Day Five - Excursion to Bergen

We get up and have another wonderful breakfast.  I keep saying that, but let me describe the buffets.  Michael has told us that the hotels change to summer buffets in June.  There are two buffet tables - one cold and one hot.  For dinner, there is also a dessert buffet.  For breakfast on the cold buffet, there is a variety of cheeses, fruits, meats including salmon, hard boiled eggs, cold cereals with nuts, raisins, etc to add,  and yogurts.  On the hot buffets, there are scrambled eggs, soft boiled eggs, sausages and bacon, and potatoes.  They have  a coffee machine where you push a button and get a cup of coffee.  That was cool!  It would be nice to have one at home!  There were wonderful breads at the buffets.  I ate quite a bit of bread until I realized perhaps I should not!  There were not many sweet rolls or pastries.  When they were put out on the table, we moved fast to get some!  We left Voss and drove to Bergen.  We were to have a tour of Bergen for two hours and then have free time until 4 when we would head back to Voss.  We arrived a bit early in Bergen and so had about 30 minutes to look around before our guide met us.  We immediately found a quilt shop (we figured out that even in Norwegian).  Several of us bought a sewing pattern from a very nice woman even though the pattern is in Norwegian.  She assured us we can make it because the measurements are in inches.  We shall see!  She directed us to a yarn shop around the corner which we found but didn't have time to shop because it was time to go on our tour.  Hilde Oppedal was introduced to us and she did a wonderful job introducing us to Bergen.  We stopped near the custom house and took pictures of the harbor.  We also saw the remaining wooden buildings in the Hanseatic Wharf, which is a world heritage site.  We traveled to Troldhaugen, home of Edvard Grieg.  We walked about 10 minutes to the house and were able to walk through it and walk out to his view of the sea from his composing house.  He was so short he had to sit on the works of Back and Beethoven to reach the piano (building on the masters he said).  In this beautiful setting, even I could write beautiful music.  Okay - NOT!  We went back into Bergen and had lunch at the Food Market there.  We were told we could get lefse in the Market and sure enough we did.  It was Hardanger lefse which had a cream cheese and goat cheese filling on the inside.  We shared one because it was huge.  We ate lunch there choosing the fresh fish and chips recommended by Michael.  We walked to St. Olaf's church and around Bergen.  We also did a bit of shopping at the open air market.  Before we could get back to the yarn shop, it was time to go.  Probably a good thing.  I will get some yarn before we head home.  At least there is yarn.  Last year we went to Ireland and it was nearly impossible to buy yarn.  We return to Voss.  Michael tells us that Voss is the site of the extreme game competition which occurs in early July.  That evening we watch a couple of hang gliders in the field behind the hotel.  Another wonderful meal and tonight - a dessert buffet! YES!  I have a bit of everything because I don't want to offend them.  Ha ha.  We sit on the patio again and then turn in because we must leave at 8AM tomorrow.  They are moving this time up every day!