NORWAY 1

Above - Len looking down on Bergen and a happy Mum and Daughter!! Top photo is of the Briggen in Bergen (see later)
We arrived in Stavanger on Saturday afternoon and Sarah and Baard were there to meet us. A short drive to Sandnes and we were in their flat and unpacking the goodies we had bought with us - Lamb and Steak - not to mention a number of bottles of wine. While the wine was a bit of an afterthought it turned out to be a good investment when we discovered that a half bottle of wine in Norway sells for some $30! A bottle of beer was only $12.50!!
On Sunday we all took off in the Mercedes wagon to explore Stavanger an old fishing port which is now a centre for the oil and gas industry in the North Sea.We walked through the old part of the city with fishermen's cottages lining the streets next to the water - all timber homes and cobbled streets.
Then we took off for the mountains some 40 kms inland .We stopped at Byrkjedalstun (don't ask me to pronounce it) where we had a super lunch.Carol and I had Salmon Trout,Sarah had a casserole and Baard had an Elk Steak. And the cost was more reasonable than we had anticipated. The drive continued through long tunnels (one was 3.8 kms long) and into valleys and beautiful mountain scenery. It was our first taste of what can only be describe as magnificent country.

Monday we took the express ferry from Stavanger to Bergen, a four hour trip up various fjords calling in at several villages en route. At one of the larger stopping points we literally sailed up the main street to drop off and pick up passengers.Arriving in Bergen we saw our first cruise ship.These enormous ships take tourists up the fjords all along the west coast of Norway and seem to dominate their surroundings. Bergen itself is a charming city surrounded by high hills. The quayside part of the city has a fish market where every sort of seafoods is displayed and made us wish she could buy some and cook it ourselves. Along the quayside were the old original buildings called the Briggen -somewhat reminiscent of Hobart but all buildings in timber. We had fish and chips on the wharf and then found our hotel which was good value and included an excellent breakfast buffet.We took the venicular railway up to the mountains to gain a glorious view of Bergen. The railway stopped at several stations on the way up and down,where local residents used the transport as their means of getting into the city and home again -who wants to drive!!

We decided to find our way to the Railway Station as we had an early train trip the next morning, and were glad we did as the directions we had been given took us to the Bus Station!! Then we drew the curtains in our room to shut out the light (at 10.30pm) and went to bed.