Scandinavia—Bergen—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
beautiful 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 stonemasons, 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 sympatheti-
cally 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 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 from
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.

Our 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.