Not All Who Wander Are Lost

We got an early start and took the cable car up to the top of the mountain overlooking Bergen harbor. From the peak of the mountain we could see the whole world, or at least a pretty good chunk of it. The sun was beautiful as it peeked over the mountain to our south. We stayed there a while and saw some children playing on playground equipment. The slides and jungle gyms are the best I have ever seen. They are designed not only to provide exercise for the children, but also to help them learn problem-solving. We spent 20 minutes looking at a young boy figure out how to climb down from the equipment he had mounted. We made a quick trip back to the ship for lunch and then went out again.

The castle overlooking the harbor is one of our favorites. Its construction began in the 10th century, but it was destroyed in the explosion of April 20, 1944. Since then it has been rebuilt. It contains a lovely banquet hall that we adore. The original banquet hall was built by a Norwegian prince. A wedding had been arranged between him and a Danish princess. The Norwegian custom was for weddings to take place in small private homes. She refused to marry the prince unless he built a large church-like banquet hall where their wedding could take place. So the king of Norway built a huge, beautiful room supported by lovely hewn timbers big enough to have 1000 people. Yet no sooner was the room completed than the princess changed her mind and backed out of the wedding. Glenda and I refer to this room as “The-big-let’s-get-married” room. So while Glenda stood in this room that we love so much, we quietly exchanged our marriage vows for the umpteenth time and rejoice that we could be in such a beautiful place. Well, we didn’t formally do the vows, exactly. It was more of a nod and a giggle, but it was, nevertheless, an affirmation that I would marry her all over again. And she did the same.

If you ever want to rent this hall for a banquet all you need to do is get 50 friends together and empty your bank account, and one of the restaurants here in Bergen will be happy to cater an authentic medieval feast for you and all of your friends.

Next we wandered to a park that I love, and we simply watched people relaxing on this warm sunny Sunday afternoon. We ambled through the park with no particular goal in mind. But we took lots of pictures which we will share with you on this post.Read more