Bergen Bound!

Ended our stay in Alesund so off early for our 7hr drive to Bergen. Raining today, temp is about 50⁰, light traffic due to it being Saturday. Today’s drive will go along the coast so there will great scenery and probably be a couple of ferries. Collette has that all worked out, simply hand over the Visa, sign and drive. Simple.

Before coming to Scandinavia, we read that credit cards were used almost 100% of the time, cash was frowned upon and mostly used by tourists. So far, we haven’t used any cash, only our Visa and 1^st bank debit card. We also read that to use your credit card you needed to have a PIN. We contacted Chase inquiring about getting a PIN and they said a PIN was only used for cash advances, not for purchases. And, a cash advance has a 27% interest fee that is charged from the second you get it, no grace period.

Once I recovered, we decided to just try our card with no PIN and see what happens. Here’s what happens, they charge your card just like in the US and you need to sign the receipt, just like in the US. The only time this doesn’t work is at a self-service gas pump, that requires a PIN because there are no attendants, yeah, self-serve. In those cases, we use the 1^st bank debit card. So far, all has gone well.

Speaking of gas, a tad bit more expensive here. Average cost for a liter of gas has been $1.67, that’s about $6.32 per gallon! OK Warm Springers, no more bitching about the Shell station charging $3.19!

Onward! We notified our Bergen apartment hosts that we will be arriving around 5:30pm and they have graciously agreed to meet us at the apartment. I like to meet our hosts when we rent a place to stay. It helps make it more personable, gives us a chance to ask questions, such as: where is the electrical panel, the water shutoff, when will they stop jack-hammering the road? In this case, the jack-hammering stopped weeks ago. Now they’re in the process of welding a vacuum refuse pipe to suck the trash to a central location for sorting and disposal. What???? Yep, Bergen is on the cutting edge of waste disposal with this new suck-a-sack system. Whatever, when will the construction be done? Couple more months, but they only work on weekdays so we’re good until Monday.

Our apartment house

Scandinavian recycling project. Massive underground tubes to “suck” recyclables to the sorting area.

Back to the drive. Beautiful even in the rain. Along the way, the tops of the mountains have a light dusting of snow. These peaks are around 6,000-7,000’ and have a good covering of snow on them. Bet winter here is long and hard!

Arrived right on time in Bergen and found the place without too much trouble. Ole, the owner, was waiting for us and helped unload the car. Glad he helped; it was pouring! Next thing was to find a parking garage to store the Ferrari, the Yaris. Ole rode with me so we could ride back to the apartment in his car. He has an electric vehicle, and here in Bergen he gets certain benefits. All electric cars are sold tax free, no import tax, no sales tax, nada, that’s why we’ve seen more Tesla’s here than anywhere. Electric cars are also exempt from parking fees, commuter fees, congestion fees; they don’t pay for charging their vehicles; and, no $6.32 per gallon. Not a bad deal.

Living room

Hallway

Living room

Dining room

Entrance

Bath & Laundry

Another day down, time for a glass of wine and some music. Tomorrow we’ll wander around town to see the sites. Till then…..