Happily, HAPPILY we said goodbye to “Naggie, the Navigator” today. She was at her all-time worst today, and actually sent us the wrong direction. More about her later.
We were up bright and early to head to Bergen. I drove this road 24 years ago, and has it changed! Many more tunnels than in earlier years!
Taking our sweet old time, we stopped by Tvindefossen (twin water falls.) For some reason, they have diverted the water stream from the right falls so it no longer looks very “twinnie.” However, it was nice to visit the falls once again. The same old souvenir shop is still there!
We went through Voss, one of the places the tour group will visit. Confirmation Sunday was happening so we saw many beautiful bunads. Many men were wearing theirs here, too.
We had a pleasant stop and light snack at a wayside along a river edge. The picnic tables and benches were made of stone and the view was gorgeous. It was a perfect!
The last stop was at the factory in Dale. We knew it would be closed, but wanted just to see it again. The last time Mom was here with us, we stopped there and each purchased a Norwegian sweater. The place has fond memories.
Unlike the memories we will have of attempting to return our Hertz car to Bergen sentrum. The directions given to us in Oslo were bare minimum, Naggie sent us the wrong way, and we found that parking lots do not follow the same basic floor plan as other buildings and hotels. We finally found the correct floor and returned our car. We were MOST HAPPY to say good-bye to Naggie. In the future, I don’t think either of us will ever rent a car that claims to have GPS. Our apps on the phone worked far better! Happily, our hotel was literally across the street and around the corner from where we left the car, so we didn’t have have far to wheel our luggage.
After settling into our room, we walked around Festplassen and then a few block over to a grouping of shops and cafes. The buildings were darling and the street reminded me of the streets in Sandnes and Stavanger. We chose to have a super early dinner as we were quite tired, and wanted a quiet evening in the room.
For tour participants, here’s a hint for a small yummy place to eat just a few blocks off of Festplassen. Go to Godt Brød on the corner. It’s like a Norwegian version of Subway, but far better if you like hardy Norwegian breads. There’s limited toppings, but the pesto spread is awesome! This place, along with many others, have outside places to eat with blankets and wraps to put around you when eating outside.
One last hint to our tour participants....we had to use our PIN number for the first time today. The gas station would not allow our cards without the PIN number!
This will be an early night for us! I think both of us are exhausted from driving the curvy, small roads of Norway and working so hard (mentally) yesterday at speaking Norwegian.
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