After our first night in Bergen, we decided to take a walk. We went to the other side of the harbor and found ourselves at Bergen’s small and very kid friendly aquarium. I like aquariums, so even though the one in Bergen got mixed reviews, we decided to spend some time there. I’m glad we did. It was a lot of fun, and it was educational. I especially enjoyed the sea lions and the penguins. It looked like they had sea otters at one point, too, but that exhibit was kind of abandoned looking.

There was a Burmese python snake, several crocodiles, lots of fish and lobsters, and an anaconda, among other things. Throughout the small park, there was the message of not polluting the Earth and embracing sustainability.

To be honest, I was a little ambivalent about the sea lion show, although the three California sea lions seemed happy and healthy performing for the small crowd, consisting mostly of children. I enjoyed learning more about them and watching them interact with the trainers.

After the aquarium, we headed back toward town and wound up stopping at the Magic Ice Bar, which is a bar that features really interesting ice sculptures. The bar is kept at -5 Celsius degrees. They also have a literal bar, where real cocktails are served. I was wondering if I should have worn shorts earlier, but after visiting that bar, I was glad I put on pants! Everything in there is covered in ice. The Magic Ice Bar is also kid friendly, to the extent that they are allowed.

I met another birthday girl in the ice bar, too. I overheard her saying that tomorrow is her birthday, so I said, “It’s mine, too!” I think she was from Scotland, or thereabouts, and we spent a moment thinking of famous people born on June 20th… Lionel Ritchie, John Taylor from Duran Duran, and of course, Dan Tyminski. 😉 Geminis born on the cusp, unite!

After we visited the bar, we walked back into town, searching for lunch. All of the eateries in the harbor were teeming with people, so we went up a couple of streets and stumbled on a Chinese restaurant that had a very reasonably priced (for Norway) lunch menu. We were the only ones in the restaurant. It was great!

Now, we’re enjoying a short rest. It’s nice to be at a leisurely pace, waiting until Friday, when we get on our cruise. I’d actually like to do a fjord cruise, but next week, we’ll be on a cruise ship. So maybe it’s better to focus on the land when we’re here…

Here are some photos from today.