Getaway to Bergen

August 23, 2010

in Travels

Bryggen

In the back lanes of Bryggen.

When we got to our hotel in Bergen on Thursday night, a wall of rain greeted us. Apparently, that’s just normal stuff – it rains just about every day in Bergen. In spite of or maybe because of this, Bergen is a beautiful and charming city. It’s got that outdoorsy cool vibe of Boulder, Colorado or Hobart, Tasmania. The way the Seven Mountains, fjords, archipelago and sea surround Bergen means that there seems to be a view almost every direction you look. One minute, we would be walking down a narrow street and the next we would have a vista out toward a giant cruise ship on the sea.

The first buildings in Bergen were at Bryggen and date back to the 12th century when Hanseatic merchants began their import and export business along the wharf. The tiny alleyways between the wooden buildings which seem to be leaning every which way make you feel as if you have landed back a few 100 years. Bergen is both on the sea and mountainous – boats line the inlets and you can easily head out to the fjords or  take a funicular up the mountainside. It’s a gorgeous combination.

Although we’ve been to the fjords of Norway a few times before, I always am blown away by how beautiful it is. I’m not so keen about all that rain, however!

{ 3 comments }

1 Sharon August 23, 2010 at 11:18

Sorry, Sandra, just have to tell you how lucky we were when we went to Bergen a few years in the beginning of September. We had also heard about all the rain and dim, but were treated to 3 days of absolutely gorgeous weather – clear blue, sunny skies and 26 degrees the entire time! It was amazing!

2 admin August 24, 2010 at 09:03

That’s fantastic Sharon. We also lucked out and had a good amount of sun!

3 Mark August 24, 2010 at 17:54

I heard it was sunny all the time in Bergen! A really nice place to live I’m told.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: