Bergen, Bryggen and buses

Hello to all and welcome to the rehash of our first day in Bergen!  So this AM our hostel-mates (a mother and daughter who took both top bunks, so we have both bottom bunks and I've hit my head about 4 times already) woke us up before 8am with all of their preparing for the day.  How do I know it was before 8?  Because that's when our alarm was set for!  We had breakfast and something that I ate gave me a horrible sinus headache so I got the Excedrine out only to realize that I'm crazy short on my bestest painkillers - no bueno but we still solidered on.  We figured out the bus in that it takes 27 Norwegian Kronor to get anywhere, we found the stop for the pharmacy (Apotek in Norweigen) and got some medicine for Ana.  We were able to get back on another bus again and we guessed where we were supposed to get off for downtown (or the city center as they call it around here)... but we guessed right so WOO HOO for us!  We found the fishmarket which is below the trourist info center.  It wasn't quite what we were expecting, but there were plenty of lobsters, crabs, fishes of all varieties and people to make you a plate of something.  We ended up having lunch there and Ana had a salmon filet with veggies, potato salad (very heavy on the mayo), a salad consisting only of lettuce and some bread.  I had a hot smoked salmon sammich that the lady made for me subway-style and had the option of whale meat... but declined... figured that would jack up the price of the sammich.  It was VERY tasty and pretty pricy, so that was our splurge of this trip.  We also walked around the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bryggen (the Wharf) - it has had it's share of fires, but the foundations have been there since the 11th century.  There were a lot of cute shops and things, and while Ana rested, I continued on to walk around Haakon's Hall (the 13th century Royal Ceremonial hall) and Rosenkrantz Tower (16th century).  So we got to see a lot of old stuff, and also some new stuff because that's where all the touristy things are and we found all kinds of bars, restaurants, shops, etc.  We then decided to get back to the hostel because it gets dark here around 4:30 - 5.  We ended up getting on the bus back at the same stop where we got in - turns out that was a mistake because we ended up riding the bus the wrong direction until the end of the line at which point the driver asked us where we were going and laughed at us when we said "Montana" (yeah, the hostel is Bergen Montana hostel... makes me giggle) and said we had gone the wrong direction.  We laughed and told him that we'd been enjoying the view!  When we got to our stop, Ana told him that he finally was rid of us and that made him smile.  The good part of all this is that now we know where to get back on the bus from downtown to go the correct direction!  So all's well.

I told Ana that it's possible that tomorrrow I will want to hike the trails that are right behind our hostel and take us up the mountain that we're on (the whole place is either on a mountainside or right on the water - Norway is wicked awesome like that) and she has told me to have fun with that and to wear her orange jacket so that she could see me on the trail, because otherwise I'll blend in too much.  He he - it's true.  When we get separated it's harder for her to find me because I look all European.  I did notice a lot of people here are really pale... and yes, it took me this long - I'm not the most observant person ever, so sue me.  I definitly want to come back here during the summer and with a lot more money so that I could take some of the scenic trains and fjord tours that they have.

We were disappointed to learn that in order to get into any of the churches around here, you have to pay.  They do offer the Bergen card which gets you discounts or into things for free (also allows you to use the buses for free too) but we determined that it would not be worth it for us because we don't really do much in the way of museums.  We both seem to like to walk around the place more than we like to contemplate history in museums.  I do have to say, it's hard to take Ana seriously when she's wearing her sock monkey hat... and I saw a guy the other day with a smurf hat and now I so want one!!  He he.  The medicine seems to be helping her out but please keep her in your prayers - she really doesn't like the cold, and we haven't even run into any real snow yet.

So that's pretty much it for the rehash of today - I left out the trip to the grocery store... but that's pretty much the same everywhere except we have less selection and have to guess at what we're buying since, you know, it's all in Norwegian.  Who says we're not adventurous?!?  Tomorrow I'm gonna try the pickled herring that I wasn't brave enough to try this morning - yeah, they have it for breakfast!!  And you can have it just normal or in tomato or mustard sauce... this is gonna be interesting.