If you ever get to tour Norway, one of the stops will be Bergen.   I was there in 1979 and in July of 2019 with Kathie.

In 1979, it rained for three days.  It is one of the rainiest cities in Norway and in Europe.  On the average, it rains 239 days out of the year.

Bergen is not directly on the ocean, but is on an inland sea with navigable harbors.  The mountains form a “block” for the clouds to unleash its blessings on the earth.  In 2019, we had three days of sun–go figure!

Bergen has existed since 1070.  It is the second largest city in Norway with about 300,000 people. 

 

The Bergenhus fortress dates back to 1240’s.  You can tour this fortress, the great Hakon’s Hall and tower.

 

There is even a Nazi bunker in the fortress, but this is off limits to visitors. 

On the fortress grounds is a statue of King Haakon VII.  He was the first ruler when Norway split from Sweden in 1905.  Even though he was Danish, the Norwegians overwhelmingly approved of him.  He would lead the fight against the Nazi’s during WWII.

You can ride a train from Oslo, the capital of Norway, for seven hours to get to Bergen.

The trains are modern and comfortable.

 

Many people stop along the way to see the fjords. 

 

We took that Oslo train and stopped in Myrdal to take the “Flamsbana” to Flam. Though short, some people regard this train ride as one the “world’s best train journeys.”  This valley train has 20 tunnels and took over 20 years to build.

About half way, the train stops at the Kjosfossen waterfall. 

 

You may even get to see the temptress “Huldra” who sings trying to “lure men to the rocks.” 

We did stay one interesting night in the small village of Flam.

The next day we took a large “electric ferry” to view the famous Naeroyfjord.

 

 

 

 

 

We sat next to Cindy and Barry Yang from Taiwan.  What a delightful young couple. We are now Facebook friends.

 

In the afternoon, a fast ferry took us along Sognefjord to a quaint village of Balestrand. 

 

We stayed for two nights at the historical Kviknes Hotel which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.

Such famous people have stayed here like actors Kirk Douglas, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. Emperor William II was at this hotel when he heard of the outbreak of WWI.  You now can add the “Bielicki’s” were at Kviknes also.

A walk through the village of Balestram will present itself with a stave looking church built in 1897. It was dedicated to an “English Woman” who died.  She was married to the owner of the Kviknes hotel who loved her dearly. 

A five-hour fast ferry ride will take you from Balestrand to Bergen.  

Along the way, you can see the many cottages Norwegians keep–and historically pass them on from one generation to another. 

 

You may also fly into Bergen’s modern airport.  A light rail system connects the airport to the main city.

Coming into Bergen’s port by ferry is majestic.

We reserved a superior room from Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz Bergen.

It is an excellent hotel.  One of the main features is not only the breakfast, but they serve a small dinner as part of the over-all price.  It is a fine hotel chain.

 

Close to our hotel is an old quayside area called Bryggen.  It is part of the World Heritage site.  It was originally a major trading center close to the wharfs.  The area dates back to 1350.

 The buildings are majestic with small alley ways filled today with tourist shops, bakeries, restaurants and a museum.

In the Bryggen area is one of the oldest buildings in Bergen, St. Mary’s Church.  It has burnt down a few times.  It was a church that the German traders would attend.  The only factor I disliked about this church was that pictures were not allowed to be taken inside.

One of the main tourist stops close by is the “Fish Market.”  The place has existed since the 1200’s.  In 1979, there were actually bins of live fish that could be purchased.

Since my first visit in 1979, the Fish Market has grown immensely.  There are now numerous restaurants and many more vendors today.

We enjoyed spicy mussels from a restaurant called Lockalt and Lekkert.

Close by the fish market is the Floibanen funicular.  The 2,769 foot railway will take you up the 1300 foot mountain which overlooks this splendid city.

The views are breath taking, clouds or no clouds. There is a large restaurant and numerous hiking trails.

We decided to go up the funicular and walk down.  We came across a sports complex.  Many Norwegians love their sports.

It is hard not to notice all the colorful downtown buildings.

Just outside of town is a Fantoft stave church.  At one time there were thousands of these churches throughout Northern Europe.  Today, this interesting architecture churches are mostly exist in Norway.  Even Disney has a stave church at EPCOT!

The original one in Bergen burnt down and a new one was constructed in 1997.

Inside the church is is quite plane unlike the cathedrals in Europe.

By the Fantoft stave church is an interesting stone cross.

From downtown, there is an actual dedicated bus that will take you to the cable car up Mt. Ulkriken.

 A cable car will carry you up the 2,110 foot mountain in ten minutes. The views are splendid, and there are a number of hiking trails.

 

It was at the cafe that we met Ketil Ola Skjelvan. He was bare chested and sitting at the end of the table eating lunch.  This guy looked mean.

Somehow, conversation started between us.  He had just run up the mountain in about thirty or so minutes.  Ketil works as a professional trainer.  He is married and they have adopted a Chinese child. Ketil has tattoos in Chinese placed on his arm to “always remember her roots by.”  A person who looked quite mean, was actually quite pleasant. 

We had less than three full days to explore Bergen.  There was a music concert in the park–filled with people on a nice day. We also realized the center of town is the famous “Sailor’s Monument” where people sit in the plaza. The artwork around the monument in 1979 is no longer.

 

Bergen, though, still has interesting sculptures. 

Much Bergen’s artwork is now painted on buildings.

Walking around the harbor is quite interesting with all different styles of ships.

 

We even came across an historical ship and even met a Norwegian Captain.

We did come across a small pininsula at the waters edge with people enjoying the last moments of a July day.

Close by was a totem pole.  I didn’t know that Vikings had totem poles? They didn’t. The pole symbolize the union between Bergen and its sister city of Seattle, WA.  Like Bergen, Seattle is not on an ocean, but is on an inland sea.