After dinner the second night, Tuesday April 16th, 2019, I noticed that
it was still light out, around sunset. And the funicular to get up to
the top of Mt. Fløyen was literally about a block from where the restaurant
where we had just eaten dinner was. Given that we'd only have one more
full day in Bergan, we decided we'd go up to the top now, and maybe I'd
get in some sunset pictures or at least night pictures. The funicular
would run until about 11pm and it was around 9pm, so we had plenty of time.
So that's what we did.
On the way up, I wanted to take a picture of Stephanie and me using my
new remote control (IR shutter trigger). As I was messing around with
the camera, someone in the next section of the car said he could take
the picture. Rather than try to explain what I was doing, I said sure.
I was going to explain how to take a picture but then he looked through
the viewfinder and asked if I had the exposure compensation set to +1.0
intentionally. I figured he probably knew how to take a picture and
about Nikon cameras (and probably more than I knew). The answer to the
question was...sort of/not really. I had been using the compensation
just before, but had forgotten to reset it.
While we just missed the actual sunset, I got some good shots of the
colorful clouds just afterwards, and then some night shots of Bergen
as it got darker. I also talked to the man who took the picture about
cameras, Bergan and more. His name is Martin (foreshadow for Part 5).
The trip up Mt. Fløyen on the funicular from Bergen. They are cars that go on rails up the side of the mountain. One goes up while the other goes down. There are around 4 stops that it makes, including one where the car going up is not at a station but the other one is. Mostly there is only one track, except near the center when the two cars pass each other side-by-side. The cars have about 4 sections, each one can easily accomodate a dozen or more people (not all sitting). There are no walls separating the sections, it's just that the inside is stair-stepped, so the ones towards the bottom are lower, which gives everyone a good view. The car was pretty empty going up.
When we got to the top, the colors were really growing, with yellows, oranges, and soft reds, with the clouds being under-lit by them. A wide deck with several levels allows for clear views of Bergen and the Vågen Bay below.
As it got darker, it was getting colder. I had loaned Stephanie one of my jackets (I had multiple layers). And if we didn't take the 10pm car, we'd have to wait for the last one (at 11 maybe). We headed down, but planned to return during the day tomorrow. The car going down was more crowded, but it wasn't too bad. The trip takes about 10 minutes or so.