Monterey by the Bay

Hansville Greenway and Buck Lake

Spring is reluctant to put on her little blue dress and instead prefers the long coat. It has been abnormally cool the last month or so and gray skies have been typical. I caught a few hardy folks fishing for lake trout with an eagle overhead and showers passing through a tease of blue streaks.

Bergen, Norway

Friday allowed for some great exploration of Bergen with it 13th century buildings, famous art collection, and enjoyable parks; definately the highlight of the trip. In an epic return home, I left Bergen at midnight, arrived in Oslo at 7 in the morning, caught a plane for Seattle, and was home thirteen hours later.


The cost of meals and everything else was very expensive; think US$4 can of coke or a US$20 McDonalds meal but when in Norway there are a couple of must-have meals. These included poached salmon and reindeer, both of which were fantastic, despite thoughts of a certain red-nosed creature.


This was the view from a point accessible from a nearly-vertical cable car called a floibanen to a 340 meters above the city. We got there as the sun was setting as a full, almost nuclear, brillant red. A fifteen year resident of Bergen said he had never seen it as brillant as that night.




There were many of these alley ways within the older portions of the city. One item I really enjoyed were the large number of walking routes through the city, mostly old cobblestoned roads which had been converted for pedestrians.

Bergen Fjord Siteseeing

Took a half day fjord siteseeing tour from Bergen, although there are more spectacular fjords nearby this one was very nice and gave the opportunity to siteseeing the beautiful city of Bergen.




This is the money shot; definately a to-be-framed.

Between Oslo and Bergen

Took the 7 hour train ride from Oslo to Bergen, with some incredible scenary along the way, part of which made you think we had passed through the Artic Circle. The route starts within the urban area of Olso but quickly passes through rural area and farms and gradually climbs toward the high plateau near Mydal, Flam, and Voss. Eventually returning to sea level and the port city of Bergen.

Royal Palace

Harbor Fortress