Day 15 - Thursday June 27, 2024 - a Summer day in Bergen Norway

By Ellen Outten

 

The iconic picture of Bergen. 

With a five minute walk from our ship is this historic harbour district in Bergen, one of North Europe’s oldest port dating back to the 12th century.

Our tour didn't go out until 11:30 am so I walked off the ship on my own about 9 am.  First objective to find a pharmacy.  Yes, another cold, but at present, it doesn't seem too bad.  In search if Norwegian Mucinex and some cough drops, I found my pharmacy and then strolled back to the ship  liesurely walking through the tourist ships and a great fresh fish market.  At that early hour and no crowds, I got great views of the fish market.

The cold water of Norway and their king crab

It's always interesting to see what's for sale



Dried cod.  The process dates back to 800 AD as a way to preserve it.  It's a staple here in Norway.


An old fortress within minutes of our ship.

Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway.

Our tour today was better than many.  While it was a bus ride of Bergen, we had three stops and some easy walking so we really got to see a good bit of the city.

Our first stop in the tour was to view the harbor area from the other side of the harbor.
Shots of Bryggen from across the harbor 


Notice the funicular climbing the hill in the background.  A 10 minute ride for a beautiful view.

From there we walked to the New Church, the foundation of which was a castle and remnants remain in the basement dating to  1100 AD.





The first floor of the church is an operating Lutheran Church built in the 1600's

The outside of the church.  

Back on the bus, we rode for about 15 minutes and then exited the bus for a 20 minute walk through the city center.

Their famous playwright Ibsen, best known for the play, The Doll House.  Quite charming!




The National theater 

Everywhere you looked, there were beautiful gardens.

Ole Bull a Norwegian famous violinist who played with the Philharmonic orchestra at the age of 8.

Byparken, their word for a park.  Originally it was to be a music gazebo but the acoustics  are so bad, they now call it the flower gazebo.  



Festplassen.  Lined with cherry trees in the spring and Christmas lights in the winter.


From there, we were back on the bus and were dropped off at the historic Bryggen buildings.  We left the tour at that point and walked back to the fish market for some lunch.

Oysters on the half sheel, mussels, one giant king crab leg that the cracked and sauteed and a little calamari Frito to finish the light lunch.  This was really Wayne's and my first meal off the ship.  We weren't going to pass up the chance to taste some local seafood.

The local beer, whatever it is you have to try it.

Oysters for Wayne, not my preference, raw.


Calamari, mussels and king crab.  BEFORE 

AFTER

Paella. We didn't try it.  We leave this for Barcelona.

A walk back to the ship with Wayne's needed stop for ice cream to fill in all the gaps left from lunch.

Some of the architecture along the Bryggen pier

Of course, reindeer sausage and moose burgers and baked potato s.  It must be a "thing".

We're just about packed now. We have an early departure tomorrow morning.  We will be guided off the ship at 7 am and taken to the train station for an 8 am train ride to Oslo, Norway that will take about 7 hours.







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