Day 179: Exploring Bergen — Salmon and King Crab at the Fish Market — Quick Funicular Round Trip
We woke to more chilly, erratic weather here in Os. Temps were in the upper 40s, low 50s with intermittent rain.
Our morning routine here at the Solstrand: I get up and workout first. Then Margaret goes to the gym and pool while I take the kids to breakfast. Margaret meets up with us and starts school with Willa while she gets a bite. I do school in the room with James.
We took a break from school in Copenhagen but we’re back into it with two productive days this week.
After school we drove 40 minutes north to the City of Bergen — Norway’s second largest.
We strolled through some stores near Bryggen — the old merchant quarter of Bergen and now a UNESCO Heritage Site and the inspiration for Arendelle in Disney’s Frozen.
We hit the fish market for lunch. Willa had a reindeer dog (not fish), Margaret had a fish sandwich and we all shared grilled salmon, fish soup and king crab claws. We were closed on the king crab by this super nice lady who pulled one out of the tank for the kids. Everything was really good, but wow not cheap. Afterwards we grabbed cups of fresh berries for the road.
Margaret and I each had a local beer with lunch. The marketing blurb on the back referenced “horrendous regulations” and noted the low % alcohol (2.5%). I inquired with the waitress and she explained that Norwegian alcohol laws are super strict and one of them states that you can only have a max 2.5% abv for beer served at an outdoor market. A local brewery made a special beer for the fish market with exactly 2.5.
Next stop: Kode #4 Museum. We walked the longer less-touristy way and caught some rain for 5 minutes or so. We stopped in a bodega to grab a candy bar — the last two days we’ve tested Norwegian versions of candy bars. This one was a kit-kat replica.
We choose this museum because it has a kids area for art and exploration.
One area asked “What can you do with an empty frame?” Margaret joined the kids in the drawing exercise.
The kids area was only ok in my opinion but Willa and James seemed to be entertained so we ended up staying about 2 hours.
On our walk back to the wharf we stopped by this photo exhibit of huge blown up insects. James found a mealworm!
He had an unrelated meltdown a few minutes later — not even sure what it was about. He claimed he was “hangry”… a word Willa learned from us and now uses liberally as the reason for a bad mood or bad behavior.
We grabbed them a couple apples from a market which fueled them for the next 30 min or so.
Despite the cold and clouds we decided we had to take the Floibanen funicular up to the overlook above Bergen. It was an efficient strike — waited about 5 minutes for a half-fuel trolly, took in the view, got few selfies, checked out the gift shop and then grabbed the next trolley down the mountain.
We had pizza and pasta at Ruccola a block away from the base of the funicular. It was actually pretty good considering it was in the heart of the touristy area.
a block away from the base of the funicular. It was actually pretty good considering it was in the heart of the touristy area.
We planned to do some shopping after dinner but in the first store Willa put on a winter hat, Margaret and I advised her against doing so and she had a meltdown.
We aborted the shopping mission and headed for the car.
It was 7:30pm by this point and we really didn’t want the kids to sleep in the car. So Margaret found a kids “story” podcast.
Turned out it was a h/t to Pride week and featured a little boy named Stevie who liked to pretend he was a fairy queen. Stevie was sent to drama camp by his loving and accepting father but the camp counselor always cast “Studly” Stevie in masculine roles. Then on the final day of camp the kids get to perform as the character of their choice. Stevie gets the courage to be the Fairy Queen, nails the performance for adoring campers and fans. Hoping these lessons of understanding and courage sink in!
Back at the Solstrand Hotel we delivered on our promise of another swim in the collection of heated pools.
