Bergen, Norway

Before traveling to Bergen, we had read that the city gets a lot of rain.  Upon doing further research, we learned that it is the wettest city in the world, raining an average of 240 days out of the year.  So, we were not at all surprised that it rained almost nonstop during our visit.  

Taking a tram into the city from our hotel, we headed to the Bryggens Museum to participate in a tour of the waterfront.  Starting at the museum, we were given an overview of the history of the city and an opportunity to see a number of artifacts from the Middle Ages.  Hundreds of thousands of items were discovered during archeological digs which were started in 1955 following a devastating fire.  Originally the capital of Norway, Bergen’s wealth came from its medieval trading heritage. 

St. Mary’s Church, the oldest preserved building in the city, dates from between 1130 to 1170.  It is one of the only original structures to survive the devastating fire of 1702, and numerous other fires throughout their history.  Because we were visiting on a Sunday, the church was being used for services and was closed to tourists.

Wandering through the Hanseatic district, we walked through the wooden tenements and businesses from the 1700s and went underground to the remains of the medieval town hall.  Leading us to the Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene, we were able to experience a snapshot of what daily life was like for these early residents.  The Hanseatic League was a guild formed by German merchants (banded together from around 1250 to 1750) which brought stability to trade through the region from Russia to London.  Bergen benefited by exporting dried cod and fish oils and importing grains, cloth, beer, wine, and ceramics.  After 1702, the only fires, even candles, allowed in any of the buildings was in the cookhouse, due to repeated, devastating fires.  It’s hard to imagine how difficult life would have been in this wet, cold Norwegian city during that time.  The Seafarer’s Monument at the beginning of Bergen’s main square is dedicated to those in the community who worked and died on the sea.

Following the tour, we wandered down to the nearby waterfront to the fish market to catch a late lunch.  Seafood is available for purchase to take home and cook yourself or meals can be prepared for you.  Some of the offered dishes gave us sticker shock.  King crab was priced at $100 for a kilo (2.2 pounds).  A combo seafood plate was on the menu for $90.  A wide diversity of seafood was available including whale steaks and dried cod.  We opted for the considerably more reasonable and appealing (for us) grilled halibut and steamed mussels.  

Though we were prepared for rain, torrential downpours made walking around a challenge, and we caught the tram back to our hotel.  Next, we are moving on to Iceland.