Beautiful Bergen

I never imagined that I be spending even one day in Norway, but since I've had the opportunity, Bergen was a wonderful experience.  I really didn't know what to expect before arriving but it was just beautiful.  The town is the second largest in Norway and was the capital before Oslo so it has all the immenities of a large city, but from a distance it looks like a quaint village built into the side of a mountain.  The homes look like they are just clinging to the sides of the mountains.  We stepped off of the Golden Princess about 8:15 a.m. and rode a shuttle bus to the middle of town which I am quite glad we did because otherwise we would have had to cross a highway and walk through a very dark, very long tunnel with traffic  zooming by.  Anyway, the shuttle dropped us off about 5 minutes later and we got off and started walking through a huge outdoor shopping area towards the fish market.  It was about a 10 minute walk and when we arrived we were greeted by the most astonishing (I'm trying to be  nice) odor.  It was definitely a FISH market.  I have pictures of things I can't imagine eating.  I was able to snag a sample of smoked salmon that was absolutely delicious but I did not try the whale.  It looked too much like calf's liver.  I also tried some moose sausage that was pretty good.   Once all 28 of our group arrived we got in line for the Fjord tour aboard the White Lady.  We departed the pier about 10:00 a.m. for the tour.  As we went along we had some sites pointed out to us and we went under a bridge that is built on supports that float in the water.  The bridge was huge and we were told that each support went something like 180 feet deep.  I wasn't able to count the number of supports, but I couldn't get the whole bridge in one picture it was so long.  I'm not sure that I would want to drive across it, but they do everyday.  Some of the homes built into the side of the mountains had grass roofs, and on some of them you could see that the grass was growing.  I'm sure glad I don't have to mow that grass.  I know you won't believe this, but it was so cold that the night before I bought a heavier coat than what I brought with me and I am glad I did.  It started raining during the tour and I was on the outside deck of the boat but I put my hood on and bundled up with my coat and other than my hands I stayed warm.  I had someone take a picture of me like that because I didn't think anyone would believe me when I told them how cold it was in August.  About 2:00 p.m. we arrived back at the Fish Market and  I promptly got off and purchased a smoked salmon sandwich that was DE-LI-CIOUS.  I wanted the shrimp and salmon sandwich that I had seen before our tour, but they had sold out while we were gone.  Nobody else in the group joined me for lunch and it's too bad for them.  I shopped around the market a little bit and then I walked back to the shuttle and arrived back at the ship around 4:00 p.m.  I met up with my parents a little after 5:00 and we sat out on their balcony when the ship departed at 6:00.  As we left the port I saw a rainbow over Bergen that seemed to end right on top of a house painted gold so we decided that was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  At 7:45 we met for cocktails before dinner and I had one of the best dinners I have had onboard.  I started with Dim Sum for my appetizer, and then I had chicken broth with vegetables and matzo balls, then a ceasar salad, and my entree was the best prepared chicken dish I think I've ever had with cabbage, asparagus and roasted potatoes. I finished with creme caramel with fruit.  mmmm  mmmmm.  Today we are at sea again, and already this morning I attended a culinary demonstration put on by the head chef and dining room staff that actually turned into a comedy routine, but ended with a tour of the galley. The galley was sparkling it was so clean.  They were actually cooking while we walked through but there wasn't a drip or splatter anywhere.  The rest of my day I am going to do laundry (yuck), and  then I am getting a foot and ankle massage (yeah).  Tomorrow we will be in Rotterdam and we have a private tour scheduled.

Billy, Mother played Bingo once and was mad she didn't win so she hasn't been back and Daddy has shown some restaint.  Maybe I'll get them to let their hair down a little bit today.

Hope everyone is well.  Love, Beth