The Rents Visit in Bergen!

Bergen was exciting because my parents came to visit me! They were spending a week in Paris for their 25th wedding anniversary (Congrats, Mom and Dad!), so they decided to drop by Bergen the day that Cara was porting there for a few hours. I cannot describe my anticipation to spend the day with them. The last time I saw my parents was last November!

After a teary reunion alongside the ship, the three of us began to walk up the hill through a residential area. What a cool place to live! The streets were completely cobblestoned, complete with a small stairway originally meant for horses to climb up. All of the houses were built on a slant, San Fran-style. We walked up to the famous Funicular railway that took passengers to the top of a mountain. This is a kind of transportation that I had never seen before; it is two bus-looking cars that are attached to a single cable. When one car is at the top, the other is at the bottom of the mountain. Towards the middle of the mountain, they pass each other. This was a very cool sight to see, with a fantastic view of the city serving as the background.

We sat at the top for about half an hour, taking in the view and chatting about ship life, Bergen, Paris, and people’s dogs. The top of this mountain was part of a beautiful park, including a kindergarten and a troll garden (Frozen, anyone?). We took a walk around to see the trees and such. In the troll garden, there was a small jungle gym where Dad and I had some fun. I’m sure the kinders love it there.

We came back down the mountain via the railway, found a good restaurant, and got a big snack. Afterwards, we walked into Bergen where the fish market usually is in the summer. I loved how colorful everything was, and can only imagine the scene when it is much warmer.

After this, we walked into the old city, which is a World Heritage Site. The area featured the original layout of the port of Bergen, with old, leaning, painted houses and lots of tourist shops. To actually walk through the alleys of this area was super cool. All of the houses were interconnected via stairways and small wooden bridges crossing overhead.

Lastly, I gave the rents a tour of the ship. I had registered them as guests about a week ago, and they seemed very curious as to how everything was organized. We sat in the Deck 9 bar for about an hour and a half, chatting and talking about the future. And suddenly, it was time for them to go!

Saying goodbye was super difficult, especially since I don't really know when I will see my Dad again (Mom will be joining me on my last cruise in June!). As we were sailing away, I went to the bow on Deck 6 and waved goodbye to my parents from the shore. It was super dramatic, as Enya’s "Sail Away," plus some movie track that follows, were playing. I miss them a lot! 5 hours was definitely not enough.