Day 13

We are currently waiting to catch a bus to Stavanger. There is no rail line there because it requires ferries to get across the various stretches of water. So this means that our bus will be alternatively driving and boarding boats. It's also promised to be a beautiful journey.
Our last few days in Bergen were some of our favorite yet. On our first day we explored the city and the harbor. The huge fish market on the dock was particularly impressive. There were whole lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and large fish for sale, as well as fresh-fish salads and sandwiches. We had some staple Norwegian fish soup and fish and chips.
We caught a tram that took us to a high hill overlooking the whole city. The view was breathtaking, as was the forest around it. We then took the trail that lead back into town. The forest felt like it was straight out of an old fairy tale. We kept expecting gnomes to pop out at us. The city supposedly also got that vibe as they built a children's park full of statues corresponding to our imaginations. Naturally, we played on all the equipment and took pictures with the creatures.
We then went and explored a small street dominated by local designers. The prices were a wee out of our range, but we enjoyed the atmosphere. Bergen had a lot of the culture we were missing in Oslo.
Yesterday we did some more sight-seeing. We went up to the old cathedral and looked around the university campus. Both still suffering from colds, we decided to relax and go see Harry Potter. We found the Norwegian commercials before the movie hilarious. Let's just say that the Europeans are a little more lax about what they put in commercials than at home. That night we enjoyed some free Norwegian waffles with brown cheese, went and got some Chinese food, and then returned to our hostel to find some old Russian people gathered around the piano singing traditional folk music and dancing. It was extremely enjoyable and adorable, and they seemed like the happiest old people we'd ever seen. We were sad to leave that hostel today because of the sheer variety of people we met there.