Last day of the holiday today and we head back this afternoon. It’s been great to be away for a week with good friends seeing somewhere new. I’ve been so immersed in being out here that I’ve forgotten about work. Great holiday on that point.

Norway is quite unlike any other city I’ve visited in England. It’s relatively small compared to English Cities, constrained by the mountains that surround it so it can’t sprawl for ever and dominated by the atmosphere of the city centre but yet doesn’t feel crowded like so many English cities. Perhaps it’s that there isn’t the volume of traffic going from A to B that dominates English cities?

Had a happy half an hour trying to take pictures of penguins at the Bergan Aquarium using my digital camera. I’ve been surprised at how nippy penguins are. I can imagine that they could give a shark a run for their money if they were being chased.[thumb:942:r]

Spent today touring Bergan and seeing what was there. I was amazed at the number of cyclists we saw giving that Norway is mountainous. We found that the bus network has been excellent in getting us around from Montana and over to various places.

The old wooden building on the quayside remind me of Rye. Rye not being so bustley or touristy but similar with it’s slatted wooden buildings.
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After walking around for a while and after playing Tantrix and Hearts late into the evening Geoffrey and Jeremy needed a well earned nap lying on the grass.

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I woke up to find, I’m on holiday in Norway. First proper day here and we’ve been climbing the hills behind the Montana Youth Hostel where we’re staying. [thumb:899:l]

The view is great and you can see the whole of Bergan. Climbing up through the treeline the pine trees give way briefly to deciduous trees before becoming being replaced by grass.

For the trip I made up some tour t-shirts so we tool the opportunity to pose at the top of Ulrich and take a photograph for posterity wearing them before they were wrecked.

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Coming down was exciting. We decided not to via the route that we came up with it’s aid of steps and hand rails but to instead to follow down a stream to the Black Lake. Exciting and I managed to skid mark my shorts.

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It’s the start of a weeks holiday. this time to Bergan, Norway with three school friends, Alex, Geoffrey and Jeremy. Have been surprised to come across the QE2 up in Bergan. Something that’s so familiar to my time in Southampton and to go on holiday and find it was unexpected.
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What really seems to stand out here is that Bergan is relatively flat and then the mountains are really steep. Very different to Kent with its rolling hills.

The weather had been a bit gloomy but has cheered up quite a bit. The weather is best described as nice. Not too hot, not too cold. I’m guessing just perfect for walking in.