Slow day in Bergen

John ended by having to do more work today, so no trip to a fjord. I actually enjoyed the lazy day though, and ended it with a walk to Nordåsvatnet, a nearby bay. Well, it's called a bay, but it's connected to a fjord, so I'm not sure why it's not called a fjord too. It was a pleasant walk, though cooler than I expected. I found a small park and a beach, and did some birdwatching.

When I got to the beach, there was a woman swimming. As I was leaving, she had gotten out and dressed, and was about to get on her bicycle. She said something to me, and when I shook my head and said, English, she immediately switched to English and we had an interesting conversation. She said that she tries to swim every day after work, and that it was starting to get colder but that her body had acclimated to the temperature. I mentioned that I had just retired, and she brought up what short vacations US workers get. I definitely couldn't argue with that—I told her that I was lucky to get just over three weeks a year, but that was after working at the same place for over 20 years, that most people didn't get that much. She said it is at least 5 weeks vacation a year here in Norway. Wouldn't that be nice! She also pointed out that healthcare here is free—I've noticed that Europeans seem to bring up comparisons with the US health care somewhat frequently. I certainly cannot defend the US health care system and its costs!

I've noticed that people walking dogs tend to move away so that the dog isn't close to other pedestrians. Of course, that may just be because they want to walk their dog and not have someone like me slowing them down. My sample size was only 5 though, so maybe I'm wrong. 🐕‍🦺🦮🐩

To get to the water, I had to take a pedestrian tunnel under a busy highway. It had some high quality graffiti!

I saw an interesting building across the water. I'll need to ask John if he knows what it is. It may just be a low house with a living roof.

Totally unrelated to anything else, but I have yet to use cash for anything on this trip. My traveling friend in Iceland gave me one of the bills she'd gotten at the airport (I think it's 1000 ISK, or about $7), and I never used it. I think she'd gotten 4000 ISK. She gave me one bill, and used one to (over)pay for the three of us to use a restroom at a waterfall. They asked for 200 ISK each, and I guess technically we underpaid, as we each went twice, coming and going (it was a long hike!). Here in Norway, it's NOK (Norwegian Krone, instead of Icelandic), but I think it's mostly cashless also. If you're interested, one US dollar is about ISK 138. I never did get a conversion for that in my head. It was all play money. NOK are easier, as $1 is about 10 NOK. I can do that math!

I booked a flight to Tromsø today, and a rental car for a week, leaving next Sunday. It's way north above the Arctic Circle! I'm totally unprepared, but I'll figure it out. There's a subreddit for Tromsø, and I posted there, asking for suggestions for hiking and must-sees in the general area, and I've gotten one response already. It looks like housing is either very reasonable (hostels and Airbnb) or resort pricing. One thing for sure—if the weather is clear, I've got a really good shot at seeing Northern Lights. Also moose and reindeer! Oh, and because of the Gulf Stream, the temperatures in Tromsø are not as cold as most places that are above the Arctic Circle.

See that red dot at the top? That’s Tromsø, and the dotted line is the Arctic Circle. Also, I’ll be really close to Sweden and Finland, but I’m not sure if I can take my rental across the borders.

Tomorrow John willl take me into Bergen itself. I'm not sure exactly what he has in mind, but I'm sure I'll love it. I miss having the independence of my own car, but he said, no, no, no, when I suggested renting one. I know that Saturday is a big farmers market and I am really looking forward to that!