Bergen

Hi Everyone!

I arrived in Bergen a little after 11pm on Friday night, and caught a bus from the airport to the city centre. My hotel was only a short walk from the central bus station, which I was pleased about, as I was tired again after another long day.

I woke up on Saturday morning and looked out my fourth floor window and fell in love with Bergen instantly. It is a really beautiful city. From my window, there are coloured houses across the street, behind which you can see the mountains which are covered in snow and more coloured houses. It is very picturesque!

The view outside my hotel room window

After having a shower, etc, I walked down the street to a bakery where I had a fruit bun and coffee for breakfast. I then walked to the Tourist Office to see if I could get some ideas on how to spend the 3 days I have here in Bergen, and to see if I could get a decent street map.

After visiting the tourist centre, I decided to make the most of the fine weather and catch the funicular up Mt Floyen. At the top, there is a viewing platform with a spectacular panorama over the harbour and the surrounding mountains and fjord. I was accompanied by other tourists and some locals , who had brought along their tobogans and skis and looked to be having a great time at the top. I suspect that many of them just brought a one-way ticket up and were planning on sliding or skiing the way down.

View from the top of Mt Floyen

The funicular going back down the mountain

The view of Bergen

Me on the viewing platform at Mt FloyenThe view from a behind the café on top of Mt Floyen

After catching the funicular back down to the bottom, (where the line to go up the funicular was packed!) I had a walk along Bryggen, the oldest part of Bergen, and a Unesco World Heritage-listed area.

Bryggen

I also walked along by the fish market and had lunch at a tapas bar down by the wharf. In the afternoon, I wandered through some of the streets in the central area of the city.

The Fish Market

At 4:30 this morning, I was woken by some very loud dance music and the thumping of what could have only been a herd of baby elephants having a disco in the room above mine. I didn't get back to sleep until after 6am, so I decided that I deserved a sleep in this morning, so it turned out that I had my breakfast at about lunch time!

It was such a lovely day again today that I didn't feel like being cooped up inside a museum all day, so I spent the day wandering around the streets again, just soaking up the vibe of the Sunday afternoon. I wandered a little further from the city centre, out towards the aquarium (not to visit, just to have a look). There were so many people out, including lots of families who appeared to be having fun again with their winter sport gear.

A totem pole behind the Aquarium

A street in Bergen

Another street in Bergen

I had an early dinner tonight at a lovely seafood/sushi restaurant. The seafood here is (unsurprisingly) good.

Tomorrow I plan on checking out one or two of the museums, before I catch the Hurtigruten and start my voyage north!

Hope to hear from you all soon,
Love,
Lis x.