I had set my alarm for 4:45 am in order to put my bag outside my room for pickup at 5:30, and found myself wide awake at 12:04 am! Luckily I fell back to sleep again, and woke up at 4:00, with plenty of time to spare. We left the hotel at 6:00 am for a 9:00 am flight to Bergen, Norway, taking one hour and 15 minutes. Hello, sunshine! It was bright and sunny when we arrived, said to be a little unusual for this part of the country.

We immediately asked why there was a question mark after the Bergen sign. Here’s what one blogger wrote: … the Bergen sign is the result of a competition won by an Icelandic artist. The letters stand 18 ft. tall and weigh 2.5 tons each. The question mark is intended to invoke a sense of curiosity and of anticipation of what can be experienced in the region. Interesting.

By the time we got to the hotel to drop our luggage, it was lunchtime and our tour guide, Sonia, suggested a unique lunch of reindeer hot dogs. It’s not really so exotic, as reindeer are farmed. I remember that on my last trip to Norway, we had reindeer stew and it was delicious. Look at the long line of people waiting to place their orders! Bill and I took the “recommended” topping of lingonberry sauce, mustard, and fried onions. Mmmmm … delicious! I especially liked the lingonberry sauce with the french fried onions.

After lunch, we took a ride on the funicular railway, The Fløibanen, one of Norway’s most visited attractions. It connects the city centre with the mountain of Fløyen, with its mountain walks and magnificent views of the city. Up at the top, we were delighted to see the Fløyen goats with names like “Pippi,” “Fløydis,” “Waldemar,” “Spot,” “Trym,” “Gucci,” “Stjerna,” “Frøya,” “Ferdinand,” and “Alex.” The ten cashmere goats were born in 2020 on Radøy. Because first and foremost they are bred to clear vegetation, they were all castrated when they were babies. They like to keep each other company and for the most part stay with the herd.

You can see by my hair how windy it was up there!

We then set off to find the Bergen Cathedral, which cost $4 to enter. The Bergen Cathedral was dedicated to Olav the Holy, Norway’s patron saint, around year 1150, which means that it’s almost 900 years old. Sonia, the tour guide, pointed out a cannonball stuck in the exterior wall so here’s a brief history of this I found on YouTube:

Here are my pictures from our visit. The organ is by Rieger (1997), and has 61 ranks. Lucky for us, there is a Bergen International Organ Festival from June 30 — August 25 featuring the organs of three churches: Bergen Cathedral, St. John’s and St. Mary’s; and on Sunday night we’ll come back to hear an organ concert.

It was five years ago that I played a service at St. Mary’s, a church here in Bergen which advertised for organists who are on vacation to play there. For fun, I went back and reviewed the post I wrote on my last visit to Bergen, “Sunday morning in Bergen.” I was very pleasantly surprised to discover I stayed in the very same hotel as last time, the Zander K!

Before walking back to the hotel, we stopped to rest at Lille Lungegardsvann, a 5 acre small lake, with its fountain, situated in the center of Bergen. We saw swans here but I didn’t take their picture.