Bergen

Mountain Top View of City

 After a couple of nights anchored along the way, we arrived in Bergen.  This city is a perfect mix of old Europe and charming mountain scenery.

The site of houses clinging to the hill sides enticed me to climb higher and higher up the slopes.  Eventually I emerged on top of one of the seven mountains that surround the city.  Notwithstanding the intermittent rain showers, the views of the city below were so memorable that I resolved to talk Mary Anne and Wendy into enjoying the same scene.

Having discovered a steep cable railway at the summit, I took the easy way down to see where I would emerge in the city - it turned out that the lower terminal was only a few hundred meters from the boat.

Funicular Railway

Just before our evening meal, a nautical looking Norwegian was walking along our dock.  Mary Anne asked if he was from the sailboat tied up behind us.  He said he wasn't but then pointed to his boat - a fast passenger catamaran tied across the basin.  These 35 knot vessels complement the slower vehicle ferries to provide service to the island communities scattered all along the Norwegian coast.

As a captain and ship's pilot, Helge was able to give us lots of pointers on safe navigation along his coast as well as many ideas about the most scenic and wildlife rich areas to explore.

As always, there is much ahead of us to see and our boat is not fast.  So, after too short a visit, we reluctantly leave this beautiful port to see what lies ahead.

Bergen Street

Fast Ferry