Hello; and yes this is more about the beautiful city of Bergen here in tropical Norway. The weather has been glorious now for a week and shows no sign of breaking. Believe it or not, its as hot out on deck as it was in Indonesia last summer. We are working 12 hour days to get new equipment put on board so we can move on to a new type of job. Sometimes we work hard, sometimes we just wait to be given new tasks. All in all it's a team effort and so the job gets done.
At least come the cool of the evening we have to chance to get ashore and mix with the locals and cruisers in the bars and pubs of this fine city.
Nothing quite like that well earned beer after 12 hours in the sun lugging heavy kit around. Of course it goes straight to your head, and the second one feels like the sixth, and the third really does the trick.
We have a few favourite haunts; one is the Showboat. Right on the waterfront, built in one of the ancient wooden heritage buildings, it's a live music bar with a large seated area outside. Right by the door is a small stage and each night a couple of guys with geetars sing for our drunken entertainment. There is a limited choice of beers, but the atmosphere is great, and it stays open until four in the morning. To sit outside means paying a premium, and a £6/$12 beer becomes a £10/$20 one. Still, sometimes it's just nice to act like tourists and watch the orange rich people go to and fro to the yachts.
The Irish bar is just a 100 metres away around the bend in the main road which runs along side the harbour; it's called Dirty something, and has limited seats outside. The views are great, and the beers are better. Sadly the mournful Irish music can sometimes be a little depressing, but once the evening rush happens it becomes a kicking place.
Another Irish bar called Finnigans near the main town square is a much more traditional Irish/British pub. It has a great selection of beers, including Guiness draught and Killkenny Red, and the owner has a great music library and has the sound turned way up high as the night goes on. It has a large seating area outside, but once it gets to 11 at night this has to close as its the law. Or something. So the party moves inside.
Dickens' is an upmarket place on the main pedestrian intersection in the centre of town, and is great for sitting at one of the tables outside and watching the people pass by. People watching is still free in Norway, one of the few things that is. There do very good looking food, I say good looking as it is also expensive; a plate of nachos costs £15/$30. But still, if you were on holiday you would.
There are many other bars and pubs, and at this time of year most are full and great places which to relax. Right now there is the Bergen Reggae Festival, with bands playing all over the city. In the park near where we are mored is The Bergen International Wood Festival; all manners of unusual wooden sculptures and shapes set in the grounds of an old fort. And this is where the Foo Fighters are going to play on Wednesday, and we hope to be rocking hard, if we don't sail.
This week marks the halfway point of our trip, and next week we should say goodbye to Bergen as we head north of the arctic circle to Tromso. I have been to Tromso before, just to train flights, and in Februrary it was under five feet of snow. Should be 24 hours of daylight there now, and if the weather holds then the trip up there should be stunning, being paid to do a fjord cruise!
And so this is our last night before we sail to test our new equipment, so once again we will head out into town and mix with the locals and tourists. In a way it's good that we are sailing, as some of us are spending money as fast as we are earning it, and our Russian gun mech has no money left at all. That comes after hos tequilla frenzy on Monday. So, once again we will sail up the fjords for four hours until we come to open sea, and for a few days we will be back at work.
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