Bergen…

So yesterday after I got home from the grocery, I decided to take some time and look through and edit my photos from Bergen, Norway.  About fifteen minutes after I got started, the rain started coming down in buckets and the thunder and lightning started.  I decided to shut down my computer.  Good thing.  A few minutes later, the electricity was out and stayed out for three or four hours.  Oh, well…

But I have managed to get a few of my Bergen pics edited and will share them today.  Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and is located on the west coast.  Its name in Old Norse means “the meadow among the mountains” and after having been there, I have to admit that it is aptly named. 

Bergen has a funicular, called the Fløibanen, that takes you up to a high point over the city.

  From there, this is what you see.

Back down at sea level, there is a famous site in Bergen called the Bryggen. It is a series of Hanseatic commercial buildings that line the street facing the fjord.  It is the oldest part of the city and is quite charming.  Of course, it was also a source of photographic frustration for me as the building smack dab in the middle was covered with blue mesh as it was being restored.  Trying to work around that building left me with a virtual pile of not-so-good to Yuk! What were you thinking pics.  Such is life. 

 Greg and I did take the time to stroll through some of the appealing, old residential streets of Bergen.

We got to view some Bergen wildlife.

And we ate lunch at the famous fish market and had some native raspberries for dessert.

We enjoyed our visit to Bergen and would recommend it as a destination.

Five Flåm fences and five random thoughts…

1)  It has been really hot here since we returned from Norway.  Hot enough to make me want to hop right back on that plane and head back.  I can’t take the heat.  Even as a kid I hated it.

  It makes me feel like a slug.

2)  I had to take my Prius in for her 50,000 mile maintenance this afternoon.  Even though the waiting room was air conditioned, it was still stuffy in there and I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.  The good news is that she (Ms. Prius) got an excellent health report.  The bad news is that I had a hard time keeping my eyes open on the drive home and had to stop for coffee.  Now, I am hoping that doesn’t interfere with my sleep tonight.

 

3)  I need to get some sleep tonight, because tomorrow at 10 am sharp, I am going to be one of the judges at our neighborhood 4^th of July parade.  For the last three years or so, I have had the dubious honor, together with two other neighbors, of deciding which float is the best.  We’ve always been unanimous in our selection.  Hoping tomorrow won’t be any different.

4)  Yes, I know that tomorrow is the 6^th of July.  Our neighborhood party is usually on a Saturday closest to the actual 4^th.  That way, if the weather is horrid, we have a rain date.  If the weather is just ungodly hot, as it is likely to be tomorrow, we have the party and I just stay as still as possible.  We’ve lived in the neighborhood for 26 years and I can remember only once that we’ve had to use the rain date.

5)  The photos I’m posting today are from around Flåm, Norway.  What a beautiful little town!  While I would normally link to Life According to Jan and Jer's Friday's Fences, Jan and Jer are on a much deserved mini-vacay this week and it will resume next week.  I'm sure I can find more fences and link up then.

LINKING TO

A RURAL JOURNAL'S RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

On the Nærøyfjorden…

We spent a very pleasant night in Flåm and caught the ferry there for a ride through the Nærøyfjorden, which is said to be the narrowest and most spectacular inlet of the Sognefjord. 

I will let my photos of this magnificent place do the talking.  But what artistry was done by the receding glacier in partnership with the sea!  Man cannot rival this!

We got off the ferry in Gudvagen and caught a bus to Voss where we got back on a train that took us to the west coast and the city of Bergen.  At that point, I couldn’t imagine seeing anything more glorious, but now I know…the best was yet to come.

Happy Independence Day to all my friends from the USA out there in blogland.  I hope your day is safe, dry and happy!

One of the most beautiful train rides in the world…

After two nights in Oslo, Greg and I headed to the train station to catch the train for Myrdal, Norway.  On our way, we rode past handsome, little Norwegian villages and through stark, stunning landscapes and ended up in Myrdal where we caught the Flåm Railway at 865 meters above sea level. 

The Flåm Railway took us on a 20-kilometer ride through the spectacular wild countryside and hairpin turns.  After about an hour, we arrived in Flåm.  The trip is advertised as the “one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world” and I will not argue that point.

The photos I took generally don’t do the scenery justice.  I’d like to blame it on the fact that I was on a moving train and taking pictures through window glare, but the fact is, it is so beautiful here that no photo could do it justice.

The first three photos are shots taken before Myrdal and the last three are taken on the Flåm Railway.

Careening down the mountain on the Flåm Railway.

Our only stop was to check out the Kjosfossen Waterfall.

Looking down on the village of Flåm.