So here I am in Bergen on a beautiful Saturday with no signs of a cruise ship giving me hope I might find somewhere to eat. More of that later. Bergen is another Norwegian City that has a view point over the city, this time reached by funicular railway, the Floibanen. So I decided to go there first and was pleasantly surprised that there was no crush, just a medium sized Japanese tour group and a few locals on what is a big carriage. The view is excellent but there is lots more to enjoy as you will see when I get to the photos. I spent the best part of an hour on the trails and enjoying the view from different angles and met an interesing couple hailing from Khazakstan and Turkmenistan who now live in Stavanger. She went for a year to univerrsity in Edinburgh! They live in Stavanger, my next destination, and made a few suggestions, including “You must try the fish soup there, it is the best”. There were just the three of us on the funicular going down and with so much to do on top I suspected many planned to spend most of the day there. The rest of the day was wandering around the old harbour and local squares and parks. I went Norwegian for lunch with a hot dog and coffee sitting by the harbour watching the ferries and tour boats come and go. As usual when I am in a city I am surpised how far I end up walking, a gentle 9.5km today, mainly flat. I’ll start on Floi and one of the features, the Floi goats. The two youngsters above, they all have names, were having a discussion until an older, bigger male intervened. No damage was done. They are very friendly and seem happy to be petted. I saw no-one breaking the "don’t feed" rule which is good to see. The dull clank of their bells was a pleasant sound that I heard a lot over the past couple of days but mainly on sheep. Next was a trip to the Troll Forest via the children’s play area. I thought the Troll Forest would be full of families but I had it to myself. The play area seemed a bigger draw. There is a cafe, a restaurant and a gift shop which I am sure do good business. I better show you the view. I’l start with the tourist centre around the harbour. A couple of closeups follow showing the cathedral and the Bergenhus fortress which was about the furthest extent of my stroll. Of course I was not alone and I expect another million pictures were sent to the cloud over the course of the day. Back down at sea level there were lovely old wooden houses squeezed around the cathedral. A walk south brings you to a modern shopping areas not far from the hotel and a square with the sailor’s memorial, commemorating Bergen’s maritime history. The memorial is surrounded by water and I could not resist one of my upside down pictures. In the nearby park a female vocal trio were performing a sound check and they sounded like Norway’s answer to First Aid Kit from Sweden. Lovely voices in harmony. At last, a statue of Edvuard Elgar. After my Polse for lunch I spent the rest of my walk along the harbour past the colourful buildings and teeming outdoor bars to the fortress where some mad people were play fighting with swords. I am sure they were play fighting under the guidance of a couple of Vikings. I’ll start at the fortress and work back. I chose to forgo the busy watefront bars and managed to find a spare seat at a smaller bar not too far away and sip a cold beer which was just what I needed. It was then time to wander back to the hotel to put my feet up and edit my photos. While around the harbour I saw there were a few almost fast food places including an Egon and a Pizza place so thought I would wander back this evening in the hope of gettng somewhere even if there was a little wait. Wrong. I counted 30 people waiting outside Egon and the pizza place was more disappointing. There were a few tables for 4 available but after discussion between the girl on the door and an older lady the answer was “we are fully booked”. Clearly not true as the girl on the door would know that. They were just not wanting to serve one when they could serve more. I have had the exact opposite experience in France where in a restaurant in Brest they set up a table for one for me where there were no tables available. So back to the hotel, which is OK, but a limited menu and I was lucky there as well, as the majortiy of the bistro was booked for a large party. Lesson learned. If I retun to Bergen I will book my restuarants well in advance. I should note that one I looked at would not allow a booking for one and the others I looked at were already fully booked. Again a pain but again not spoiling my day

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