Bergen photos

Norway minicruise - the end of an era

I am just back from a long weekend in Bergen, taking the ferry from Newcastle to Norway. I found it a wee bit sad, because the ferry is stopping at the end of the summer, and I couldn't help thinking that this would be the last time I would see Bergen. :-(

I got to Newcastle at the back of eleven, and went to get the bus to the quayside, but it didn't leave until 2 o'clock, so the nice man in the station suggested that I got the Metro to North Shields. So I did, and found the bus stop to the Royal Quays just round the corner from the wee shops. The bus driver let me off at the top of the car park and I walked down to the quayside and checked in. My wee cabin was lovely, with a wee desk, bed, sofa and bathroom. I had taken the laptop with me to do some work on my dissertation - good idea, because I was away from all my distractions. We set off, and I wandered around the ship, to see what they had. I booked in for dinner and had a peep in the shops.

Next morning, we got to Stavanger early on, then cruised up the fjords to Haugesund, playing Norwegian bingo, and finally to Bergen. When we got out in Bergen, it started raining. And it did rain! Included in the holiday was a walking tour of Bergen, which I really enjoyed because we went to some places I hadn't seen before. I got a bit lost, when I followed the wrong group and found myself in a group of Italian tourists. I found my lot again (luckily someone had an orange anorak on) and we finished the tour. I then went to Bon Appetit and had a hamburger, then headed back to the boat and did a couple of hours work.

Next day we left Bergen early, and headed back for home. More bingo, and this time I got a full house, or en god bingo on tjue tre. Haha. It's a while since I won ship bingo! It started to get a bit blowy leaving Stavanger, and by the time I had dinner, the waves were up a bit and one wee girl in the restaurant was a bit upset and scared, because the ship was banging a bit. I went to bed about 11.30 and could not get to sleep. The ship was rolling and it meant that I was sliding up and down the berth. Shame really, because I usually get a great sleep on the ship.

Back in Newcastle this morning, and back to the station to get the train home. Found out that there's free wifi on the trains, and no wonder it was free - it was the slowest wifi in the world. So that's that. Back from Norway, and no more minicruises - the first time I went was in 1995 just before I started this job I'm in. Ironic really, that now I'm looking for a new job. Maybe it's meant to be...