September 11 - We woke to another rainy day for our early morning coffee and croissants before our 07:50 AM ferry departure for Bergen. The orange-red line tracks the ferry route passing along barren and rocky shores for much of the way.
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| Ferry Balestrand to Bergen |
Lonely Looking Fjords
Bergen Suburbs
Approaching Bergen, forested and populated shores gradually replaced the rocky and lonely ones.
Approaching Bergen
We passed our cruise ship to be, the Viking Neptune, on the way to the ferry dock. From the dock we walked in a drizzle through the Fish Market to our hotel.
Our room on the fourth floor required an elevator ride to the third floor, a bridge to cross and a steep stairs to climb from the third to the floor floor. It was however dry and warm.
Shedding our luggage, we walked back to the Fish Market for lunch. Rick Steve's calls it a "food circus of eateries." I ordered a hot dog; Joanne a fish sandwich.
Rick Steve's Norway Snapshot guide recommends a guided tour not offered at the end of tourist season so we opted for the Bergen Walk after lunch.
Rick's walk begins with the Bergenhus Fortress including the Rosenkarantz Tower, the keep of a 13th century castle and Hakon's Hall, the largest secular medieval building in Norway. We opted to forgo a climb up the keep and proceeded to the Bergenhus Rampart Perch where cannons once guarded the harbor. The statue beloved King Hakon VII stands here as well.
We stopped briefly at the free Fortress Museum that includes information on Norway in World War II.
St Mary's is the oldest preserved building in Bergen dating from 1130. German merchants of the Hanseatic League worshiped here from 1408 to1766 with the last service in German held in 1906.
In a park just outside the church stands the statue of Snorri Sturlason, a twelfth century Icelandic scribe and scholar who recorded the Viking sagas.
We abandoned Rick's Walk for the afternoon and rode the Floibanen Funicular to the top of Mount Floyen before returning to our attic perch to rest up before a forgettable dinner a "cheap" gyro cafe. We continue with the walk tomorrow morning after an excellent buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was tasty.
Richard
Fast forward another day and we were off on another fjord journey of 5 hours to Bergen, the capital of Norway in the 13th century and home of Viking Cruise Lines. The colorful wooden buildings that line the harbor are a testament to the city’s history as a medieval trading hub and member of the Hanseatic League. I've been surprised by people who have come up to me asking me questions in Norwegian! My paternal Danish Grandma Brook would smile at that. We have been exploring Bergen, and hope you enjoy some pictures below.
Joanne
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