It didn’t work out that way. Somehow I missed finding the bottom station and ended up walking part way up the hill. I kept seeing the tracks for it – but somehow I never came to a station. Then after walking for 45 minutes or so, I did come to a station but I had just missed one train and didn’t want to hang about for half an hour for the next one.

The path wound on higher and higher up the city and the views got better and better. From time to time I was passed by dangerously fit looking young Norwegians (some running!) – and I don’t think in the UK we would see anything like the number of people who obviously thought it would be a fun thing to walk up the side of a mountain for an evening’s stroll.

Anyway – in the end I walked right to the top where there was a nice terrace with a gift shop, ice creams (and loos). The view was stupendous from here and I took lots of photos. Then R called me right at the moment when I was trying to work out how to get my train ticket to open the complicated automated gate at the station. I took the train back down – somewhat footsore as I had not been expecting to walk miles and miles in my work shoes. When I got out at the station at the bottom I realized that I now knew the function of the big white building about five minutes walk from the hotel.

Great fun – and set me up nicely for a burger and a (very expensive) beer. It would still be much more fun if R was here though.

So poor J is looking after the cats again and he is not happy about this being twice in three weeks.

Anyway – Bergen is super beautiful. It was a beautiful clear day today, and as the plane came into land there were hundreds of little islands in the fiord, some connected by bridges, with many boats bobbing about in the blue water. Then the city itself is surrounded by steep wooded hills covered with scenic brightly coloured houses. The centre itself is a world heritage area with largely wooded buildings, some with crooked walls and off-centre roofs. All very pretty.

Then there is a nice marina with lots of bars and restaurants, a sort of fortified castle thing (I need to find out what that is), a funicular railway, museums, art galleries, an aquarium, and boat trips out to tour the fiord and its islands. The only problem is that I won’t be seeing any of this because I will be sitting in a bank testing a WP8 app. Never mind – R and I will need to come back here together soon – I actually fancy doing a trip my Mum and Dad enjoyed a few years ago, which was a sort of Scandinavian cruise.

So far the only thing I don’t like about Bergen are the prices of everything (which are horrendous), plus the locals seem to have a bit of a predilection for big, noisy motorbikes.