Bergen, located on the southwestern coast, is Norway’s second largest city. Surrounded by 7 mountains and as many fjords, this little “town” takes quaint to a whole new level. A World Heritage site, Bergen offers a number of things to see and do. And the sea food is AMAZING…best enjoyed at the open air market near the historic Bryggen wharf area.
We’re staying in apartments (Ole Bull) right in the city center, within a short walk to most of the attractions.
Not our apartment…newspaper building and restaurant across the street.
We enjoyed our first dinner at the Bergen fish market. Numerous stalls selling everything fish related…most have a seating area where you can enjoy a full meal.
We started our first full day with a self guided tour of the RosenKrantz Tower, one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Norway. It derives its name from governor Erik Rosenkrantz. During his administration (1559–1568) the tower received its present shape and structure. The oldest part of the building, however, is made up of a medieval tower, known as the “Keep by the Sea”, built by King Magnus the Lawmender in the 1270s as part of the royal castle in Bergen.
The keep was extensively modified and expanded in the 1560s by Scottish stonemasons and architects in the service of Erik Rosenkrantz to attain its present form. Rosenkrantz’ building contained dungeons on the ground floor, residential rooms for the governor higher up, and positions for cannons on the top floor. In the 1740s, the tower was converted to a magazine for gunpowder, a function it served until the 1930s.
The dungeon:
Worked up an appetite…heading back to the fish market…but first, a photo op:
Lunch! Open faces sandwiches…smoked salmon, lox, shrimp…
Oh, and the dark stuff is whale. Yeah, whale:
Next stop, the Kode art museum to see works by JC Dahl and Edvard Munch. Dahl’s landscapes are amazing.
We finished the day’s sightseeing with a trip to Mt. Floyen on the Floibanen funicular for a birds eye view of the city and surrounding landscape.
