February 10, 2020 -Bergen, Norway

February 10, 2020 – Bergen, Norway
I woke up quite a few times last night but fell back to sleep quickly. I woke for the final time at 6am. The hotel breakfast was plentiful.
At 9am we had a trip meeting. We learned about the ship and the arrangements that Vantage Travel has made, We get 3 meals a days on the ship. Breakfast and lunch are buffets and dinner is a single entree fixed time meal. The restaurant that we will eat in serves Norwegian food (expect a lot of fish). There are other eating places with burgers, pizza, etc. but they will cost us money because they aren’t in our meal plan.
After the meeting we had a short orientation walk. It was pouring rain. After the walk, I went to the downtown mall to dry off. When I left it wasn’t raining and the sun actually came out for a few minutes. I went to a restaurant for lunch. Norway is very expensive. 3 slices of pizza and a beer cost me $25 US. When I left the restaurant it was pouring again.
We left the hotel at 2pm. By this time it was hailing. A local guide joined us on the bus and we headed to the Edward Grieg Museum and house. We had a 5 minute walk from n.v the bus to the house. It was clear. After touring the inside of the city house we walked to the museum while it was hailing. They had a great video that featured the music of Grieg while showing scenes of Norway.
We were back on the bus at 4pm and went to the Fortoft Stave Church which had been rebuilt due to a fire but was done to exactly match the old one.
We toured around downtown with a rainy stop to learn about the Hanseatic Society and to see where it started. I had done this before so I stayed on the dry bus.
Finally at 5:45pm, we arrived at the Hurtigruten dock. Peter, our tour guide, gave us our cabin cards. I went to my cabin and the area was blocked off to indicate the cabins were not ready. I went to the Reception desk to add my credit card so that I can purchase things on board. Shortly after 6pm they announced that all cabins were ready. After dropping off my bags, I went to sign up for the North Cape excursion which I didn’t do the last time I was there. I stopped at the bar for a beer. I’ve decided to enjoy myself and ignore their crazy prices.
Dinner was a buffet tonight and I shared a table with a Norwegian woman named Kristin. Afternoon dinner, we had the safety briefing and excursion talk.
At 9:30pm we sailed out of Bergen. I went up to deck 9 to take pictures. Surprise, it started hailing on me. I may or may not see Northern Lights on this trip but I will see rain, hail, and snow.
Finally back in my room, I unpacked my bags. Tomorrow we have walking tours in Alesund and Molde. We are all hoping for better weather but I’m pretty sure we are going to be disappointed.