Day 4 - Bergen, Norway

We got a better night's sleep last night.  I think we are finally acclimating to the time change.  After breakfast at the buffet we had a little time to watch the docking process from our room.  Our tour meet time was 8:30AM again.  After a short ride through town we got off the bus and headed for the funicular station.

For those who haven't heard of this, a funicular is a tram that climbs a mountain on inclined tracks.  We got lucky and got to stand at the very front of the tram, near the driver.  Ray got this great picture and I think I got some good video of the ride up.

overlooking Bergen from Mt. Floyen

At the top of Mount Floyen the view was fantastic.  It was a warm, clear day and we could see the city of Bergen and the bay with our ship and several others.  Our guide pointed out all the interesting areas and buildings down below.  Bergen was founded in the year 1070 and, although the town suffered from several serious fires over the years, there is a section that still looks as it did several hundred years ago.  Old Bergen has been designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.  At the end of our tour the bus stopped there so we could take pictures and anyone who wanted could stay to shop.

Old Bergen

Our guide also took this opportunity to show us a statue of a troll on Mount Floyen and tell us all about Norwegian trolls.  It seems they are mischievous creatures who only come out at night to steal clothes off the lines.  They come in all sizes, are sensitive to light and turn into rock during the day.  That is why you can see faces sometimes in the shape of rocks on the mountains.

Statue of Edvard Grieg

Concert Hall

After riding the funicular back down the mountain the bus took us to Troldhaugen, the summer home of composer Edvard Grieg.  If you don't remember his name you might know some of his famous work - in particular, the music for Henryk Ibsen's play - Peer Gynt.  The house where he and his wife Nina lived is being renovated outside, but the inside is preserved as it would have been in his lifetime.  A lovely concert hall has been built next to it, with a window behind the stage looking out over the water in the valley below.  It is very appropriate, since it is said that Edvard Grieg was inspired to write his music by the nature around him.

This was a very enjoyable tour. After leaving people off in town, the bus took us back to the ship.  Ray & I were concentrating on lunch and an afternoon of relaxation, so it wasn't until we were in our room that Ray realized he had left his sweater on the bus.  We could see that the bus was still there so I took a chance and ran back down to retrieve it.  The tour guides and drivers were good enough to  have checked for items left behind, and the sweater had already been found and given to an agent who was going to bring it to lost and found.  As Ray looked on from our room, I was able to retrieve the sweater from the agent.  All is well.

Tonight is meet and greet night.  Regent has this tradition, that on one of the first casual nights aboard everyone is asked to take a wine glass from their room and go out into the hall before dinner.  The crew comes around serving champagne and canapes to everyone and we get a chance to meet our neighbors.  The captain, general manager, and cruise director then dash around every deck on the ship trying to say hello to everyone.  It's usually a fun half hour.