Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

It turns out that Brigitte and Giles have a very special boat. It has a built-in creperie, a separate specially built gas-fired Brittany style crepe maker. It's a very large circular metal cooker which is normally hidden under a counter top in their galley. They said when they bought the boat it was on the list of included items but after they had taken posession the former owner called to ask for it back. Anyway, they invited us over for crepes Brittany syle. They're made with buckwheat flour and with a little beer in the batter to make it lighter. Giles has a special rake-like tool that he uses to spread the batter around on the pan. After he flips it he lays on cheese, ham and an raw egg that cooks sunny side up, then folds them in thirds to serve. He also made some with salmon and mushrooms in honor of Norway. It was quite a treat. They were served with cider from Brittany. We felt very honored to have been invited. We are tied to the dock in Bergen city center. It is both picturesque and a crowded urban tourist gathering place. On the high hill overlooking the 400 plus year old harbor are buildings nestled together, they are likely quite old themselves. The people are a few stylish Norwegians, many service workers some Norwegian some eastern european, a literal boatload of Asians, British, French. One could imagine that the place teams with spys, what with so many people wearing sunglasses, smoking cigarettes and speaking different languages. There may be other explanations for the diversity as well. Beer is about $4-5 per pint in the store and more than double that in bars. There are people drinking them. There is a very large open air fish resturant and market. The smell of grilled fish is heavy in the air. The tables are full from about 10:00 until 21;00. Prices are dear but the fish looks excellent. If people paid for taking our photograph we could finance our airfare with no problem. We must be in hundreds of vacation photos. On the way to Bergen we stopped for fuel at a little gas station. There was a Norwegian family in a small motor boat who came in for sandwiches. There was a mom, dad, three kids, two dogs--all dressed in blaze orange life vests, including the dogs. They asked to take our picture. I really wanted to take theirs! We are getting to know some of the other people we will be sailing with. It is sort of like the first few days at a new school. The boats differ in size, small (us) to huge and type--there is one 68 foot motor yacht. Today we walked around town and spent a few hours at the art museum. the bulk of the collection was from one wealthy industrialist who collected until the 1920s It includes both international and Norwegian artists. Edvard Munch is well know outside Norway but another two J.C. Dahl and Nikolai Astrup actually were both very interesting and seemingly innovative. The museum itself has as part of its mission to educate viewers in the appreciation of what art has to offer. The modern work is from the 70s and is painful in the worst 70s way.The only thing that tarnishes Bergen's image are scattered women beggers who wear shawls. I do not know if they are from Norway or not or are like gypsies.