I’m just going to give myself a little pat on the back. *pat pat* I promised you a post today and I delivered! (Don’t get too used to that, though). The cute little door you see above is Krok og krinkel, a cozy bookshop cafe just off the beaten path. It is another of Kaja’s favorites and since Norah and I have unofficially, or maybe officially, made Sundays our coffee shop days, we had to try it. Leading into the cafe there are already bins of books on the steps, possibly for free? Kind of like a lending library, you give and take at your leisure. That is all speculation, of course. Either way, the place was welcoming and it seems Norah and I were lucky to find seating, as many people came bursting in after we had settled and quickly left after scanning for any open seating. The counter where you order had a spread of delectable treats like some cakes, scones and, of course, skillingsbolle (Norwegian cinnamon roll). Besides having to try the skillingsbolle, a sweet caramel treat caught my eye, and if you are unfamiliar with my eating habits, let me give you a quick run down- bacon is gold, caramel is queen and beer goes with everything. So clearly I couldn’t pass up the chance to taste that incredible looking morsel. #noragrets
I tried to be artsy, but, regardless, look at how delicious those bad boys look! And a latte in a glass, I thought it was unique to Bar Barista, but I guess not. I’ll have to be less surprised the next time that happens. I wish I would have gotten the name of the caramel delight, but I told Lotte today that since I didn’t I suppose we’ll have to go back and sample it again. It’ll be a shame if I don’t catch it then, that’ll mean at least one more trip back to Krok og krinkel. Darn. While the caramel delight was delicious, it was quite rich so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the skillingsbolle was unlike the Cinnabon cinnamon rolls I am used to in the US. You know the ones smothered in icing, super fluffy and as big as a small child. Anyways, these are denser and topped simply with coarse sugar instead of the butter, sugar, cream concoctions that are standard in America. Since the skillingsbolle was such a great contrast to the caramel sweet, I found myself alternating bites, which worked really well until they were both gone. Sigh.
Norah and I sat across from each other, both working on our respective blogs (yesterday’s post) and she gave a little smirk when I snapped this shot. What? Everyone deserves a shameless selfie every now and then.
The purpose of the shot was to give you a little peek into the interior of the cafe which is quite the opposite of Bar Barista- well lit, minimalist, and quaint. As you can also see from this shot, I am lacking a #selfie stick- never fear it won’t be long until it’s here. Anyways, as I was in the midst of writing the novel of a blog post, Norah finishes her’s. With a deep sigh, she says she needs a break, maybe a walk since it’s now sunny out. Better yet, why not take advantage of the sunlight and explore a bit. So we pack up and head down the road towards Bryggen, the older part of town. Norah suggested it was a good time to get some shots of the old Bryggen buildings since the sky was so blue and who likes dreary, rain day pictures?
It may be a little hard to tell, but if you look closely at the 2 middle buildings you can actually see that they are crooked. Apparently, this part of town is sinking and so the foundations are becoming askew and, well, they are just letting it happen, I guess. It certainly makes for the tourist attraction as those storefronts you see were the only ones open on Sunday. We go weaving between some buildings wondering what is hidden in the depths of these Alice in Wonderland buildings. Well, not much really. Just more retail shops and a little, older building that had been converted into an art studio.
I think that Norah and I have somewhat exhausted our sightseeing within the city limits of Bergen because after strolling around for maybe 40 minutes, and that’s being generous, we popped into one of the open shops to get some post cards and then were at a loss of what to do. Ultimately, we decided to pop into a restaurant/bar called Una we had passed on the way to Bryggen and not a moment too soon as it started to pour just as we set our things down. Originally, what had caught our eye was the sign promoting local brews and, as aforementioned, I like beer. So it was an easy choice to try the place out. There were about 20 beers on tap with 18 of them being Norwegian, so how does one decide? Luckily, the bartender was able to put together a flight for us consisting of a blonde, a pilsner, an APA aptly named the Oregonian, and an American strong ale, the 7 Fjell Vinter. I’ll let you guess which was which. 
Just like our first Sunday in Bergen, Norah and I sat there chatting away trying to think of other things we could do to delay our return to our drab little apartment, but inevitably it was eat/drink more or save a little money for the next adventure. So just as the sun was setting we headed for the bybanen and back to the ever-so-inviting Fantoft student hostel.
So concludes another post, somehow I was able to write just about as much as any other post and it was just one day! Anyways, let me know if you guys have questions, comments or are curious about Norway, travel, or, even, me.
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Until next time, ha en fin dag!
Tusen Takk.
Have Loans, Will Travel 