And what a day it was. Up at 6.30 which something I normally associate with work. Getting in a few provisions before boarding a train to Bergen which is a near 7 hour train ride. Unfortunately we were parked right next to Satan’s imps, these two hideous ageing American crones who spent the next 5 hours bitching at each other (fortunately they got off then). Nothing was good enough and no one could do right for them. At one stage they asked the conductor “when do we get to interesting part of the scenery as it’s all been pretty bland so far. Just like Alaska”. I’ve yet to meet too uglier personalities (if you exclude the Director of IT at King’s). And this on what was one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world.
And the scenery was stunning, though anyone who thinks Alaska is bland probably wouldn’t agree! Snow capped peaks, glaciers, forests, lakes, hills, we got the lot and it was worth getting up early for.
Arrived in Bergen just before 3pm thinking the best was over. How wrong. Bergen is just simply lovely. We spent hours walking around it and still didn’t get bored of just staring. It was so relaxed and was the first time I’d felt on the trip that we were truly on holiday. It felt like a relaxing Saturday afternoon in Summer by the sea. The weather was superb, the architecture and hills were stunning. It’s one of the few places I’ve been that I hated leaving and could honestly see myself going back to. Why on earth didn’t they hold the contest here?
Big thanks to Sild from the ESC Nation MessageBoard for meeting up with us and dining with us. Can’t have been much fun for him being stuck with four people a great deal older than he was. He bore the burden gracefully though and was a great host.
And the piece de resistance, the funicular railway up the mountain. Great ride and stunning views at the top.
What an absolutely lovely day. I can think of nothing that was even remotely negative about it.
The first of many Oneurope roams into the wilds I think 🙂