry, the entertainments officer, involving many costume changes. The pirates promoted the event by roaming the public rooms after dinner pretending to steal passengers’ jewellery. Following the second performance, at 11.35pm., the galley staff and waiters did extra duty at the Buffet Magnifique.

And here are the chefs ...

I wonder what the foreign waiters, whose families back home in Asia might be struggling to feed their children, think of rich white folk who stuff themselves at the buffet after having already eaten a huge dinner!

Away to bed after a very satisfying day.