Bergen to Amsterdam

Journey time again – but relatively simple. It was SO good to get an uninterrupted night and a good ten hours of sleep;  I was a little worried that I might be cooking a cold yesterday, but I suspect that it was mostly tiredness, since I felt way better in the morning.  The hotel staff suggested I call a cab to get out to the airport, but this isn’t just the equivalent of accessing YVR  - it’s way out of town. There’s an airport bus, but in the end I decided to do the light rail option, which meant walking down to the bus station.  Downtown Bergen is very much a walker’s city – lots of no-traffic areas, and at 7am, that’s seriously no-traffic. Actually, judging from the morning in Trondheim and then in Bergen, Norwegians don’t start early – most shops (including supermarkets) don’t open till 10am. 

Looking across the lake at the art galleries and the Grieghalle

And – miracle, by Bergen standards – no rain, so it was a pleasant walk down past the fountain and looking across at the kunsthalle.

Very straightforward transit – and cheap!  I don’t know what the cab would have cost;  the Flybussen was NOK 190 (about CAD $25); as a senior, the light rail cost me just NOK 20! (CAD $2.60). The airport is small and modern and was really empty – the suggested 2-hour lead time was quite unneeded!

Bergen airport was mostly empty!

I am struck again with the complete dearth of face-masks – I think there were two people on the ferry who wore them, but I saw none at the airport. And they’re not to be found in any of the airport shops – “flight necessities” comprise everything but!....

Last look at Norway

Easy flight – the Schipol end is not so easy; the airport is such a hub and the CityHopper planes are parked all over the place. Found my way to the airport station and from there to Centraal – the problem there was the signage and trying to work out just which end I was at.  Reoriented, and got myself headed in the direction of the Singel canal;  Colleen has won again, with a very nice little hotel – a little cramped but clean and manageable. My bedroom faces onto the canal, so we’ll see what nighttime sounds are like in this party city.

My room in the Singel Hotel.

I dumped my bag and did a quick change and then crossed the canal to investigate De Poetzenboot – the cat shelter boat, which is moored just opposite the hotel. I was lucky with timing, and got a last 45 minutes there before they had to close (vet appointment!). It’s smaller than I’d thought – about 15 resident cats, including a tripawd and a blind cat, and a few that obviously have behaviour problems. There were about half a dozen caged cats who come in from other places for adoption.   I left our RAPS website info with them so they can see what we do.  

Some of the resident cats -
tripawd, blind, very shy, and a pee-er

Then I walked...and walked... and walked.. just exploring, with no particular goal, initially – just enjoying the canals and the buildings and the people. 

When I got about halfway around the canal ring, I realised I had a possible target in reach, and centred in on De Heerengracht – the next canal over from the Singel. Here I found De Kattenkabinett – the cat museum created by Bob Meijer in memory of his cat Morgan. Cat pictures and statues and posters and ornaments everywhere – including the pawprints to tell you which way to go.  And a couple of very blase resident cats, enjoying all the attention. 

From there I ducked back on De Spieglgracht and walked up to the Rijksmuseum. I decided I had a choice between visual arts and music – and opted for an evening concert at the Concertgebouw.

Rijksmuseum

Concertgebouw

Just – wow! Not the Concertgebouw Orchestra, but the Rheinische Philharmonie, conducted by a very young, very brilliant young man by the name of Benjamin Shwartz – someone to watch for.  Liadov “The Enchanted Lake”; Prokofiev First Violin Concerto with Isabelle van Keulen, and Dvorak Symphony no 7. Gorgeous playing from all - precision and shading of dynamics and sense of unity. The sound in the hall is beautiful - it really is one of the finest concert halls in Europe.

And there was an encore....

Managed to find the tram that would take me back to Centraal and then an easy walk to the hotel.