September 13, 2015

Moving Day

Our 3 day stay with family in Stavanger is about the average length of stops on this trip, although this one will be harder to leave.  Usually after 3 days we have gleaned some sort of understanding of the destination and have engraved the sights, sounds and smells into a brief but lasting picture.  Once you get past three or four days you get into some depth, lesser museums, neighborhoods and the more subtle nuances which can take years to master.  Our visits might be on the superficial side but we try to pay attention and learn as much as we can.

In spite of a pretty hard night little Thilde is a smiling bustle of activity this morning.  So far she has looked at the intruders and then at her parents wondering why these people were still in her house.  This morning she seems pretty happy to see us and John & Mary take turns bouncing her around and making her giggle.  In the normal flow of the house Patrick speaks only English and Nina speaks only Norwegian when Thilde is around.  The book says that she will develop speech a little later but will be multi-lingual as soon as she does.

There is a big spread on the dining room table with more pancakes, breads, smoked salmon, liver pate, cheeses, blended fresh strawberries, cucumbers, fruits and more.  We’re getting spoiled.  We’ve booked a 10:45 bus for Bergen so there is no dilly-dallying or sleeping late today.  We seem to have conquered jet lag and should be back on schedule.  We try to tell our hosts how smart, energetic, hard-working and beautiful they are as well as wonderful parents but it just comes out as, “we’re so proud of you.”

It’s hugs all around and Patrick pulls up the chariot for the short run into the central Stavanger bus station where the larger chariot awaits.  It’s a 5 hour haul to Bergen with winding roads through pretty dramatic country as well as a couple ferry rides.  All the guide books tell us to fly if you must, take the train if you want to sleep, but take the bus if you want to see Norway.  The bad news is that it is overcast with off and on rain which are not the best conditions for getting the big picture.  It looks just like, well, Norway.  Cute rustic cottages, the occasional sheep, lots of water and rolling green hills.  This area is pretty temperate (no snow in Stavanger last winter) so it doesn’t take the weather beating that might be more frequent in other parts of the country.

On ferry number 2 we decide to eat something to hold us over until later.  John sees brats on the menu and orders a couple but the fellow behind the counter says, “No brats for you.”  Or it was something like that.  He perhaps suggests something else and when John nods he gets two bacon wrapped hot dogs (Polse mit brod?).  Mary hates limp bacon so she pries it off and piles it on John’s and everyone is sort of happy.

We’re due in Bergen at 3:45 and when we pull into a pretty big town at 3:00 we wonder where we might be.  It was Bergen.  Maybe we hit the ferries better than usual.  It’s raining again and although it’s supposed to be an 8 minute up-hill walk to our hotel we’re a little unsure about direction and grab a taxi. The ladies at the Park Inn are very welcoming, give us a map of the city and some dinner recommendations.

After unpacking and settling in we decide to have a low-key evening, grab a quick bite and retire to a book and bed pretty early.  It has stopped raining when we go out which leads us to a longer walk around this very beautiful city.  Parks, fountains, mountains, beautiful harbor, music playing, lots of people wandering around—what’s not to like.

We eventually refocus and start looking for dinner.  A bacon polse mid brot only goes so far as you all well know.  Nina went to school here and has given us a couple recommendations, and when we asked at the hotel for typical Norwegian food in a casual atmosphere they recommended “Pingvinen” the penguin.  We grab a couple seats at the bar, look at the menu and decide we are in the right place.  John has the meatballs with mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, mashed peas and lingonberries.  Mary gets the fish and macaroni casserole with little baby potatoes and vegetables.  Both of those were hard choices because we saw many other things on the menu we would like to try so there may be another visit in our future.  Service was good (sitting at the bar), the food was great and it didn’t break the bank ($70).

There are brownies, tea and coffee out at our hotel so we do dessert there and tuck it in for the night.

What did we learn today? The statue of fiddler Ole Bull in Bergen is the same as the statue of Ole Bull in Loring Park in Minneapolis.