Bergen by foot

"I want to get up the hill to take some photos," I told the guy at the counter. "Can I walk up?"
"Of course," he said. "There are lots of paths."
"What's the best way?"
He shrugged. "Go that way," he said, pointing to the hill. "If you get lost, make sure you're going up."

Turned out to be pretty good advice

At the top I found what at first appeared to be a children's park but turned out to be the setting of a low-budget horror film (I assume) with carved trolls and heads on stakes peering out at every turn.

Gah!

A shower and breakfast, and the rest of the day was spent exploring. I went to the university and saw the foundations of the St Catherine Church and Hospital.

The first women's hospital in Norway

I crossed a couple of bridges and took a bunch of photos I'm not posting here because they're not really of anything. I was staying at the end of an historical area, a bunch of buildings which, if the information outside them can be believed, are sinking into the fjord.

Bright colours indicate wealth

I was also next to a castle (with lots of families having picnics on the walls, in spite of the rain), a remnant from Bergen's days as a member of the Hanseatic League. One of the major structures within was the Rosencrantz Tower.

No Gildenstern Bridge, sorry

And, of course, Haakon's Hall.

Obviously

My last act for the day was to work out how to get the bus to Stavanger and prepare for the six hour ride.

Some things seen while running in Bergen

I ran up a hill and took some photos. Here's the harbour.

The city center

As the record shows, I don't take a funicular if walking is an option. Look at all these suckers.

Hm, that's interesting

...oh no

I stumbled into a haunted troll forest. Always a risk in Norway.

But I escaped! And took more photos on my way down.

Of ducks and fog and forest

The next few days all ran together on my camera, so I'm just going to cover them all in one post.  We went to the Oregon Ducks v Washington Huskies game in Eugene and had a great day.  The people we'd met in Portland were able to send us along to a McMenamins around the corner from the stadium, so we were well fed.

Every now and then the road just disappears into cloud.

A great day was had, watching the Ducks build momentum and eventually demolish the Huskies.  We spent the afternoon 'tailgating' with the people of Oregon.

The next morning we headed for Eureka, taking an amazing drive to the Californian coast.  Redwood forests are spectacular.  We drove in and out of cloud all day and eventually descended to the Pacific Ocean.

"Is there a corner coming up?" "Probably."

And then, one Monday morning, we came down a stretch of highway and saw the Golden Gate Bridge around the corner.

Oh hey, I know that bridge.

The Talk had recommended a great hostel in the middle of downtown San Francisco.  The Skeptic and I took off for a run to the top of Lombard Street, hoping to get some photos of the sunset.  We were too late.