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After another picturesque train journey along the Fjords of Norway we arrived at Bergen in the rain and waited with all the tourists and students for a taxi but due to the Tall Ships being in town they were far and few between .We finally got one and arrived at the Strand Hotel to see the harbour full of masts and the streets full of sailors from the 93 Tall Ships.
After lunch we heard a lot of commotion only to find a huge parade of all the ships’ crews marching and dancing down the main street. It was a real blast with some hilarious Dutch and British crews as well as some very serious looking Russians and fancy looking Mexicans on display.
We strolled along the Quay and the sun popped out for a short while so we took in the sights of all the boats with the thousands of other sight-seers and then enjoyed the sounds of two excellent bands playing on the waterfront ,what a fabulous introduction to Bergen.
Woke to a very wet and windy day and looking out our window at the market square there are some very saturated stall holders trying to protect their wares ,what a way to make a living…..
Despite the weather we setnourselves up for a visit to the streets. After a bit of shop spotting to try and keep out of the rain, we wandered up to see some more tall ships and got a mini ferry to the other side for some lunch and wanderings through the alleys of Brrygen. The old buildings are over 500 years old and on a lean, they are World Heritage listed.Sat in a great old bar to dry off fror a while and listened to a singer/guitarist. We have had a music filled time,not with the Greign music we thought we’d catch but with popular local musicians.
THE last night cleared up and allowed us a nice dinner out at a funky little restaurant just across the road on the harbour front where we had our best meal so far in the nordic lands .we then followed that with a cosmopolitan nightcap in our hotel bar .
Farewell Berben ,it was short ,sweet ,wet and chilly but well worth the visit to your fair shores.
