Bergen

view leaving our camp site this morning

inside the Hanseatic museum

finally - a moose! (elk)

looking down on Bergen from the top of Mt Floyen, where I have been many times before (40 yrs ago)

this McDonalds building was built in 1707!!

In Bryggen

lots of houses in Norway have grass on the roof

Malcolm likes Norwegian 'Danish' pastries

Reindeer skins at the market in Bergen

Bryggen

Bryggen

August 13 - to Bergen

Because it was so cold and grey in the mountains of Hardanger (lots of snow on the mountaintops) we drove across to Bergen, where I lived for a year in 1972-3.  The camp sites are all miles out of town, we have to get a bus, then a tram (the trams are all new since my day).

First stop when we got into the city was Bryggen, a row of wooden Hanseatic merchants houses built just after 1702 when the earlier buildings were destroyed by fire.  We looked around the Hanseatic museum, which I remembered visiting when I lived in Bergen.  Inside these buildings it is just like being in an old ship, all dark wood, low beams and uneven floors.  The beds are all built into the wall, in little cupboards, like bunks.  In between each of the buildings are alleyways and it is a real warren in there, full of shops, cafes and restaurants (also a moose head!)  We saw some shops selling fur clothing and skins from reindeer, fox etc.  Then we had lunch outside one of the Bryggen buildings on the harbour.  At the town end of the harbour there is a fish market with stalls selling fresh and cooked fish and lobsters etc (also whale meat!!)  In a tank there were some huge crabs (about 1 metre including the legs!)

In the afternoon we took the funicular railway to the top of Mt Floyen, one of the 7 mountains that circle Bergen.  We have got a Bergen card for 48 hrs so get into some museums free, free bus and tram travel and discounts on things like the funicular.  We had a coffee up there overlooking the whole of Bergen.

Then we came back to the city and looked around another building connected to the Hansa - their assembly rooms. Then we attempted to go in 2 museums but they were already closed for the day so came back to the camp site. 

Summer has definitely deserted us, it is decidedly wintery!  not quite so cold as last night though.