Panoramic Bergen

Bergen, Norway, is an ancient city with deep Viking roots and is nestled between huge, snowcapped mountains, magnificent fjords, and one of Europe’s largest glaciers. Bergen is known for its plentiful rainfall and is, in fact, the rainiest city in Europe. Not surprisingly, it was raining when we arrived. What a good day for a panoramic tour by bus. 

Our tour took in the main sites in Bergen, and our guide explained the history of Bergen and its colorful past as we drove through the city streets. Our route circled the harbor as we made our way to Nordnes. Here, we found the best views of picturesque Bryggen, a row of timbered Hanseatic warehouses and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stopped for a photo opportunity to try and capture that classic, picture postcard view. The cloudy, rainy day didn’t help us with that quest.

Bryggen

Nordnes is one of the oldest parts of Bergen, and its earliest buildings date back to the twelfth century. We drove through several of the narrow streets and were happy not to be walking uphill. 

The Houses of Nordnes

We learned that Bergen is a World Heritage City and a European Capital of Culture. The city offers unique cultural experiences at historical venues every day throughout the year. We next stopped to see two of those venues. The National Stage presents a wide variety of plays on three different stages, while Grieg Hall is a 1,500-seat concert hall.

Norway is proud of its cultural icons, and we saw statues of Edvard Grieg, a Bergen native and one of the leading Romantic era composers, and Henrik Ibsen, considered to be the founder of the modern, realistic drama.

The National Stage

Grieg Hall

Edvard Grieg and Henrik Ibsen

Although Bergen is most famous for its old wharf and beautiful old wooden houses, we discovered that the city is beginning to get a reputation for its vivid street art. In fact, Bergen is home to many of Norway’s most famous street artists. This was a totally unexpected find.

Colorful Street Art

We passed the music pavilion in Bergen City Park and Torgallmenningen, Bergen’s main square. In the square is the Seamen's Monument, placed in honor of Norwegian sailors from Viking times to the twentieth century.

Music Pavilion

Seamen's Monument

We ended our tour at Bryggen, overlooking the picturesque Vågen Harbor. Bryggen wharf is the Hanseatic League’s only kontor, or trading enclave, still in existence, and the area reflects Bergen’s importance as part of the League’s trading empire from the fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth century. This colorful row of buildings is typical of the type of wooden, urban structures once common in Northern Europe. I found Bryggen to be a charming district, and it was a delight to explore.

Bryggen 

When we returned to the ship at 1:00 pm, we ate lunch, and then began to pack. Pack, you might ask. Why? Tomorrow is disembarkation day for everyone on the Viking Homelands cruise. However, we will be staying on the ship for the British Isles Explorer cruise. Unfortunately, when we added this second cruise, we only were able to book a “guarantee” cabin. This meant that our cabin was unassigned, and we would not know which one we would be in until the last minute. Although I had kept my fingers crossed that we could stay in our same cabin, that was not meant to be.

The good thing is that Viking will move all our belongings to the new cabin. I can even leave all our clothes on hangers. Although I had been a bit concerned since we will be gone all day tomorrow, I need not have worried. 

Early this evening, Joni, our cabin steward, informed us that our new cabin was empty and that we could move our things tonight. What great news! Although I tried to help, Joni did all the moving for us. We will certainly miss him and Ida. It was so nice to be able to unpack, get everything arranged, and prepare for our long day tomorrow. 

My traveling gnome seems happy in our new cabin.

My Gnome Is Our Traveling Companion