LEAVING BERGEN..AND NORWAY!

Day 196

Bergen, Norway

What a GORGEOUS place Bergen is!! We went strolling around yesterday and ended up in the old part of Bergen....and all the streets are higgledepiggledee...and lopsided and wooden roads...so quaint and lovely!

It was like going back hundreds of years...literally! The streets were made in the 12th century..and are still there..all intact! Amazing feeling being in there...

And the harbour is so gorgeous.

I guess that's the thing about Norway..there is so much water and fjords and it just FEELS so good! There's something quite magical about water...and when I'm alongside it...I just feel at home. So we basically just strolled the streetss, admired the view, lapped up the scenery..enjoyed the water...wandered the shops...

Oh, the shops...

It was so tempting to buy one of the wonderful Norwegian coats....they look so warm! They're a bit bulky though. And we can't justifying buying something without chucking something out! So...no new coats for now! (Gosh i'm sick of this one i've been wearing for almost SEVEN months..arrrgh!!!!)

What can i get rid of so i can buy one?????

The sleeping bag??? I tell ya, i really want to get rid of it...we haven't used it that much, but i know we'll need them in South America! So...they stay. They are light but imagine how much more i could fit into the pack if i didn't have that!

I did substitute a pink hooded norwegian windsheater for my white one that i got rid of...so i do have something from here to wear!!! Couldn't resist...

I feel like tossing out my crocs too....haven't really used them...they're light so i might post them back! Along with a few other bits that i want to keep, but don't want to carry!

After a bit of reseach and how to get to Hamburg...we decided to catch another train and use up one of our last 3 eurail passes...the plane was a couple of thousand dollars...the ship was more expensive than the train and we have already been spoiled by catching the ferry when we arrived here on the Norway Fjord which is the deepest fjord in Scandinavia, so we're taking the practical route out..

So..We're here for another day in Bergen...then we have a 24 hour journey ahead of us..another sleeper in the train which leaves late tonight (we got our night's accomodation money back from this hostel, thank goodness!)

So..this is our last night in Norway. What an incredible place, yes it's expensive as they have the highest cost of living anywhere in the world..but the scenery is so amazing and spectacular..and so special..any amount of money would be worth paying.

And...i will never whinge about London again. That's cheap compared to here!! Even the internet here is one kroner per minute!!! Arrgh.

And...have to admit..we're going to stay for another 2 nights in London before we go to the US so we can see a play in the West End :-)..so, when i said i'd never go back there cos it's so expensive...well...i EAT MY WORDS!!!!!

Okies....hope everythings great there!!!!

Will write from Hamburg!

xxxxx