Bergen Part II

They say Bergen is the wettest place in Norway. We certainly discovered that on a day trip here Saturday. But the weather did nothing to diminish the charm of this lovely city. And like other rainy places, life seemed to continue apace during our visit.

We caught the 9:37 bus from Hjellestad for the 45-minute ride to town. The route carried us over curvy roads through pine forested hills and around sheltered coves to Sentrum, the city center. Immediately upon stepping off the bus, we could see why Bergen is such an attractive place to live.

Founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyre (Olav the Peaceful), Bergen was Norway's capital city and the home of its kings from 1240 until 1835. Until the late 19th century it maintained its trade monopoly of fishing. Now Norway's second largest city (population 203,000), it is no longer dependent entirely on fish for its wealth. Lying inland in a bowl below seven hills and mountains, it has the reputation for being the wettest place in Norway, with rain on average 260 days year. (Lomax, 2007)

We strolled the expansive pedestrian malls and gardens, with many picturesque statues and fountains, before wandering hilly neighborhood streets and exploring the waterfront. We dined on fresh fish at the open air market, reminiscent of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. We visited many stores to browse and shop, filling our backpacks with nautical charts for the way north, a set of sheet for the cabin berth, wine boxes from the state liquor store, and fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables from the market. Our visit concluded with people watching on one of the many promenades as we indulged in a latte. We caught the 4:15 bus back to Hjellestad.

Observation: Nowhere in this fine country, including here, does it seem our view is spoiled by outdoor advertising. Not on our journey into town nor in the city center are billboards found. The only outdoor signage is small and appropriate, never excessive. Perhaps one could complain that this makes finding shops more difficult. But this is a small price to pay for the improved aesthetics that come when one is not bombarded by obnoxious messaging as in the U.S. I say, "Bravo!"

Once back aboard Windleblo, we settled into our cozy nest as the rain continued. I prepared a meal of baked fresh Cod garnished with an olive, tomato, and scallion tapenade and accompanied by basmati rice and "pizza salad." Around 9 p.m., we stepped out to bid a safe voyage to Chris, Martin, and Anne who were to depart at 4 a.m. for their Shetland Island crossing. We retired around midnight.

We were awoken around 4:30 a.m. by a ringing cell phone. It was Chris with a distress call. He reported that he was adrift close by with a failed engine and needed a tow. We leaped into action, but before we could get the dinghy launched Swallow appeared at the dock. It seems her raw water intake had clogged, starving the engine of cooling water. We met on the docks to ponder several remedies, and I offered to dive below his hull to check the raw water intake. Chris said he had a few other lines of investigation to pursue before accepting my offer, and insisted that we go back to bed. We awoke around 8:30 to find them departed. We'll check his blog for ...the rest of the story.

Good day.