Got to talk about Bergen – Norway’s second biggest city and birthplace of Edvard Grieg (he of Peyr Gynt).  We docked here at breakfast time and we’re greeted by a rarity in Norway: brilliant sunshine and temperatures that rose to 27 deg: this was Bergen’s summer day, turned on just for us!

The weather stats for Bergen are astounding: more than 230 days of rain a year, June this year had 28 consecutive days of rain, the average annual temperature is 7 deg, and the annual rainfall is 2,250 mm — that’s a staggering 2 metres+ of rain!

We opted for a do-it-yourself tour by Hop-On bus which gave us a great overview of this very charming city and its beautiful architecture before we took the funicular up the steep hill of Mount Fløyen for one of the most spectacular panoramas we’ve ever seen.  Pics below.

Down to the harbour for a seafood lunch before returning to the Silver Whisper for the evening’s activities, which included a wonderful night of opera from the resident sextet the Voices of Silversea, whose tenor, Stephan from Wales, was just stunning.

A note about the buildings in Norway.  We learned all about the fire in Ålesund and apparently there were similar fires over the years in Bergen.  All the buildings have been made of wood because it’s cheaper to build and cheaper to heat.  Also easier to burn down. So after successive fires gutted the city, they opted for stone for their main city buildings, but most homes continue to be built in wood and painted in a variety of colours.  Beautiful, but … Stubborn folk these Vikings!

Back to Denmark tomorrow – our last full cruise day.