On into Bergen

Before boarding
our plane at the
Keflavik Airport,
we grabbed
a light meal,


wandered
under
the cod
carcass
lights,








and
passed
the
stone
statues
leading
to
the
airport
gates.



Our flight left about 5:30 PM Iceland time and landed two hours later in Bergen at 9:40 PM Norway time.

After clearing the Flesland Airport security, we proceeded to a wall machine that exchanged American dollars into Norwegian kroner. Each of us six had a go. We discovered American greenbacks without the new see-through faces would not work in this machine. We managed exchanging enough money to pay for FlyBus tickets into Bergen's city center.

When we boarded the bus, the time was well past 10 PM.

The city was ALIVE!

Traffic was backed up.

Pedestrians were active.







Again,

we

wondered:

How?






By the time we arrived at the central station, walked to the hotel, got our room keys and laid down to sleep, we figured the last time we'd been in a bed was 35 hours ago.



We slept in before exploring On into Bergen.

Yikes!

We rode
the double
decker bus
straight
through
the last
50-minutes
of the
Hop-on/
Hop-off
Tour.







We cringed trying to hear

over the loud bus motor

as we plugged our ear phones

into the radio system

and pushed #6 for our choice

of an English explanation

about local landmarks.




We held on tightly to our seats as the driver jostled his passengers to and fro, slamming on his brakes around the city.

The narrow streets with tight corners proved a challenge.

At one point, a taxi driver drove onto the sidewalk to avoid being overrun while our bus driver made a sharp turn.

Other sights from our tour bus windows included:



pedestrians

walking

along the

shoreline

park paths,








Hallgrim's

Church

Steeple

getting

a

makeover,









a statue of Leif Eríkson, an Icelandic/
Norwegian explorer and the first European thought to have landed in North America...



(This monument – which stands in front of the church – was a gift from the United States in 1930 marking the 1000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament.)





various

boat

scenes









at

the

city's

Old

Harbor





a
famous
pictorial
collage
of
faces
on
a
city
wall,






and most strikingly –

our grinning bus driver

as we hopped off

uttering:

Yikes!

for an adventure.

Perlan

At 10 AM we jumped on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus.

The entire circular route takes one hour to cover. Throughout the day, the driver covers the same route six times.

Considering this information and our need to catch the early afternoon Flybus back to the airport for our Bergen flight, the tour rep suggested we make two hour-long stops on the Hop-on/Hop-off route before our return to the bus terminal.


As our first stop,
we opted for Perlan
(The Pearl) -
a rotating,
half-dome,
glass-enclosed
restaurant that
sits atop the
city's six
geothermal
hot water
reservoirs.



Outside

Perlan's

entrance,

we viewed

the funky

abstract

band sculptures.


We wandered the grounds taking in the incredible 360º view.

From this summit, we could see
not only the distant capital city but also the surrounding water and mountains.

Closer up, we noticed the heat-releasing ducts and valves protruding from the ground around the city's water storage system.


From the observation deck,

six metal compass maps

helped us align and

identify various landmarks.


Click on this photo
to see Hallgrim's Church
in the background
with its bell tower
encased in
re-constructive
scaffolding.




Later

we

proceeded

under

the canopy

into

the

main

entry...




... and watched

a water fountain

burst forth

in a geyser form.


Upstairs we whirled through
carousals for
souvenir post cards
and selected ala carte items
in the cafeteria's
soup-and-sandwich line
for our lunch.





Because our wanderings exceeded an hour, we missed the 11:30 AM bus and our chance to view the Hallgrim's Church up close.



As a result, we used the extra hour to hike below Perlan, explore the story-telling trails...



check

out

the

man-made

geyser...







sit

in

the

grass...







pen

post

cards

home

and

wait...



to leave Perlan so we could hook up our ear phones on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus once again.

Into Reykjavik

Prior to departure, Icelandair representatives had explained that the Keflavik Airport was built on a lava field 40 minutes outside the city. We witnessed that evidence as we drove along the coastal highway – which like many Minnesota highways – was undergoing construction improvements.



The
barren
landscape
made
viewing
outlying
houses
an easy
task.





As we entered the city,
housing became more
dense and automobile
traffic more visible.

Although, looking at
this gas station
advertisement for fuel,
we wondered: How?

This sign shows gas at
166.7 Icelandic kroner
per liter, which –
in the U.S. –
would be equivalent
to $7.57 gallon.



At last, we arrived at the central bus station with the FlyBus. From here, we would start our sight-seeing tour with the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus. At the station's information desk, we learned our first stop would be at The Pearl Restaurant (located in this photo, in the far distance, directly over the wandering driver's head).

Within an hour, we would depart Into Reykjavik for exploration.

And We're Off!

Late Tuesday afternoon we six ladies met at the Twin Cities airport ready for our 7:20 PM take off.

With e-tickets and passports in hand, we checked in at the Icelandair desk, handed over our bags and proceeded through security toward our flight gate.

A couple hours later, we lifted off on a six-hour journey to Reykjavik, Iceland for the first leg of our two-part journey to Norway. Icelandair has installed screens on the back of each seat which allows passengers a multitude of entertainment choices: movies, infomercials, cartoons, music, video games or flight maps to mark progress toward our destination.

Our ticket purchase included dinner on board as well as coffee, tea and dessert – all keeping with the old-fashioned Scandinavian hospitality.

The only glitch in our flight occurred just before dinner was served two hours into our flight.

Across aisle from us, an Afro-American 20-something woman verbally attacked an Icelandic mother of a 19-
month-old for not "controlling her child." The American woman claimed the child was kicking her seat. The mother argued forcibly against the woman's claim. The situation became uncomfortable when the American woman's male companion stood up, turned around and looked down in a threatening position at the mother and child.

About that time, our meals were served. The Icelandic woman went to get her husband at the front of the plane to iron out the trouble. He spoke civilly to the American woman asking for respect on both sides and took the child up to sit with him. Eventually the situation fizzled out with food in everyone's bellies. As for the American woman – a few rounds of adult beverages brought to her by concerned friends changed her bad attitude. A couple hours after her blowup, she presented a glass of wine to the skeptical Icelandic mother.

Can anyone say: turbulance?

The occasional bouncing of the plane felt like someone was kicking my seat too. Maybe this American gal had never flown before and therefore was on edge. Before the outburst, I watched the child play quietly with cute chunky toys. And after all the hoopla, the child eventually fell fast asleep in the seat next to his mother.



We six gals also

tried to rest

during the journey

so that upon arrival,

we'd be ready

to tour Reykjavik

during our

11-hour layover.




And then, we awoke
to Wednesday
morning's sunlight –

landing at the
Keflavik Airport
about 7:10 AM
local time –

ready for the big
day ahead of us.

Grabbing our carry-ons, scooting through passport control, heading onward to the Flybus, And We're Off on a 40-minute ride to Iceland's capital city.