We arrived in the lovely town of Bergen under dark skies. We took a scenic drive to town from the airport through a few long tunnels and a gracefully winding road.

The town is nestled in a bowl of sorts. There are quaint houses built up on the sides of the surrounding hills which are very close by. They stand out against the lush green foliage of the hillsides.

We have plans of walking the town this afternoon. The buildings are a mix of very old and modern. The streets are narrow with flowers and fountains here and there. It has rained a little on the way into the town.

We are in a large bus and have a good vantage point to see all of the points of interest around us.

“Oh, look, there is a large cruise ship up ahead,” someone remarked. We pulled into the empty parking lot next to a beautiful ship. It said “Viking Sea” on its transom.

We have arrived.

We went through customs at the side of the ship. It is well organized but there are many people here and it takes some time to get to the arrival desk, get our room information, and then go off to our room. We are in 3074. It is a bright room of sufficient size.

We beat our luggage to our room however and dropped off my backpack and left to walk the town.

We stopped to pick up an umbrella that was in a tall, circular bucket near the exit door of the arrival building. There are many umbrellas waiting for those who wish to leave the ship. “That’s a good idea,” I thought as I walked out into the parking lot.

The rain started to come down in buckets. It didn’t start as a small drizzle. It is pouring. We were with our traveling companions and realized that walking the town today was going to be impossible. We will wait and do it in the morning.

We took a few quick photos of the rear of the ship (the transom) for those who were wondering, and headed back to where we had just come from.

The few crew members on hand watched us come quickly back to the ship. “Who won that bet, I asked as I walked past one of the men. The one crewman that I said that to smiled a knowing smile and shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of innocence. He looked quite satisfied, however.

I assumed it was him that had bet on the rain and against us. I’m not sure, but he had a big smile on his face.