May 12th & 13th The Ferry and Bergen

(There has been a problem with the site that hosts our blogs so you might not have been able to access them, and some parts of our most recent blogs had been missing for a couple days.  This problem also prevented us from blogging, so you might have noticed a break in our postings.)

Once again we hopped on the train, this time to find the north coast of Jutland where we boarded the MS Bergensfjord.  Karla’s cousin Ib (and his dog Trixie) met us at the train station to say goodbye.  It was great having a host who knows all the cool local sights.

We couldn’t afford to miss this ferry – it only goes once every few days – so we scheduled in extra time for any unforeseen delays.  Fortunately there were none, so we had about an hour wait to board the ferry. 

The MS Bergensfjord is like a three-quarter sized cruise ship without the extravagant dining.  The food was good, but a little spendy.  Most of us had pizza for supper, and then breakfast (which was included with our tickets) was an American style breakfast buffet.  Of course, our cabins were small, but after living in the CabInn for almost a week, the students weren’t too surprised by their size.



Resting and reading, waiting to board the ferry.

Megan

The MS Bergensfjord and the Gangway for Boarding

Hirtshals is the town where the ferry docks.

Part of the Harbor at Hirtshals

We've seen several Danish lighthouses.

A View of Hirtshals and the Harbor as We Leave

Getting off the ferry and going through passport control was going very smoothly until the drug sniffing K-9 indicated a couple of our students didn’t smell quite right.  The guards took them into a separate room and questioned them, but they let our students go after determining they weren’t smuggling any contraband – just their Flat Stanleys.

While waiting to check into Hotel Thon Bergen Brygge, we took a walk around the city center.  We walked along the harbor, past the fish market, took shelter from rain in the train station for a few minutes, continued through the city park, and finally ended in a shopping area.

Bergen Harbor

 

A Side Street

A Park in Central Bergen

As in Denmark, there is an abundance of flowers in city parks.

Clouds Descending the Mountain

At the Fish Market

The Tourist Shopping Area Along the Harbor

 

Two Navy Assalt Vessels in the Harbor

Rosenkrantz Tower is just across the street from our hotel.

Looking down the street along the harbor.



Across the Harbor

 Our hotel rooms are nice – not as big as at the Phoenix Hotel in Bronderslev, but much larger than the CabInn. We ate supper together at Peppe’s Pizza (yes, pizza two nights in a row), a famous and ubiquitous pizzeria in Scandinavia. After supper (it was Friday night) the students had free time until Sunday morning when we are going to leave for the Norway in a Nutshell Tour.

Hope, Donna, Megan, Amy, and Britta waiting for the rest of us at Peppe's.

 

Up on top of the mountain is a great place to view the city and harbor.  Students plan to go up there tomorrow.