We're off to Norway

Today was essentially a travel day. We boarded our bus in Stockholm and headed to the airport for our midday flight to Bergen, Norway. Tauck had arranged a check-in counter just for us, which made things a little more manageable. I was surprised to see just how busy the airport in Stockholm was. Once through check-in and security, Tauck had also arranged for us to have something to eat before boarding the plane. It was a cafeteria-style place with both hot and cold food. I opted for the salad bar, since at 10:30 in the morning I wasn’t interested I roast beef and potatoes. The flight to Bergen was easy, little more than an hour and ten minutes. We landed on a wet and dark afternoon with a steady rain. Things were not looking great. 

Not so easy to see, but it's the yellow letters

On leaving the airport, a big sign greets one that says – BERGEN? That’s odd, I thought. As I learned more about the city’s history, however, I suspect it’s a jab at the name that the German merchants gave to the city in the Middle Ages. In Norwegian, the city’s name is Bryggn.

Our trip into the city was also uneventful. Bergen is a city that clings to the side of hills leading down to the fjord where the harbor is. Even under dark and brooding skies, one could see that Bergen was a beautiful place. By the time we pulled up in front of our hotel, the Havenkontoret, the rain had stopped. We were assigned our rooms; and then we had about an hour before we needed to reassemble to depart for dinner on an island in the harbor.

Restaurant Cornelius

At 5:45, we boarded a ferry that would take us to Restaurant Cornelius, a well-regarded seafood restaurant in Bergen. The ride across the harbor afforded us a chance to look back on the city and get a general sense of where things were. Shortly, though, we were docking and being shown into a 

lovely modern dining room with glass on three sides.

 Almost as soon as we were seated, the young woman in charge of the dining room informed us that there was a television crew on the premises from Norway2. They were there to film the owner who would be speaking to us for an episode of “New Scandinavian Cooking”. They needed our OK before the crew could start. Nobody had any objection. I think I may have been the only one of us who has actually seen the show, which sometimes appears in PBS’ cooking show line-up.

The owner speaking on camera!

 In a few minutes, the owner was speaking to us about the history of the restaurant and maybe a little too much of his own personal history to boot. The short version is, this guy perfected a method of farm-raising seafood, which features prominently on the menu. We sampled various some raw scallops and mussels before they served the actual meal. All of it was delicious. Somewhat surprisingly, a few people on the tour do not eat seafood at all.  I have probably eaten more fish since the tour started than any one time in my life; and I am enjoying it!

Pollock on a bed of pureed rutabagas