Our Bergen Binge: Seven Norse Course(s)

Hi All,

We were in Bergen for less than 24 hours, and we spent nearly 20% of our time eating (and drinking) dinner.

It turns out that there was a restaurant in Bergen that was written up in the NY Times called Lysverket

Not much from the outside

which serves “Neo-Fjordic” cuisine.

When was that last time you had “Neo-Fjordic” cuisine.  We generally dine only at the “Paleo-Nordic” restaurants, as I’m sure you do.

B to B: Balestrand to Bergen

Hi All,

We left Balestrand for our final stop in Norway, Bergen which is the second most populated city in Norway.

Not our ferry, in fact, not a ferry at all, but my only picture of a boat on the fjord.

It was our longest and last chance to be captivated by the glorious scenery of the fjords.

Visiting Vik

Hi All,

Before I describe the next days agenda I want to pause for a moment and, as promised, say a word about the stave architectural style

 

O Little Town of Balestrand

Hi All,

Our destination was the quaint village of Balestrand

I know it looks a lot like the other fjordian towns, but this one is Balestrand

As we got off the ferry from Flam, both Jill and I felt the almost imperceptible alteration in the space-time continuum.  The population of Balestrand surged from 1,294 to 1,296 (an increase of almost 0.15%), bumping it up to the 373^rd most populous municipality in Norway.

The North of Norway and the Fjords

Hi All,

Before we go on to the stories of the fjords (like Ali Baba and the Fjordy Thieves or North Dallas Fjorty or The Fjorty Year Old Virgin), I want to briefly take you back to our first morning in Oslo.

It was very early on June 22, after our harrowing arrival the day before.  We were sound asleep in our hotel room and suddenly awakened by the smell of smoke.  Thinking that the hotel was on fire (and, at the same time, wondering if that meant we would get a room upgrade or at least a refund for one night), we looked outside for fire engines and saw that the smoke was coming from something burning in the harbor.  I wondered out loud if it was the rather large ship named “The Vanity” that we saw the night before.

“The Vanity” was one of these

Oslo : The Art Scene

Hi All,

The best part of Oslo for me was, of course, “The Salmon.” Restaurant.  But to fill the time in time between meals, we did visit other impressive attractions.

Vigeland Park was one of the highlights of our visit to Oslo.

I confess that I was not familiar with Gustav Vigeland or his art before we decided to go to Oslo. Neither was Jill, but she didn’t want to confess and as of this writing still maintains her innocence.

Oslo: Norway’s New York City

Hi All,

Don’t be alarmed.  You did not miss one of the blogs.  We left Amsterdam for Oslo, Norway, but we will be returning to Amsterdam at which time I will write the exciting conclusion of the Amsterdam portion of our journey.  But now, Oslo:

We flew to Oslo from Amsterdam allowing us to get our first look at the Oslofjord from above.  

It was among the most beautiful fjords I have ever seen.  Truth be told, however, my favorite and the most attractive Fjord was the 1955 Thunderbird convertible.

But you can judge for yourself