Week 269 · Bryggen · Fløyen · Gamle Bergen · Fish Market
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway. We got there relatively early in the day and visited the historic parts of the city. Similar to Oslo, Bergen is filled with world-class museums — we did visit the primary attraction Bryggen, an outdoor replicate of the port from the 1600s — where we had our $16 local cheap pilsner beer.
We decided to buy some beer at a store and were lucky to get it by the 6pm cutoff as I was stewarded to the front of the line to get it scanned at 5:59pm. It was the cheapest and still $4 per can for the same local beer. The Hanseatic Museum was closed for refurbishment — but the narrow Bryggen alleys and St. Mary's Church nearby made for a good walk.
Bergen was Norway's largest city and most important trading port from the 12th to 18th centuries and served as the country's capital during the Middle Ages. Bryggen — the wharf's row of colourful wooden buildings — dates to the 14th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the headquarters of the Hanseatic League's trading post in Norway from 1360 to 1754, when German merchants controlled the region's fish trade. The buildings have burned down and been rebuilt seven times; the current structures largely date to after the last fire in 1702. Norway's strict alcohol laws mean bottle shops close at 6pm on weekdays and 3pm on Saturdays. Bergen receives approximately 240 days of rain per year — one of the wettest cities in Europe.
The AirBnB was awesome and in the centre of the city — so we were able to park and walk everywhere. This was the only real night we had in a city, so the kids were excited to go out.
They ended up back at the restaurant to grab something left behind and talked to the owner for a while. From Bergen, it was time to head back east towards Oslo with a stop at a ski town called Hemsedal — a great scenic drive and another outstanding AirBnB.
The other primary attractions of Bergen are the fish market and the Fløyen viewpoint — locally caught salmon were huge but $60/plate for dinner (for just the fish). We did take the funicular to Fløyen viewpoint and it was great.
"$16 cheap pilsner at Bryggen. Cheapest in a store was still $4 a can. Stewarded to the front of the line at 5:59pm to make the 6pm cutoff. Norway is real about this."