Bergen, Norway

The weather cooperated yesterday so for the first time of this cruise Keith played Paddle Tennis.  While we had several cruises last year the weather on Serenity in Alaska and on Symphony in Europe last September was cool and rainy allowing only a couple of games and on the Holiday Cruise, weather was good but Keith had a prior injury so didn’t play. It was nice to play again.
 
Keith just started to play Pickle Ball on land a few months ago so yesterday was the first time I played the game on the ship, and it is very nice that Crystal has courts that are multi-use.
 
The good news is that with some wind it a good excuse to use if you mess up.  LOL.

With just four players, Keith and the others played non-stop games of Paddle Tennis and Pickleball without taking a rest. It was lots of fun and if the weather cooperates hope to play again tomorrow on the next sea day.

Return To Bergen After All These Years

Before dinner last evening we attended the Captain's Reception and Crystal Society Party. This is a combined event. Captain Birger spoke first, and this was followed by Crystal Society Recognition.

If you arrive to the Reception early if you don't care to wait for the doors to open where you are welcomed by Senior Officers and Senior Staff you can enter on the other side. Years ago this was not the case but we learned the trick on our first World Cruise where some of the World Cruisers would enter on the other side. Since they were on for a long time for many there was no point in being greeted as if this was their welcome aboard cruise. We arrived a couple of minutes early and waited for the door to open After chatting with the two Crystal Future Cruise & Loyalty Managers (Daniele and Andrew) and Senior Officers  Captain Birger, Hotel Director Hubert and Cruise Director Russ and walking a few steps further we realized most guests utilized the other entrance which is perfect as they could find seats and start enjoying the party. We stood as we always do and spoke with some guests and then several officers including the Doctor, Chief Engineer, Bar Manager and a couple of other officers from the Bridge before speaking with one of the Crystal Society guest who would be honored about fifteen minutes later.

It was a very well attended event.  Three people (one couple and solo woman who we spoke with for a while ) were recognized for their 50th Crystal Society Milestone. She is a lovely woman.

The Captain handed over the program to Daniele one of the two Future Cruise & Loyalty Managers. Daniele was a wonderful speaker, and he did not need any note cards to read from when recognizing the three members. Daniele spoke from the heart. 
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When the Captain spoke he said including himself and the Vice Captain there would be ten captains on board and this includes two of Captains Birger's brothers. The Captain noted it was likely not many guests would be on-board Serenity when they arrived as the guests would likely be on tours or enjoying their time ashore on their own.
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The following is the Waterside Dinner menu from last evening.

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Photos of food and wine.

We enjoyed another wonderful dinner with terrific food and drink and terrific service while sitting in a beautiful dining venue.

The menu included some great items such as the caviar and even an entree pasta that Anne Marie could have an appetizer size portion as her appetizer. A very tasty salad and a nice fresh seafood entree for Keith and a very tasty veal for Anne Marie.

This time the special butter was smoked paprika.  

Senior Waiter Enver took good care of us as did Waiter Sami. Since there was a Supper Club Waiter Craig was assisting there as he did last time and this gave us the opportunity to visit with Junior Waiter Rosary who usually is bringing the food from the galley to the waiter station.

Sommelier Dusan stopped by often and we continued our discussion with him about wine.

Head Waiter Jacques checked on us a couple of times as did Restaurant Manager Paolo.

​Teamwork at its finest.

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Some photos before our arrival to the Bergen.

We arrived at Bergen at 8:00 AM this morning
 
We had an unforgettable first visit to Bergen back in 2006 aboard the former 200-guest Seabourn Pride!

Crystal offered six different tours in the morning and three of them were released in the afternoon.  This included a panoramic drive around Bergen, the opportunity to view Norway's fjord and glaciers from the sky, a journey though Hardangerfjord, a visit to a famous church and a few other locations, a hike on Mount Floyd and an Over-Elde Farm Visit and the opportunity to learn about Bryggen and The Hanseatic Legacy. 

We decided a private walking tour of Bergen would fit the bill. The Bergen walking tour is like the city's way of saying, "Welcome, let's get you to go on a walk of our beautiful city”. It was for sure. We were met at the pier by our tour guide Emma a name so easy to remember is that it is the same name of one of our grandchildren. Emma was born in Australia where she lived for many years. In Norway while at university the students do one year abroad, and this is where she met her future husband. She moved to Norway twelve years ago and two years later started a travel company.
 
Bergen is a city and is located on the southwestern coast of Norway. It is located near fjords, mountains, and waterways. These mountains provide beautiful views. It has a beautiful wharf area with colorful wooden houses. There is a funicular that goes up Floyen Mountain providing magnificent views and a gateway to the hiking trails. Its city population is 300,000 residents.
 
It rains here about 260 days a year, so we were fortunate to be here where it was not raining, the sun came out, and the weather was delightful.

The Bergen walking tour was a great opportunity to learn about the city and to see some of the sites. We saw the legendary old Bryggen Harbor, with the many gabled pack-houses. The Bryggen Wharf is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its history includes several centuries of maritime trade. Finally, we strolled through the Hanseatic Quarter, which is a very popular place to visit. Then we made our way to places that tourists do not get to, yet rich in history and we also made our way to a vantage point with beautiful views.
 
The King of Norway is here today and we had the opportunity to stand by his Yacht. 
 
We learned so much from Emma as we always due on tours. We learned how Norway was under the control of various countries over the year, how it won its independence, about the citizens voting to have a Monarchy, about the influence the Germans had on a portion of Bergen and how this is analogous to Vatican City in terms of how for many years that section was not part of Bergen/Norway. We learned about the many fires that occurred and with each major first how all those wooden buildings were destroyed and how often floors were built on top of former wooden floors. We learned about the German Occupation and the resistance and stood outside the small building where the resistance stayed. We learned something we didn’t realize which was many people from Norway immigrated to the United States and ended up in states such as North Dakota where they were given free land to farm and others chose to live in the Midwest.  
 
They do some innovative things here such as the ability to set up a housing savings account at a young age which is tax free with an interest rate of 7% so that when you are ready to purchase a home you have a nice down payment. Around 80% of Norwegians own their own home. You can rent a kayak here for no cost if you agree to pick up any trash you find while sailing which is a win-win for everyone. 
 
Will post photos today and tomorrow. We will walk more this afternoon.
 
Cheers
 
 

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith