In a word Bergen is simply “lovely”! It is not large; it is walkable; it is pedestrian friendly; it has a vibrant waterfront; it is clean; it is charming in every sense.

We like to take walking or food tours and I signed us up for a small group 2.5 hour walking tour of the central part of Bergen which started at the decent hour of 10 AM. The day was bright and sunny which we later learned is not the usual norm for Bergen. During our walking tour we learned that Bergen does get a lot of rain, getting an average of 77 inches/year (Seattle averages 37.5 inches/year, Chicago averages 35.8 inches/year) and it rains an average of 231 days per year!  It looks like we are very lucky to be here now, under these beautiful bright skies.

Bergen dates back to the year 1070 and currently has a population of 280,00 in the city, 420,000 in the larger metropolitan area.

I have already mentioned that Norway was expensive. Our tour guide, Martin, said the average salary for a Norwegian is almost $78,000 (US median is $62,000), thus explaining why prices are higher here. We learned a lot of other facts about Norway. Norway is very energy conscious. I was surprised to learn that 50% of the vehicles are all electric or hybrid and they plan to ban non-electric vehicles By 2025. They offer huge incentives to people to purchase all electric vehicles. I even saw a Tesla Model S taxicab on the streets. Utility power costs 5 cents /kWh in Norway (US average is 12cents/kWh). Martin showed us the major buildings in the downtown area and talked about some of the famous Norwegian people from the area like the composer, Edvard Grieg and playwright, Henrik Ibsen.

The major tourist attractions in Bergen are the waterfront buildings that were originally built in the 14th century by the German Hanseatic League. The German Kontor (as it was referred to) was established in Bergen in 1360 and remained for 400 years (appr. 1360-1754). It achieved an almost complete monopoly in the trade of stockfish and fish oil. The Kontor had its own area, Bryggen, in the city center, which remains as the iconic picture we all have seen.  Bryggen has burned down several times but was rebuilt in the same style. Today’s houses date back to 1702, and are part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List. We walked through the area as Martin explained what occurred there and how the German men (no women) lived and worked. Today the first floor of the buildings are occupied by shops and restaurants and the second floor (where the workers originally lived) are often offices for small businesses. Needless to say the place is jammed with tourists, especially when the numerous cruise ships are in town. Martin suggested we come back to explore it in more detail after 3 PM when the cruise tourists leave.

For those of you who are into physical challenges they have one here in Bergen that involves climbing/hiking the 7 mountains ( ~1000 foot elevation) that surround the city- in ONE day!  It gets you a commemorative tee shirt and makes you the envy of the community! Martin proudly showed us the one he has recently earned.

When our walking tour ended we were not quite hungry for lunch yet so we decided to do another of our favorite travel excursions-taking a “hop on-hop off” bus tour of the city. The one in Bergen is only an hour long and included a ticket to the funicular which we had planned to take anyway once the crowds left.  We got to see parts of the city we had not covered on the walking tour and the narrative given on the trip brought new insight into the area for us.

By the time we finished lunch the funicular line (first opened in 1918) was non-existent and we rode to the top of the nearby Mt. Floyen (320 meters, 1,050 feet). It is a marvelous area with a great viewpoint overlooking the city, the harbor and surrounding area. There are numerous hiking trails of varying length, mountain bike rental/trails, a lake with canoes to rent, a zip line, children’s playground and even several restaurants. It was easy to see why it is is so popular with the locals as well as tourists.

We did a bit of souvenir shopping on the way back to our hotel where the line was already forming for the Foo Fighters concert. The gates opened at 5 PM with the concert slated to begin at 8:30. Get this- there are no seats in the amphitheater; you stand the entire time!  It obviously was aimed at a younger crowd but we did see more than one grey hair approaching the venue.

After the big lunch we had we again chose to simply “graze” at the hotel dinner buffet as we listened a bit to the warm up acts for the concert. It was still early in the evening and I recalled a food truck on the harbor that served waffles with fresh fruit and like the Greek sirens of Greek Mythology the food truck called to me and I had to beckon its call! The bad news is we chose to simply share (rather than each buying one as they did look large) a marvelous waffle loaded with fresh strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. It was divine and worth every penny!

Back in our room at the hotel we did open our window to listen to a few songs by the Foo Fighters, but they are not my music genre choice. Surprisingly by 11 PM the concert was over and the crowds quickly dispersed back into the city.

Tomorrow we leave at 8AM on a boat that will take us on the Sognefjord as we venture inland to our next destination, Balestrand.