Indeed it was, as my KLM flight was early with friendly service, and I budgeted conservatively for my transfer into the Schengen zone in Amsterdam and arrived early in the western city of Bergen. The views coming in from the southwest were beautiful of the western islands and inlets. Some pictures below:
Also, as we left Amsterdam, you could see many windmills in the middle of the ocean:
The Bergen airport seemed quite new and here’s a sign in front of the terminal:
After taking the light rail to just right outside of Bergen center, I was able to check in early into our hotel, the Moxy Bergen. I napped and showered and rested before Rachel’s arrival.
When she did mid-afternoon, we chatted and headed downstairs for our welcome drink which was home-brewed tea with or without gin. We enjoyed on the outside deck people-watching those jumping into the water, using the outdoor saunas, and as we all soaked in the summer sun.
We then walked over to the Florida stop to take the #1 train (the same as the airport line) into the city center - our selfie below sent to Mikey and William while waiting:
The center included a wide and long square called Torgallmenningen and at one end, was the Sailor’s Monument or Sjømannsmonumentet - it has 4 different eras of Norwegian seafaring history:
We also walked around the harbor area which was bustling and there were colorful and quaint buildings and structures - it felt very Scandinavian:
For dinner, we decided on seafood baguette sandwiches from the Fish Market and local beers:
We walked around town and even explored a Normal which is a variety store. In search of a bathroom, we decided to buy tickets for the Fløibanen, a funicular that goes up Mount Fløyen and has a glass roof:
We coincidentally timed the sunsets perfectly and took in the beautiful views of Bergen. Also, we oriented ourselves on where our ferry departs tomorrow and where our cruise leaves on Saturday and getting a better view of the city layout. The hilltop had many tourists and goats…
In addition to a restaurant, there are trails and we saw some hikers, but we chose to explore the troll forest that was near the playground while being in awe of the tall trees:
We rode the funicular back down, walked to our tram stop, and rode it back to our hotel. We did more than I expected on our first night in Norway - as I said to Rachel, I have under-planned by my standards!