We arrived in this charming city this morning and promptly set out on two back-to-back tours.
Al little background. Bergen is often referred to as the “Gateway to the Fjords”. It is a UNESCO World Heritage City and Norway’s second largest port. It is located on Puddefjorden, Byfjorden and Sorjorden, surrounded by 7 mountains and an archipelago of islands. The oldest part of the city is on the bay of Vagen and it is here that you find Bryggen, a number of old, wooden houses dating from the 14th-16th centuries when they housed German merchants of the Hanseatic League who first settled here around 1350. The League dominated northern European trade routes. These waterfront structures were rebuilt following a disastrous fire in 1702 (fires are frequent in Bergen!!). Today only the facades and the alleyways are original. Inside, they have been modernized and converted to boutiques or artists’ studios.
Bergen enjoys a mild climate, thanks, once again, to the Gulf Stream…it also has more rainfall than anywhere else in Norway. May and June are the best months – it is likely to rain in July! The economy is, and always has been, based on the sea.
Also down on the waterfront are King Hakon’s Hall, a 13th century royal home and Rosenkrantztarnet, a 16th century fortified tower. Built by governor Erik Rosenkrantz, the tower is built around 19th-century ruins. Both are unassuming and quite small.
Edvard Grieg, Bergen’s favorite son. His home at Trondhaugen is nearby. Unfortunately, I had to choose between that and seeing the old part of Bergen and the surroundings. I will have to come back! Ibsen is not from Bergen proper, but from the area.
Well, the first tour was “Bergen by land and sea”. We had a walking tour of Bryggen, ducking down very narrow alleys with original timbers. Most of the houses are joined together and there are no alleyways. It was fascinating. King Cod ruled the business world at that timer.
We visited the open-air fish market, the Sma Lungeren, a park with a lovely gazebo and fountain and then drove around most of the city. I am very sleep-deprived and I fell asleep after we left the center. Oops! We then embarked on a boat, which toured all the islands in the surrounding fjords. Each island was different from the next. We saw small lighthouses, little weekend cabins, suburban homes and Olle Bull’s magnificent arabesque “castle”. He was the pop star of his era – the 19th century. Two large bridges link some of the larger islands…more are in the works. And many tunnels link the various outlying areas beyond the mountains
Back to the ship – 15 minutes to get a sandwich and then off again….shuttle bus to city center, nice walk to the funicular t the top of Mt. Floen and then a 2hr, 5km walk up through the forest. Beautiful views of the entire area. Since it was Sunday and a nice, albeit somewhat cloudy day, families were out in droves. Since Norwegians start their love of outdoor life in Kindergarten, no one, of any age, had trouble negotiating the slopes. I found it hard going at one point.
Our guide told me that this love of all things outdoors is called Freluftliev (not sure of spelling) – of you know any German – it translate literally to love of the free 9outdoor) life. Norwegian is a stange mixture of English, German, some French and “other” linguistic influences. When one hears them speaking, it sounds very like German.
Last formal night – took my last bottle of champagne to the table. We had the parade of chefs and dining room personnel and, of course, baked Alaska. Ah but there was rum raisin ice cream on the menu and that’s what I had. I love it.
Met the gang after dinner and we’ve made arrangements to have a goodbye lunch in the Britannia at 12:30 tomorrow.
In bed by 9:30!!! Determined to catch up on sleep.
Hallo, Elaine, Yesterday was another beautiful day...wow, two days in a row! We just kind of took it easy and enjoyed the day on our patio. Of course, we had Beau join us. He was soooo happy! Bill put a bowl of water in his run. He was fascinated by the ice cubes that were floating in the water. We know your cruise is coming to an end; and you must have loved it. We sure enjoyed reading your informative daily blogs.
ReplyDeleteCiao for now and Adjo! Bill and Julie
Sounds as though you had QUITE a day! Hope you were able to catch up on some sleep after your two fascinating and very challenging tours! Believe it or not, we actually had a mostly sunny weekend here
ReplyDeletefor the fourth of July! Erin and Ted and Henry arrived Friday morning and we had a very fun time. Henry was NOT wild about the parade as there are lots of loud bangs and truck tooting and sirens, etc. and he's a little too young for that, but we lasted a couple of hours - then came back and hung out in the meadow with a little kiddie pool and cooked a salmon dinner. Julie and Bill had the Beekley's and friends from Barrington over, so the Windridge Wingnuts were in good form! I continue to love following your adventures - Sending love, Nan