Bergen, Norway

August 2, 2023

Bergen was our third and final stop in Norway. Bergen is Norway's second biggest city with a population around 288,000. We didn't have anything planned in this port and just spent the day walking around.

There appeared to be two ports in town and we were at the further one from the main center, but it was still easily walkable.

I think this post will mostly be pictures and show you some of the things you might see as you are walking through Bergen.

This is what houses look like in Bergen:

We noticed this bar as we were walking...

...and many people dressed like they were interested in heavy metal music. Upon further investigation it seems like Norway has started its own brand of metal called Norwegian Black Metal and Bergen is the capital of this type of music. Upon further research I discovered there was a 4 day metal music festival in Bergen starting the day we were there. Now the outfits are making sense! 😀

We also found this cool old phone booth they had turned into a little free library. You know I can't pass up checking them out! Alas, almost all the books were in Norwegian... go figure 😉

Bergen has a beautiful harbour.

On our walk we came across the Rosenkrantz Tower known as one of the most important Renaissance monuments in Bergen. Parts of the current tower are from 1270, but it has been added to over time.

The tower is located in the Bergenhus Fortress which is one of the oldest stone constructions in Bergen. In medieval times this area contained the royal residence and cathedral. Excavations have shown foundations of buildings before 1100. Bergen was the capital of Norway in the 12th and 13th centuries. Its a beautiful area to walk around and admire the medieval buildings.

The most famous area in Bergen is called Bryggen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and highlights Bergen's importance as part of the Hanseatic Trading League in the 12th to 14th centuries. When you walk through the areas with the wooden buildings that would have been trading centres you really feel like you are stepping back in time.

As we discovered in many of our Northern European stops fire and wood were often a disaster for early cities and towns. Bryggen unfortunately suffered from several of these fires. The buildings were however restored back to their original state (many times!)

As an added bonus Steve found some very nice viking style bracelets. We couldn't agree on which one was better... so in true Steve Marta fashion... he just bought both 😀

After our walk we headed back to the cruise ship and continued with the regular eating, drinking and lounging. Of note this evening was that they had a Price is Right game in the theatre. I did get called up to be in contestant's row... but didn't make it any further than that. We had met the guy who won a "suitcase" in one round and they actually gave him $750 because he didn't want to the suitcase... my round was for a TV. I wonder how much I could have gotten for that?! 

Tomorrow is a sea day, and then our stop in Amsterdam the day after that!