Day 9. Hirthals to Bergen with the ferry.
Distance on bikes 2km.
We got up rather excitedly and did the morning things. The tent in the sea breeze was a little less damp than usual but it was more important to have it dry today as it would not be used for a day or so. Breakfast eaten, washing up done and everything was packed away. Today's cycling consisted of racing down the hill to the harbour to join the queue for the ferry. Boy was that fun!
Today it didn't matter that there was a wind blowing, we had a rest day ahead of us and someone else was doing the navigating. The sun was shining on us, in a the way that guaranteed sunburn, and it was great to be heading towards Norway after a week of frustrations.
Once at the terminal we were directed to the motorcycle and bicycle line-up. Damae was chuffed to get a big label with BERGEN on it like the cars and trucks got. She hung her card off her bike and then took a photo. After a very short wait we were waved on, and cycled onto the large boat rather reminiscent of the ferries that leave from Hull to Belgium and Holland.
Up and round and finally we were shown a small alcove where three bikes were already stowed. We decided to take all our bags off the bikes and lock them up, other people left their bags on their bikes. We regretted our decision almost immediately as not only did we have to climb to get to the main deck, our cabin was at the other end of the ship down another flight of stairs. Ho hum.
Still after ten minutes we had our belongings in the relative security of our two person inner cabin. The cabin was roomy enough, with washrooms and showers down a corridor. Everything worked fine, lots of hot water, although we have been spoiled by en-suite cabins and ones with windows.
First of all we headed up to a cafe, and picked a table next to the window, waiting for the initial rush to subside. When it had Damae went to get two cups of tea and made the momentous discovery that this was a NORWEGIAN ship. This meant that it carried Tine yoghurts from Norway, instead of the bland Danish brands (so bland in fact that neither of us can remember any of them). We enjoyed the youghurt with our tea and sat for a while watching the world and his wife float past in that ferry passenger sort of way.
The weather was truly wonderful and we could not resist going outside to sit in the sunshine. I took lots of photos leaving Hirtshalls, picking out the lighthouse and the campsite we'd stayed at. Later after the Danish coast had disappeared from view I took a video panorama of the blueness all around us. We could not have wished for better on our rest day.