Bergen

7/2012 Update:  a series of blog entries from a Norway cruise I was fortunate enough to take in the Summer of 2008. Although it feels funny to have relayed trip updates via a blog, it was a pre-Facebook way of telling friends/family about my travels.

Today we stopped in the city of Bergen.  Bergen is a lot larger (over 200,000) than the other ports we've visited and is far more than a tourist destination.  The harbor is very large with a lot of active shipping going on.  We had some time before our bus tour to hit the shops around the piers as well as the open air farmers and fish markets.  They had some incredible fish available; it made me wish I could have brought back some of the smoked salmon I got to try...mmm.  Rob and I took a break from the ship's lunch cuisine and got some fish/chips at the fish market.  It was fantastic, made fresh to order (I believe it was local cod) and they served it with a bottle of balsamic vinegar which was quite tasty.  We had a little time to hit some shops before we had to rendezvous for the afternoon's bus excursion:  a tour of the city.

The tour took us around the city center and out to the Fantoft Stave Church.  Here's Rob practicing for one of his upcoming law lectures at NYU:

We weren't as lucky today with the weather as it rained much of the day (supposedly it rains 265 days or so a year).  We didn't get to do the funicular train ride which gets you up into the mountains overlooking the city or the "surprisingly uplifting" Leprosy Museum (description from the ship's daily publication).  Apparently, the cure for Leprosy was found here.  We headed out to see the former home of composer Edvard Grieg.  His house has been preserved and there is a nearby museum devoted to him.  A very nice part of the city:  it looks over the harbor and has some amazing nature areas and gardens.  The museum was everything one could want to know about Grieg, which is saying something.  After that, we drove back through the city, seeing some very upscale neighborhoods, and made our way back to the pier where we shoved off. 

Tonight's dinner was the last formal dress night and the staff served the dessert, Baked Alaska, with a flair.

A fun little show and the chefs/kitchen staff got a well-deserved round of applause (they must work their asses off on a ship like this).  Now, some of us are going to play a little blackjack to top off the night.  The trip is coming to a close pretty quickly and while all this stuff has been great, I'll be glad to get home as well.