We were excited to get up this morning and head back into Bergen. It rained quite a bit during the night, and the morning was overcast, but the weatherman promised some sunshine and warmth.

The train back down to the harbour was much quieter today without all the hundreds of soccer fans from last night. We came to a beautiful park and started walking to find some of the museums on the Bergen Pass we had purchased. Swans were flying around a huge water fountain as if they were on a track; around and around they went. Jason got some great videos of them.

The first place we came to was the Bergen National Opera House. We waited a few minutes for it to open. A security guard was inside when we entered. He told us that there was a rehearsal happening right now for tonight’s performance, so, unfortunately, we couldn’t tour the place. The Public Library was our next stop, and it was beautiful. Our girls would love it there as they do love the library. There were high places for kids to climb, sit on platforms, read, and look out the windows. They even had a section with English books.

Next, we entered the central train station, offering trips to all the major cities in Norway. It was not the busy hub I have experienced in other European countries. Birds flew around the high glass ceilings, and we just sat and watched people for a while.

My legs are giving out. All my walking to get in shape for this trip is failing me. I wasn’t prepared for all the inclines and many stairs, even though I knew there would be plenty of walking! Jason let me sit when I could, even for a few minutes, which helped, but today was not good.

After a long walk to the Science Centre, we discovered it was closed on Mondays. At that point, I needed a break, so we hopped on a bus to Old Bryggen town, where I could sit more while Jason took photos. Lunchtime called, and we got the reindeer hot dog on our must-have list. It was ok but not worth having another one ever, and at about $11, it was an expensive weiner!

Bryggen, one of Europe’s oldest port towns, is a series of 61 heritage commercial buildings lining the eastern side of the harbour of Bergen. Constructed in 1070, it is home to these unique wooden structures which house many families with all types of businesses along the harbour. These buildings have been destroyed by fire many times (most recently in 1955), but they restored them in the same style as the originals. It has been on the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage sites since 1979.

We wandered the old streets for a long time. I found an old antique store that was interesting and filled with “stuff.” Only one aisle circled the entire store and was so narrow that two people couldn’t pass each other. We all just waited while the person in front was looking at something. I was in there quite a while! We went up and down all the back and side lanes, discovering many interesting old buildings—an enjoyable afternoon.

By this point, I could barely walk. Jason said he was tired, too, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a much-needed break. That’s always easier said than done because there are always things to discover on the way back. Some kids in the park were attached to some contraption that made them look like puppets, and they were trying to get a ring around a spiral thing using their arms and legs attached to this pully system. It was fascinating to watch, and they were having a great time. Then, Jason wanted to go through a maze. He didn’t get far, though. So many of the puzzles he needed to solve to get to another section required translating. Finally, we took the train home (I slept most of the way). I never felt so good just laying on my bed with my feet up.

Hunger took over, and we headed out to find something for dinner other than pizza, hot dogs, or sandwiches (it can be challenging finding restaurants). We drove around for about half an hour before reaching a huge indoor mall. We had the best burgers at “Shakes and Burgers,” along with a beer for Jason. Then, we just sat and relaxed before heading home. When we got in the car and plugged in our return route, we discovered we were only 6 minutes from home.

Today was our first cool and cloudy day.  I had my raincoat on and off several times. Maybe tomorrow we will get back to sunshine.