Bergen: When the Sun Shines

Apparently the daily occurrence of rain in Bergen is a national joke. Kind of like, "Ha, of course it's sunny in California! What did you expect?" So to anyone considering a vacation in Norway, if your itinerary includes Bergen, buy a raincoat and some sweet rain boots.

The lowlight of our Bergen stay for me was slipping on slick slate and tumbling down half a flight of stairs. It was pretty much my own fault. I was trying to dress up a little for an expensive, formal dinner that Kip had to go to for the conference. I didn't want to wear my running shoes, so I wore the dangerous black high healed boots. They were bad enough on wet cobblestone streets, but completely stupid on the slick slate staircases. I fell pretty hard on my shins and knees, but fortunately survived with minor bruises and smudged mascara.

Moral of the story: invest in cute rain boots.

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Beware!

But it didn't rain the entire week. The last afternoon we were there the sun shone, summer dresses came out and Bergeners partied late into the summer evening. We went to Kafe Kippers, a restaurant recommended in our travel guide and made irresistible by it's name. We enjoyed the long sunset with a crowd of mostly locals.

I told Kip that Bergen seems like a bad high school relationship. When it pours with freezing rain, you kind of hate it. And then the sun comes out and it seems like the cutest little city on earth, and you forget about the rain.

Big, beautiful sailboat.

We missed the last sail of the day. It was our theme that afternoon.

Rosenkrantz Tower. 800 years old. Very cool for a homeschooling mom to see. But we missed the last tour of the day.

See me in the gate?

Bryggen in it's postcard perfection. Glad we got to see it like this at least once during the week.

This is the primary image of Bergen. Cool, but kind of touristy.

Yummy muscles. Food looks good too.

That late evening sun is strong! The sun deck and bar at Kafe Kippers was hopping at 10 p.m.

Just another interesting neighborhood around Bergen.

I took this picture while we were walking home, around midnight. People were still up, having dinner, enjoying the midsummer.

Kip found yet another kitty to pet.

This might actually have been from our first walk on the first day. I love all the colors. We saw more shades of rhododendron than ever before. It is the state flower in West Virginia, but I have never seen more than a couple variations there.

Purple rhododendron