Scandinavia—September 24-26

Bergen, Norway

Yesterday, September 24th, we took the amazing 7.5hr train trip to Bergen, leaving Oslo at noon and arriving in Bergen at 7:30PM. The Bergensbanen - Oslo to Bergen by train is one of the great rail journeys and we get to ride it twice! I took pictures of farmland a few hours outside Oslo and then tried to capture the rugged mountains along the Hallingskarvit National Park to Voss and the descent into Bergen. It was foggy and rainy, but I still got some decent pictures. I'm hoping our return Sunday will be clear. We'll see.

Enjoy the pictures from the train.  (Click on a picture to enlarge it for more detail.)

Next stop, Bergen.

I printed our tickets at home just to be safe, because
the Bergenbanen Rail trip has to be secured about
30-60 days out if you hope to get a seat.

More farmland and the white dots are sheep.

The landscape of the mountainous Hallingskarvit 

National Park is rugged. What surprised us was the

cabins and homes dotting the landscape in this remote

area. Norwegians love being outdoors.

The train provides complimentary tea,
coffee, and water. So civilized.

Our first view of a fjord as the train makes its
descent into Bergen. Note the sunshine.

Sun setting over the hills
surrounding Bergen.

The harbor at sunset.

Today, September 25th, we visited the Bergen Tourist Visitor Centre to get a city map, not that it was really necessary, but it's nice to have one to examine to see if there are places or sites worth viewing I hadn't considered when planning the trip. The Tourist Visitor Centre is fantastic; the folks working there are really knowledgeable and helpful. I needed to double check on a refund about a tour that was cancelled and the person took care of it without hesitation. She also assured me that I had the correct meeting places for our Bergen: Past and Present walking tour today and the Naeroyfjord Cruise and Flam Railway Tour Friday.

At 2PM today, we met with Ronato, our local guide for our Bergen: Past and Present walking tour. Turned out we were the only ones so we had him to ourselves. Bergen has a long history, but it was recognised as a city in 1070 under King Olav Kyrre, but was a Viking trading center long before then. It was an interesting and fun walk. Here are some pictures and a little information about our tour.

Our tour guide's knowledge about 
Bergen's ancient and modern history
(think WWII-today) was impressive.

Håkon’s Hall (shown below) was built between 1247 and 1261 by Håkon Håkonsson. It was the largest of the royal residencies in the 13th-century when Bergen was the political centre of Norway. (see this website for professional interior photos and a little history:

https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/the-king-hakons-hall-bymuseet-i-bergen-p908663)

Close up of a Hakon Hall window.

The Rosenkrantz Tower (shown below) was built in the 1560s by the governor of Bergen Castle (Bergenhus), Erik Rosenkrantz, and served as a combined residence and fortified tower. (https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/rosenkrantz-tower-bymuseet-i-bergen-p908683)

St Mary's Church from the 12th century. (https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/st-marys-church-p827623)

This portal was built by Italian stone-
masons, the only craftsmen skilled
enough to create such work. The
ivory pillar on the far right indicates
that Bergen was already a wealthy
trading hub in the 11th century.

The Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the old wharf of Bergen. It serves as a  reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Although many fires ravaged the characteristic wooden houses and shops of Bryggen its rebuilding has followed traditional patterns and methods, leaving its main structure preserved. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape. 

What you'll see next is what is left of what Bergen used to look like along the harbor between 1300-1500. The Bryggen used to be larger, but when the city began renovating the harbor area, it razed four blocks of these old buildings before citizens raised a raucous. 

Bryggen in Bergen, built after 1702.

This ends the pictures of The
Bryggen shops, homes, and
narrow walkways facing the
harbor.

This hotdog stand was once a soup kitchen. These
were set up around Bergen after the 1944 ST
Voorbode explosion. This one has survived and 
now sells traditional hotdogs, especially those
made with reindeer meat. We shared one and it
was delicious.

This is the reindeer hotdog. This puts
Frankfurter in Seattle to shame!

Bergen Cathedral was dedicated

around 1150.

Original town hall was built as a private
residence in 1558 for Christoffer Valkerndoff, the
king's representative in Norway. This City Hall is
still in use and has been since the 1700's. 

Today, September 26th, we rode the Floibanen funicular to the top of Mt. Floyen and then walked the 2 mile trail down to town. The weather was sunny as you'll see and today was a spectacular day to walk. And that's what we did—8.8 miles. The following pictures take you from the top of Mt. Floyen down to the town.

