It was an interesting night at the Zander K Hotel. Matt has adjusted pretty well to the time change, but Anna and I are seriously messed up with our sleeping. Anna seems to alternate good and bad nights, I am just all over the place. When we got back from dinner there was a red carpet outside our hotel and a lot of very well dressed Norwegians having drinks at the bar. I didn’t think much of it until about 11pm when loud music cranked up. The kids were already asleep but not me, so I got to enjoy the boom-boom of the base until it finally finished at 2am. I was still struggling to get to sleep when the hotel fire alarms broke the silence at 3:15am. It was throw on some clothes and make our way out onto the freezing streets in the middle of the Norweigan winter. Fortunately there was no fire (just a kitchen incident- Andy reckons too much smoked herring?) and we were soon tucked up in our cosy beds and all asleep. The Zander K redeemed itself though when we saw the breakfast buffet. It was a huge spread of hot, cold and beautifully presented fresh organic food. No smoked herring after all, but the most delicious smoked trout and even caviar (which none of us were brave enough to try!).
We had booked a 10am fjord cruise, and got on the boat just as the sun was rising. In summer there are dozens of fjord cruises, but we had a choice of one – a three hour tour up the Osterfjord to a little place called Mostraumen. As we boarded the boat we were warned that we may not get there today as the ice can stop progress up the narrow fjord, and it may be an alternate route.
It was a cloudier day, but still no sign of the famous Bergen rain. The boat was pretty fast so we stayed inside until we got across the Bergen harbour, then braved the top deck once the scenery got more spectacular. The landscape is similar to Fiordland with waterfalls everywhere, but the big difference here is they were all frozen. We passed tiny villages and summer houses as we made our way up the narrow fjord. We did make it to Mostraumen, but couldn’t get into the last part of the fjord as it was frozen. It was impossible to capture the beauty on camera, and well worth freezing to get the best view from the top deck.
After returning to Bergen we grabbed a quick lunch and then explored some of the old town before it got dark. Then it was off to check out a unique Bergen tradition called Pepperkakebyen (Gingerbread City). Half the people of Bergen get involved and make gingerbread houses and gingerbread everything. All the creations come together in one giant display inside a gymnasium. This has been going for 25 years is hugely popular, it was a really neat Christmas experience. Last stop of the day was a popular student hangout for a cheap and cheerful Italian dinner.
