Our intention was to drive down to Flam to take the railway trip from there to Myrdal and back, but we ran into a snag buying tickets on line because I couldn't get the verification code they sent via text. So instead we decided to head over to Bergen, which turned out to be a good choice. Weather wasn't great - pouring rain at some points, slight drizzle for the most part. It's almost a three hour drive but Geoff was keen to do it so off we went. He has been so good about driving - he has done all of it!
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway after Oslo and is situated on the south western part of the country, surrounded by mountains and fjords, and hence its nickname of “City of Seven Mountains”. It was once the capital of Norway until Oslo claimed that honour. Its existence dates back to 1070 and was an important trading centre throughout the centuries following.
The drive down from Vik was, as we have come to expect here, quite breath-taking. Shortly out of Vik you encounter barren, snow-covered hills, which are in sharp contrast to the lush greenness you encounter further on. Waterfalls are in no short supply and our wonderful chauffeur, Geoff, was quite willing to stop so that Pam and I could take whatever shots we deemed necessary.
Once in Bergen we found a car park not far from Brygge, which is the main port area. We found a lovely coffee shop so stopped for a quick coffee and a treat before heading out to explore. The Brygge area is one of the oldest areas and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries due to massive fires that destroyed most of it to some degree. The buildings are interesting in that they were built perpendicular to the harbour, so are long and skinny. In restoring them, the original footprints were retained for the most part, which makes for a very interesting wander.
At Pam and Geoff’s suggestion, we visited the Bergen Museum, which houses an amazing collection of artifacts dating back several centuries, including the actual remains of some of the buildings. It is also impressive in the number of artifacts, from household items to armour to parts of ships to carved runes. Well worth a visit to get a good sense of the history and significance of Bergen.
Our next stop was a stroll through the harbour-side fish market to eye all of the variety of seafood on offer, as well as such delicacies as moose burgers, reindeer hotdogs and whale burgers. We did not partake of any of these.
The funicular was the next destination to take us up 320 metres to Fløyen for a panoramic view of the harbour and that part of the city. A bonus was that, it being Bergen International Festival time, one of the ways they were promoting the festival was by having local opera singers serenade passengers as the funicular made its way up and down the mountain. We had a lovely young woman with a beautiful voice share her musical talents with us on the way up, and another equally as talented young woman on the way down. The festival is Scandinavia’s largest one for music and performing arts and draws performers from all over.
Since we were becoming a bit peckish, we decided to head back to the fish market and grab a quick bite, which proved to be fish (pollock) and chips. Quite yummy!
Since we (Geoff) still had a bit of a drive back to Vik, we opted to start heading ‘home’, knowing full well that there would be several photo op stops along the way. And of course there were, including a couple of rip roaring waterfalls.
Arrived home safe and sound, had a lovely chicken and salad dinner, a game of Phase Ten and then off to dreamland.