Bergen, again posted 5/29/2008 5:37:58 PM | 1 kudo what's this?     report abuse tagged: work, travel, norway

jelltex

Sorry for not being around for the last couple of days, but we went into port. And so we had a night out last night once we docked, and then we had some work this afternoon before being allowed out into town again for a few hours before we head back out to sea.

These trips in to dodge the weather break the trip up really well, and come as a very welcome bit of R&R for us.

To suddenly go from being on a ship with 29 other people to being in a city of 210,000 plus cruise whips is a bit of a shock, but a nice one.

So, yesterday morning, we were working away when the weather forecast came in, and it did suggest that the sea was going to be uncomfortable for us, and so we were given the choice of either finishing the four hours work, betting banged around on the way back into port and docking some time after midninght; or binning the job at breakfast and head into port and be in for an evenings drinking and general debauchery. We chose the latter, and believe we chose well.

That the client agreed to this is the really amazing thing.

Sadly the bad weather never really blew up, and so we have been sunning ourselves in the city with hardly a breath of wind to unfurl the flags. Oh well.

So, once safely tied up alongside; we headed out into the bright lights of Bergen, and amazingly for a Wednesday night it was packed. We made our way to a good live music bar and had a very pleasant beer. And then to the very nice Irish bar for some very nice beer. Every city on earth now has at least one Irish bar, except Hammerfest, but there you go. After two weeks at sea with no booze, the beer works quick.

On TV, there was a football game, and then we could also watch the Nordic beauties walk past; oh, and the keep fit class must be held on Wednesday too. So, we watched those ladies walk past too. We only looked, did not touch.

Promise.

Myself and Wayne had skipped what had been laughingly called the evening meal and went for a pizza. I think we get used to the prices after a while, they are just numbers; but in reality, a larger 12 inch pizza and two small bottles of Heiniken came to £50/$100! It isn't untilt he next day when the reveller looks into his wallet and sees the damage does the cost of a night out here really hit home. A beer, not a pint comes to over £5/$10, and a pint another couple of quid on top of that. To put that in perspective, half a dozen beers cost over £50, or thats what my wallet told me this morning.

Don't get me wrong, I love the nightlife here in Norway, they are really great nights out, but jeez, so expensive it makes your eyes bleed. Or take today, I had 400 kr in my wallet. I bought one coffee, one coke, one newspaper, 40 minutes on line in an internet cafe, two beers when I met some friends and one pint of milk one bag of chips a small pack of cakes in a convience sotore and it came to £30/$60.

So, rant over, back to last night; after pizza we went back to the live music place and had some more beer. There was a singer with a guitar on stage doing the usual standards; American Pie, The Joker, Like a Rolling Stone, etc. But he was very good and we were all soon singing along. He ended with a 10 minute medley of Beatles songs which was very good indeed.

Thankfully, I am someone who knows when they have had enough booze, and will head home, or back to the ship, to find his bed. Last night I did this as the time between rounds was getting smaller. So, I woke up this moring with no hangover and fairly lucid. The others who went clubbing we not so bright eyed and bushy tailed. They were on Tequilla, and lots of it. And instead of standard slammers were snorting salt up their nose and squirting lemon juice in their eye. Harman slammers they are called, or something like that. I don't do tequilla any more; it makes me very ill, quickly. And up here the measures are huge, but expensive, and paying £10 for something I barely taste is not my idea of good idea.

Anyway, this afternoon me and my camera wandered around the city without others, so I could go where I wanted without having to appologise. I wandered the medieaval quater with its clapperboard houses and grand merchants houses; the fine churches and even the modern square with monuments to great Norwegians of the past. Then there is always the harbour, with today 3 cruise ships, one absolutly huge, towering over the other ships and quayside buildings too.

I found a place that sold international news and bought yesterdays copy of The Times, and then retired to a street cafe for a latte and coke and indulge in one of the great pleasures; reading a newspaper from cover to cover.

After a while I thought about if some of the other crew would have came ashore, and so went to the Irish bar; and there were four of them nursing hangovers and indulging in hair of the dog. As it could be our last chance for 13 days, I joined them.

As the heat of the day faded; yes, it does get warm, even hot up here, it was time to make our way back to the ship for our sailing at ten.

I went onto deck to watch the world go by, and dozens of motor launches and yachts passed us all going into Bergen for the evening. That looks really good; spending the day in one of the fjords in a boat, the wind in your hair, the view, and back in the evening for a drink and meal at a cafe overlooking the harbour. There are worse ways to spend the day.

And of course these past two days have been work days for me, and there are some who will not have such good days at work as that.

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Blogs by jelltex: Jelltex in Charge Beer, Norwegian wood and a larger member One week Under repair Susie's Fingers Working the midnight shift. I dream of Stars 3 years, 3 months and three weeks; the three in one blog Kristiansund Foo'd for 20,000 or Judas Priest stole our hotel rooms. A Week in port If it's Tuesday, we must be in Bergen. Again. Bergen, again Life is great The view from work this morning Things I learned this week...... Where it all went right; my version. Brendan Benson Sunday in Norway. Norway Day, 2008 Norway. Again. Modern Sports The day trip to France Long Weekend; Sunday Long Weekend; Saturday.