I won't say too much about the Copenhagen airport, however for an international airport it leaves a lot to be desired. Our flight to Bergen was thankfully uneventful and short - our scheduled 1 hour 20 minute flight only took an hour – bonus!  (That’s 5 down 6 to go!)

During the flight you could see the landscape change dramatically as we neared Bergen – flying over the picturesque snow-capped Alps was just spectacular . On landing we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty of Norway and more particularly Bergen. Our ride in the shuttle bus from the airport to our harbour-side hotel gave us time to enjoy it.

We had again booked into a Clarion Collection hotel - so the extras including an evening meal and 24/7 coffee was again provided. Trev, Sal and I were sharing a family room this stay so we dropped off our bags and went for a walk around Bergens beautiful harbour. Across the street from our hotel is the UNESCO listed buildings of Bryggen – they are brightly painted quaint timber buildings that were originally established by trading merchants in 1070 and are still operated as cafes and souvenir shops today.

We found the fish markets fascinating. They served fresh or cooked fish of every conceivable variety. Sal decided she would have to sample some of the offering before we left. Our next stop was the information centre to pick up our Bergen cards in readiness for sight-seeing the next day . We returned to the hotel in time for afternoon tea of fresh cooked waffles, jam and cream – very delicious but not very good for me!

After dinner Sal and I decided to continue exploring the harbour so walked along to view the huge ocean liners berthed in Bergen for the day. You can see why so many tourists are attracted to this place as the harbour setting is just magical.

The following morning we treated ourselves to a late start then made our way to tour The Rosenkrantz Tower (1560) and Hakons Hall (1247) which were both reduced to rubble then lovingly restored following the explosion of a Japanese ship in Bergen harbour in 1944. Once again a fascinating place with a fascinating history.

After our tour we walked to the pier to fulfil Sal’s wish of lunch at the fish market. I shared Sal’s selection of skewered BBQ’d prawns followed by skewered mixed BBQ’d fish with chips and salad – quite delish!

It was now time to jump on a bus and find our way to the Viking Museum – so we thought! After studying the map we were still none the wiser about which bus to catch or in which direction! Our Norwegian was just not kicking in and getting help from strangers was also not working . On this occasion the normally useful information from our Bergen card was also next to useless.

We finally made our way to the bus terminal only to discover that the maps and directions displayed were also written in Norwegian. In frustration we decided to climb on-board a tram and just go for a ride. This proved to be a good idea as we ended up at an International food fair where we wondered among the stalls taking in the sights and aromas of the wonderful food on offer from Italy, Spain, Britain, and many other represented countries.

It was then time to head back to the hotel for early dinner and bed as we had a 5am wake-up call booked so we didn't miss the express boat to Flam.