Bergen: We took the cable car (Funicular) up Mt. Floyen, lovely views from the top. Get there early to avoid long lines. The station is an easy walk from downtown, about 10 minutes. At the top there is a nice network of trails, well maintained, more like roads, over hills, around lakes, very good signage. Lots of downtown action around Torget, Torgalmenning, Strandgaten. Everything is expensive, and we were told the locals take the short ferry to Newcastle UK to do their shopping.

A local TA told us all the internet cafes are out of business, but there were free stations at the library (Biblioteque), which we found.
Flam: We did the hiking trail that follows the famous Flam railway, and took the side trail to the Berkenfossen(?) Falls, very pretty. Flam is a small village, just some tourist shops at the dock, and internet.

Geiranger: From the Fjordcenter we did hiking trail--A winding 1000 feet up the side of the fjord to the Vesteras farm, good trail, and from there, level side trail B to a great lookout with the ship way below. There are quite a variety of trails from Geiranger. The tourist office will mail you a great map. Small village, no serious shopping.

Disembarkation from the Crown Princess: Very well done, off at 9:00, no announcements, you wait in a lounge and the crew tell you when to leave, by color code. Lots of cabs, 5.60 UKP back to the bus depot. Pre-book your National Express bus, people trying to get on were told they were full till mid-afternoon.

After Cruise in London: After taking the National Express bus to Heathrow, we got the hotel shuttle to the Crown Plaza Heathrow in West Drayton just outside the airport. We got the 4 star Crown Plaza on Priceline for $50. Internet rate was 80 UKP, or about $150. All Heathrow hotel shuttle buses are 4 UKP, no freebees here. After checking in, we got a cab to the nearby West Drayton train station (10 UKP), 20 minute ride to London, faster than the Tube from Heathrow. An all day TravelCard pass for all trains, subways, and buses is 7.50 UKP for off-peak travel (after 9:30 M-F, and all day weekends) in all zones 1-6, which covers Heathrow to London. Each trip by itself is 4 UKP. A peak Travelcard for use before 9:30 costs 14.80 UKP. Buy them at any tube, train, or bus station from the machines. Speed trains run from West Drayton to London Paddington every half hour, take 20 minutes, and at Paddington you can transfer to the Tube.

We took the Tube from there to St. Paul's Cathedral, and then back to Leicester Square and Soho, had dinner there, and then back to Paddington for the train to West Drayton. Soho and Chinatown are a hoot to walk around, tons of people even on Sunday evening, every kind of restaurant, café, and club, as well as the stage shows. And finally, here's one for the books, the licensed cab drive from the hotel didn't know where the train station was, and the cab driver from the train station didn't know where the hotel was. They are about 1.5 miles apart. Also, wait to get home to change your UKP back to your currency, the rate at Heathrow was about 15 percent worse than at home. And lastly, at the Crown Plaza we overheard a guest complaining about being charged for minibar articles, and they were told there is a sensor in the bar, and if you move anything it's assumed you used it and are charged for it. Really. Email us if you need more info: Bob7 (at) Canoemail dot com -Bob and Wendy Evans July 2009