20260412 Viking Vela Northern Lights and British Isles - Day 28/32

Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 28/32 – Is Bergen Norwegian for Déjà Vu?

We awoke to a familiar sight this morning. We were in Bergen, Norway, where this journey began nearly a month ago. But...something was very different. The sky was blue! The good weather had continued to follow us, and we had unprecedented blue sky and sunshine in Bergen. Don't get me wrong, it was still chilly, in the upper 40s, with a biting wind that made it feel much colder. But still, sunshine in Europe's rain capital was a welcome sight.

Bergen has such a quaint look to it

After breakfast, Arlona started the packing process - I did it in the afternoon

We had to go ashore to clear Norwegian Immigration. We decided to couple that with a walk around the harbor area to take advantage of the sunshine. We made a stop at Guest Service because we have a question about our account. The line was crazy. We discovered that Lufthansa announced that tomorrow and Tuesday, April 13 & 14, its pilots will be on strike. At least 170 Viking passengers had Lufthansa flights over the next two days. Guest Services and Viking Air were scrambling to rebook 170 tickets. We're flying SAS and Delta on Wednesday, so we were fine.

The U.K.'s HMS Somerset, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, was in Bergen to participate in the NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise Arctic Dolphin

The Odin Viking, an anchor handling tug - it was huge

Three Vikings - the Mange Viking across the harbor, Odin Viking, and Viking Vela

Rosenkrantz Tower, located at the Bergenhus Fortress, with a blue sky

We had to grab a few Bryggen photos with that crystal-clear blue sky

One worker in a shop said that Bergen locals can suffer from sunshine guilt. It is sunny so little here, that when it is sunny, if you don't, or because of work or other commitments, can't go outside, you feel guilty not taking advantage of the rare sunshine in Bergen.

Minebøssen monument, located in Bergen, Norway, honors sailors who died during the First World War

Erected in 1921, this memorial is constructed from an authentic German horn mine from World War

The Homeless, an iconic statue - "Ingen er bare det du ser," which translates to "No one is just what you see"

Sailor's Monument from 1950

Rumor has it that the woman was petrified waiting for the soft-serve machine to work

Bergens Tidende building, 1868

Ole Bull's Plass and the National Theatre

"Liggende Poet" (The Reclining Poet), 1958

Such a beautiful day

We walked through the fish market and saw this monkfish smiling at us

Feeling crabby?

Such a tourist photo

The narrow alleyways are always interesting

St Mary's Church, dating back to the 12th century, is the oldest surviving building in Bergen

This stunning, mid-60s Cadillac DeVille Convertible really took us by surprise - a beautiful blue Chevrolet Chevelle drove by a few minutes later, but I couldn't get my phone out fast enough

We came back to the ship and grabbed lunch before I started my packing. We got our two main bags pretty much packed before heading to the terminal for the Global Blue VAT refund desk. International passengers are exempt from most value-added taxes (VAT) in Europe, essentially sales tax. You have to shop at a Global Blue retailer and get a Global Blue VAT refund receipt. Then, before you leave the country, you have to go to a Global Blue desk and request the refund. It takes up to 3-4 weeks to get the money refunded to the credit or debit card of your choice. It seems like a bit of a scam, but it's on the up-and-up. We only made a few small purchases, but our VAT refund was about $60, so it was worth the effort.

We popped back to the room and then headed to the Explorers Bar for our last pre-dinner cocktails of the trip. We enjoyed chatting with several of the guests we have gotten to know over the last two weeks.

We enjoyed dinner at the World Café, with an asterisk. Nothing tickled our fancy in the buffet tonight. We asked Aman, one of the excellent head waiters, if we could get the beer chicken on the always-available menu from The Restaurant. Of course, he said yes, and we enjoyed a nice beer chicken dinner.

As we left the World Café, we ran into the Restaurant Manager, Joan, and her husband, bar waiter, Lloyd. 

They are an amazing couple and have been a joy to be around these last few weeks.

We hit the Explorers Bar for one last drink and final goodbyes with the bartenders and bar regulars. Throughout the evening, we were able to say farewell and, until we sail with you again, to our favorite crew and officers, from Captain Olav on down the line. The outstanding Viking crew really made a huge impact on the quality of this cruise. We will be happy to see them again on a future cruise.

Back in the room, we took showers, packed the last items in the bags, and put them out for pick-up tonight. We have our carry-on luggage for last-minute items that will go in tomorrow morning. Speaking of tomorrow morning, we'll be up early for breakfast and a 7:00 am departure for the train station for our train trip to Oslo.