Fjaerland And On To Bergen

So the next morning we pay the toll and head to Sogndal, which required 30 minutes discussion between us on how to pronounce it. Is the "g" silent? Reversed with the "n"? Do you awkwardly pronounce the "g"? Anyway, we got there (the most important thing) and found a tourist office and found where to go for local scenery. We drove along Sogndalsfjorden and then up to higher elevations to get spectacular views of the largest glacier in Europe! It was beautiful, but I must admit to being spoiled by Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau as the most beautiful I've seen so far. The city is the perfect size in my opinion for the environment. Large enough to support tourism, but small enough as to not overwhelm what the real attractions are. We had a marvelous dinner there in Sogndal before heading back to Fjaerland. It was our last night there, as we were to head to Bergen the next day.

We woke up to (surprise!) mostly cloudy skies and drizzle. Today was the 17th, Norway's National Day... their equivalent to our July 4th. There were parades all over the country and they were televising the ones in Oslo and a few other larger cities in the country. Fjaerland was having it's own parade, and we decided to stick around for it. How cool was it to witness and experience small town pride and patriotism in Norway!! And what great pictures!!! Did I mention great, ethnic food after the festivities? They donned ceremonial Norwegian dress, had a marching band playing, and went up the main road of town, circled back, stopped in the town cemetery at the church to honor and entertain the deceased (in the rain!) and returned past the school to a community center where speakers would make their speeches and people would eat their traditional food. Radhika and I stayed long enough to eat, but did a "cut and run" on the speeches (no offense to you Republicans). We made our way to Bergen on the west coast of the country, which was only a few hours away. TomTom tripped us up and took us to the wrong address, but luckily I had the phone number of the place, so we gave them a call and the woman gave us directions. We weren't far so we were there in no time. The cabin I reserved was REALLY small, so we asked what options we had for a larger one. She cut us a good deal, we looked at it, liked it, and we settled in. There's a lot to be said for going "off-season"!! Another cabin with 2 floors, a full kitchen, and TV. We decided to kick back seeing as how we had a full day already, and rest for tomorrow.

Bergen is a beautiful city and very historic. We parked and walked to the waterfront area where most of the "action" is. Very quaint, colorful, with a maritime feel, of course. We strolled through shops, outdoor markets, and the historic section along the water. We went up on the funicular to an overlook that was absolutely beautiful. This pretty much encompassed our entire day. We hiked around a pond, had a picnic there, and then hiked to an old stave church. Coming down the trail we came upon a woman who was lying on her side. I thought she was taking a picture, but she actually had taken a tumble and had hurt her knee. NO, it WASN'T Radhika. I am not protecting the innocent (or clumsy). She was from Finland and had hurt her knee. Her jeans were torn so I could tell she fell with some force. We helped her out and eventually up, with me dispensing care and medical advice (as you all know I am NOT a Dr. but play one on TV). Well, she turned out to be a NURSE, so I had to shut my mouth on the care of her bruised knee! We took our time the rest of the way and by the time we reached the city she was doing well. She was very nice and we hope to see her when we visit Finland. Radhika and I grabbed a bite to eat at an outdoor cafe that was nearby to where we ended our hike. We sat there for a long time in the sun and breeze just soaking up the atmosphere. We explored a fortress and a little more of the city, eventually eating a great dinner in a small local restaurant called Penguin’s. More salmon for me that was delicious! Today’s weather was quite nice, so we stayed in the historic section of the city exploring the back alleys and royal residency. We went back to our cabin thinking of going back into the city, but didn't make it back out. Having a long drive back to Oslo tomorrow, we packed tonight and got a good nights sleep on our last night in Bergen.