Day 17 – 9/12 – Bergen, Norway
A couple hundred miles from Kristiansand, on the western coast of Norway, lies Bergen. Originally a Viking trading port, it was founded by Viking King Olaf Kyrre in 1070 A.D. The town grew as a trading port, and in 1360 it became part of the German Hanseatic League, a merchant guild that controlled all trade in Northern Europe. Until the middle of the 19th century this trade made Bergen the largest city in Scandinavia. It is now second in size in Norway to Oslo.
Our ship docked at a container port and passengers were not allowed to walk into town – a shuttle bus was provided. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the old dependable hop a bus location, and we hopped on. Note the Viking hop a bus.
Here are some shots of Bergen as we toured around – I don’t always know for sure what each building is, but I include them anyway.
Bergen has a Funicular that goes to the top of Mt. Floien, overlooking the city, and we decided to hop off the bus and ride it to the top.
The views of Bergen from the top were spectacular.
Particularly the view of our ship.
It wouldn’t be Norway without a Troll.
We rode down the hill and re-boarded the hop a bus, traveling down to the seafront.
A first for us to see – A Segway tour.
At the seafront.
Time for a refreshment break before heading back to the ship.
The lighthouse at the head of the fjord on our way out of Bergen.
On to Scotland,
Tina’s Take
Bergen…what to say about Bergen. It was a city. We enjoyed the Funicular although the line to get to it was enlightening. It always surprises me when people queue up and you can hear the whining and the make of character. No one LOVES a line but some of these people you thought were being tortured. We did enjoy the shopping front which was the old town of Bryggen. If you look carefully the storefronts are all leaning slightly from an accident in port a few centuries ago. After a refreshing pint, we cruised the fish market and I got some strange sausages and we toddled home to the ship. On to SCOTLAND.