Day 16
September 15, 2019
BERGEN - still
Bergen's harbour has a varied assortment of specialized ships that service Norway's North Sea oil fields parked near us. Incidentally, Norway is the world's sixth largest oil producer. Like Alberta, Norway has established an Oil Fund which is currently valued in excess of $1 trillion, or over $200,000 per Norwegian citizen. For a rainy day? Hmmmm.
This morning's city tour was a bust due to a torrential rain and a howling wind. Afternoon was calm and dry. Go figure!
Large cities are, by their nature, time consuming, quite similar and frankly, rather dull. In retrospect, to me they sometimes feel like a poor use of time. Personally, the smaller villages and hamlets are normally unique, user friendly and thus more memorable.
Today we decided to explore the spa. Karen had her first massage. The masseuse, Nadine, wouldn't you know it, is from Newfoundland. Small world - Karen and Nadine chatted about the folks in common that we met during our holiday in Newfoundland last year and they just happen to be relatives of Nadine. Karen and Nadine have begun a friendship.
I chose the dry sauna - it was a refreshing 105 degrees. But wait! Afterwards I jumped into the hot tub - the swimming pool section was also available and a few degrees cooler. Thinking myself a hearty soul, I decided to try the Norwegian style sauna - a combination of hot and cold. That style begins with a trip to the steam room. Opening the steam room door all I saw was grey, nothing more. Slowly stepping forward I still saw only grey. After a couple of steps more I found the seat. Turning around, I parked myself down. Have you ever breathed fire? Tunderin' Jyzuz, bye, I did. Breathing was painful; only lasted 40 seconds. Then I swiftly crossed over to the snow room. Yes, snow. A roomful of snow and air at a frosty 28 degrees American. What a relief. After several minutes of delight, rather than test the limits of my body's endurance, I exited, showered, dressed and that was that. Love that sauna!! The dry one.
This evening's dinner menu offers a Norwegian favourite, venison - oh deer!
BERGEN - still
Bergen's harbour has a varied assortment of specialized ships that service Norway's North Sea oil fields parked near us. Incidentally, Norway is the world's sixth largest oil producer. Like Alberta, Norway has established an Oil Fund which is currently valued in excess of $1 trillion, or over $200,000 per Norwegian citizen. For a rainy day? Hmmmm.
This morning's city tour was a bust due to a torrential rain and a howling wind. Afternoon was calm and dry. Go figure!
Large cities are, by their nature, time consuming, quite similar and frankly, rather dull. In retrospect, to me they sometimes feel like a poor use of time. Personally, the smaller villages and hamlets are normally unique, user friendly and thus more memorable.
Today we decided to explore the spa. Karen had her first massage. The masseuse, Nadine, wouldn't you know it, is from Newfoundland. Small world - Karen and Nadine chatted about the folks in common that we met during our holiday in Newfoundland last year and they just happen to be relatives of Nadine. Karen and Nadine have begun a friendship.
I chose the dry sauna - it was a refreshing 105 degrees. But wait! Afterwards I jumped into the hot tub - the swimming pool section was also available and a few degrees cooler. Thinking myself a hearty soul, I decided to try the Norwegian style sauna - a combination of hot and cold. That style begins with a trip to the steam room. Opening the steam room door all I saw was grey, nothing more. Slowly stepping forward I still saw only grey. After a couple of steps more I found the seat. Turning around, I parked myself down. Have you ever breathed fire? Tunderin' Jyzuz, bye, I did. Breathing was painful; only lasted 40 seconds. Then I swiftly crossed over to the snow room. Yes, snow. A roomful of snow and air at a frosty 28 degrees American. What a relief. After several minutes of delight, rather than test the limits of my body's endurance, I exited, showered, dressed and that was that. Love that sauna!! The dry one.
This evening's dinner menu offers a Norwegian favourite, venison - oh deer!
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ReplyDeleteReally enjoying your Blogs, John! You must have been 'a writer' in a past life!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Don T.