Bergen, Norway-Oct. 5, 2018

Today we came to our final port of our two week cruise- Bergen, Norway. With a population of 240,000, Bergen has a rich sea-trading history dating back to to the 1100’s. Starting out as a Viking fishing village, today it is the most popular cruise stop in Northern Europe with about 300 ships stopping each year. Probably Bergen’s most iconic landmark is it’s brightly painted wooden houses along the waterfront called Bryggen.

A view of the old wooden warehouses of the Bryggen district along the harbor, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Our tour this morning included a tour of the town and an a cable car ride up Mr. Ulriken, the highest of the seven mountains that surround Bergen. I was worried that the visibility would be poor since it was rainy. Bergen gets an average 80 inches of rain a year. At best, it has 60 days of sun.

Cable car taking us to the top of Mt. Ulriken.

At the summit, I was surprised that in spite of the mist, this was the view.

Another view of Bergen from the summit. It was clearing a bit.

On this cropped view, our Viking Sun is docked in the harbor. Can you find it?

This flag was really blowing. It was very windy and cold on the observation deck. This is not Norway’s flag, but shows it’s colors. If it was their true flag, they would have to follow the country’s regulations of when to raise and lower it.

While at the restaurant which of course had big windows overlooking Bergen, we were treated to the famed “Ulriken bun” and coffee. The bun was a very large and very fresh, warm cinnamon roll. It was as big as my hand. I ate the whole thing! Frank, getting weary of all the food of late, just took a nibble of his. Very uncharacteristic!

The sun was coming out as we descended in the cable car. Figures!

After returning from our tour, Frank had had enough of sightseeing. Now knowing that the Bryggen and the shops were so close to our ship, I ventured out on my own. I was very glad I did. Since it had become one of Bergen’s rare sunny days, I got some great pics around the harbor. I was hoping to visit the Hanseatic Museum with it’s historical displays of Bergen’s old trading days but they unfortunately closed on Oct. 1st for extensive renovations. (Drat!) I did browse several tourist shops as well. Frank would have hated waiting!

A closer view of the wooden house along the old harbor. Notice the large cobblestoned street.

The glass building is the famous fish market and seafood restaurants

I watched the sales girl pull up an octopus with all of its legs dangling to weigh it for a customer. See the sea urchins in the display case. Wow! Never saw that before!

See the Viking Sun between these two tug boats?

Since we were disembarking the next morning, I was so glad I had ventured out on my own to savor the beauty of the harbor. Memories to last a lifetime!

One Reply to “Bergen, Norway-Oct. 5, 2018”