As you can see, it was crowded. We
wore masks inside the funicular just
to be extra safe. 

Looking down the tracks.

Bergen from Mt. Floyen. Can you believe this view?!

The red roofs are part of the tented outdoor grills where
you select your fish and they immediately prepare it. 
These are less fancy than the indoor fish market.

Still on the trail and looking down at the fortress grounds and harbor.

Talk about a place with a view.

The trail pours out into Breistølen neighborhood,
part of the borough of Bergenhus.

At the bottom of the neighborhood, you are at the
working harbor. This ocean-going fishing ship
gives you an idea of its size when you notice the
tourist motor coach parked in front of it.

After our little jaunt down Mt. Floyen, we headed to Nordnes Park in search of the totem pole Seattle gave to Bergen. 

To get there we rounded the harbor and walked past the amazing Tourist Information Centre through the Fish Market and on to Nordnes Park through the neighborhood by the same name, the one where homes from the 16-19th century survived the ST Voorbode explosion. I'm sure you've never heard of this event—we hadn't either but click on the link and

read about this devastating event.

At the harbor head, McDonald's occupies one
of the oldest buildings in Bergen.

These modern buildings abut The
medieval Bryggen UNESCO
wooden shops. They were built
sympathetically and are attractive.

It's a restaurant at the harbor's head. Can
you figure out what dishes they serve?

Here's all of Jack's restaurant, including the ship.

Salmon burgers and sausages are
popular along outdoor grills.

You select what you like at these outdoor grills
and they'll prepare it right in front of you.

Mussels and snow crab anyone?

Mathallen food hall is a fish foodie's

paradise. The Visitor Centre is up the

stairs over the Fish Market. This is

a world class information center.

 

Pick the one you want and the chef to the left will
plate it up for you.

Bacalao ready to take home. You kind
of have to know what you're doing to
prepare one of the many ways dried
cod can be served.

This seems to be the motto here.

Dessert is always a good idea

Ugly but delicious?

We headed north along Nordness Peninsula the park in search of the totem pole.  You can read a short summary bout Nordnes Park here.

Doesn't seem possible that this is a
16th century home.

We walked past these homes on the way to the park.

A 15th century home.

This little park sits at the opening of the main
entrance to Nordness Park.

This is a public swimming beach with changing
rooms, showers, and a cafe of course. Norwegians
swim in the fjord year round. Today the water 
temp was a comfortable 8 Celcius (46F).

Ya, just more stunning walkways along the park

peninsula. We're still in search of the totem pole.

Hurtigruten runs a cruise liner that sails the coast
and also has ships that serve as a ferry for cargo
and passengers traveling locally to the more remote
northern ports of call.

Ah, the totem pole at last. It is at the
tip of the peninsula and looks out to
the North Atlantic.

Duane Pasco carved this gift. The city
of Bergen and the city of Seattle are
sister cities, and in 1970, Seattle sent
this totem pole to Bergen to celebrate
the city's 900th anniversary.

Duane Pasco tells the story about
this totem pole in The Norwegian
American. Since it was published
the editor added the following:

EMIL WEATHERHEAD BREISTEIN
Bergen, Norway

Editor’s note: Since the time when this article was published in 2016, a lot has happened. Duane Pasco continues to work in his shop on Bainbridge Island, and the two sister cities have rekindled their relationship with a series of programs, including a major celebration of their 50-year jubilee in 2017, exchanges in the arts and social issues, and travel in both directions—and there are no signs of stopping.

Adapted from Bergensavisen, Apr. 4, 2016 
Translated by Lori Ann Reinhall 

Headed back toward town in search of some refreshments after walking 8 miles so far.

The walk back from the park on another
street was as picturesque as the walk to it.

We found this Irish Pub within a
stone's throw of our hotel. Our feet
compelled us to stop.

Good beer and conversation with the Serbian
bartender gave us the rest we needed, but...

...our tummies suggested we move on.

And a spectacular sunny day ends with a
veggie pizza and a lovely conversation
with a local mother and her 14 year old
daughter. They heard us talking and the
teen asked, "Excuse me, are you
Americans?" 

Friday, September 27th, we took a 10.5 hour Nærøyfjord Cruise and Flåm Railway

excursion, enjoying the spectacular scenery. The Nærøyfjord is 180 miles long and 4,000 feet deep and the Flåm Railway took 16 years to complete, running 12.6 miles from Myrdal through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. 

The pictures of this excursion will be posted next.