Whale…tastes like beef
Friday, August 12th: Leirvik, Norway > Bergen, Norway
It’s evident that we’re still adjusting from Pacific time - our body clocks don’t calibrate as fast as they once did. We got up around 10:00 AM and had an hour to eat breakfast, pack the car and check out of the AirB&B. Based on common house rules we’ve encountered, we feel obligated to actually clean the rentals before we depart… which is ironic since their cleaning fees are overpriced. Some even require you to bring your own linens and towels.
We made it to the ferry, boarded with the car and took a 45-minute cruise between Sandvik and Halhjem.
We finished our route to Bergen and retraced our steps from the last time we were here. We walked along the famous oceanfront Bryggen and stopped into the Campelen fishing shop. It was probably only 150 square feet, but every inch was covered with fishing gear. We browsed the lures and bought two - a mackerel spinner and a soft bait.
Bergen felt a lot more alive since the last time we visited, which was in April. The fish market extended onto the sidewalk with outdoor tents to sell today’s freshest catch and house tables of hungry tourists. We walked up and down the aisle twice before deciding on a deer kebab (ground meat stuffed in a pita with garlic sauce, lingonberry, peppers, onions and cabbage) and a smoked fish sampler (whale, salmon, mackerel and cod) from two different vendors. The wild game / burger stand was manned by two young boys that prepared all of the food on a single wok and moved at snail’s pace. Patrons gave very sympathetic and slightly irritated glances as they waited a bit too long for their food. At least it was delicious and worth the wait. The smoked whale was actually a bit more like steak than fish.
We continued walking downtown and marveled at the $75M Mogambo mega yacht owned by billionaire Whats App founded.
We drove outside of town to Lone Camping AS and set up for the evening. Similar to the other Norwegian campgrounds, it was a free for all for the tents without any designated spaces. The grassy areas were soggy, and car tires left muddy tracks where they were once stuck. We found a spot along an inlet on the private lake and sent up camp.
We hung around the campground for the evening, fished along the bank for pike and trout and visited the rabbits, goats and ducks on site.
Campground: Lone Camping AS
