Denmark, Sweden, Norway: Day 13 - Bergen, Norway

 

We woke up in the City Box Bergen and the first order of business was breakfast.  As we headed to the lobby, this sign reminded us that we were enveloped in a Scandinavian frame of mind.

As we walked to a nearby cafe, we stopped to admire some street art.

Potatoes?  I liked to think they were oysters.

After a cappuccino and a danish, we set out in threatening weather to do a little sightseeing.  As we walked down towards the harbor, we came across a monument to Baron Ludvig Holberg.

Born in Bergen in 1684, he was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright. He is considered to be the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature and his works about natural and common law were widely read by many Danish law students for over two hundred years.

We stopped in the Mathallen food court and had a fika out of the rain.

Next, we walked down the north side of the harbor peering into all the shops selling wool items, everything Moomin, and other touristy souvenirs.   

Further down, we passed Byrggen, a medieval wharf in the historic harbor district known for its colorful, wooden-clad boat houses (and tourist shops!).

We ducked in the Bugården alley where there were art galleries, and more shops...

... including a fishing store with some interesting vintage-looking memorabilia.

Still further down the harbor, there were commercial vessels tied up to the wharf.

Near the commercial wharf, we found the Burgenhus Castle complex , but before we could get a closer look, we had to pass through the gate.

The Rosenkrantz Tower was built in the 1560s by the governor of Bergen Castle, Erik Rosenkrantz, and served as a combined residence and fortified tower.

The tower is considered one of the most important renaissance monuments in Norway. Parts of the tower are from the 1270s and it was the residence of King Eirik Magnusson, who was the last king to hold court in Bergen, until he died in 1299.  However, the tower has been extended on several occasions for the purpose of fortification and as a demonstration of power.

We didn't have time to climb the tower, but it's said to provide impressive views. 

Behind the tower, within the castle courtyard, are other 13th century buildings.  Below is the residence of the Captain of the Guard

The castle courtyard is paved in impressively laid and decorative cobblestone.

Circling back towards the head of the harbor, we came across Mariakirken (St. Mary's Church). 

Judging by its architectural style, St Mary's Church is likely the oldest existing building in Bergen, probably built between 1130 and 1170.  Although it was ravaged by the two great fires which swept Bergen in 1198 and 1248, the church has been in continuous use since the early medieval period.

St Mary’s church is designed like a basilica; the body of the church is divided into a lofty nave and two lower side aisles with separate roofs. This is a feature borrowed from medieval cathedrals and is rarely found in ordinary parish churches. 

We strolled through the graveyard surrounding the church... 

And admired its cobblestones as well.

Always on the lookout for street art, this piece caught my attention...

Walking down Øvregatan street, we got a backside view of the rooftops of the historic harbor buildings. 

Looking north, up on the hill, we could see the tower from the old fire station at Skansen. 

It was time for some lunch, so after hemming and hawing over a couple spots, we finally settled on Cafe Egon, which had outdoor cover from the rain, heaters, and nice fur blankets to keep us warm.  Here, Nancy goes the extra mile to keep Corky dry!

After lunch we walked around a bit more and found this warning about appropriate public conduct.

The stately Bergen Børs Hotel...

I ducked in some sporting goods stores to see if there was an outdoor type souvenir I could get from Norway.  I was looking for a wool cap, but nothing seemed worth it, so that was a bust.

Around 3 pm, we met Nancy's friend Hilda (arriving by bicycle of course!) at the Byparken in central Bergen.  Hilda and her husband lived in Virginia for several years as part of a military foreign "exchange" program for the US to gain advanced maritime expertise.  After being integrated into our local community, when their stay ended, they returned to their beloved Norway, settled in Bergen and never looked back.  Lucky for us, Nancy kept in touch and Hilda was more than happy to give us a private tour of her city.  

We started at Lille Lungegårdsvannet, a small 5 acre lake in the center of Bergen. The octagonal lake was a natural lake that was historically connected to the nearby Store Lungegårdsvannet bay via a short strait, but that was filled in 1926 and replaced with an underground culvert system. Because of the underground connection, it's possible to see the water level in the lake move up and down in response to the tides.

As the city grew, Lille Lungegårdsvannet slowly but steadily shrank to its present size by adding fill to the sides of the lake to reclaim land. The sides were also straightened and it was artificially made into an octagon shape, reaching its present configuration, including the decorative fountain, during the mid-20th century. 

The Festplassen (recreational piazza) overlooks the lake and is the site of local fairs and festivals.

After some reintroductions and reminiscing about the old neighborhood days, off we set on our tour as we peppered Hilda with catch-up questions from our decades apart.  

We passed the statue of Edvard Hagerup Grieg who was a Norwegian composer and pianist, widely considered one of the leading worldwide Romantic era composers. His use of Norwegian folk music in his music brought recognition to Norway and helped forge a unique national identity.

Grieg is the most celebrated person from the city of Bergen, with numerous statues that depict his image and many cultural entities named after him, including the city's largest concert building, its most advanced music school, and its professional choir.

The centerpiece of the park is the Musikkpaviljongen, a lovely cast-iron music pavilion with Moorish details that was gifted to the city in 1888.

Next, we continued west to the Øvre Ole Bulls Plass park where trees, flowers, and pathways create a lovely urban oasis in the commercial heart of Bergen.

Within the park, Hilda told us about the fountain, which was a tribute to the famous violinist and composer Ole Bull. A child prodigy, he was able to repeat music by ear, but was a ne'er-do-well and failed his examinations in university, pretended to be a lawyer in Paris (where he met Chopin) but, ever gifted, eventually found his footing as a virtuoso, giving over 70 concerts and becoming very rich.

In the summer of 1858, Bull met the 15-year-old Edvard Grieg (mentioned earlier), noticed his talent and persuaded his parents to send him to further his musical talents at the Leipzig Conservatory.

Bull was caught up in a rising tide of Norwegian romantic nationalism and promoted the idea of Norway as a sovereign state, separate from Sweden, and in 1850 he co-founded the first theater in which actors spoke Norwegian rather than Danish.

At the base of the fountain is a sculpture of a skald playing a mythical harp. Skalds were Scandinavian poets who sang songs for kings from the Viking Age (800 to 1066 AD) through the 14th century.

Ole Bulls plass turned into Kong Olav Vs plass where we came upon the "Reclining Poet" sculpture.  

We turned right onto the Torgallmenningen promenade...

... and that led us to the famous Sjømannsmonumentet (Sailor's Monument).  It comprises an artistic timeline of the city’s relationship with seafaring via exclusively male bronze statues.  Together they afford a sculptural idealization of the history of Bergen’s and Norway’s maritime adventures and exploration, trading and commerce, through a millennium. 

Each group of statues represent the tripartite division of society - the poor and servile, the middle-classes and the elite. 

The time periods are chronologically organized, with the Viking Age adventurers looking west...

... all three bearing weapons.  

Above these statues, rectangular bronze panels are inset into each side of the cube, representing the realities of seafaring life - here, an imaginary portrayal of a Viking longship juxtaposed above encounters with native Americans, alluding to the farthest voyages which discovered ‘Vinland’.

The sculptures and panels of early modern era seafarers (17th/18th centuries) have the figures looking north.

The panel depicts Christ’s crucifixion referring to Christian conversion and also a tall ship being dragged below by a giant sea monster (still a concern in the modern era?).

The 19th-century seamen look east...

... and the panel depicts a humpback whaling scene combined with a ship-building scene below.

The 20th-century sailors look south.

In this panel we see a naked body drowning in front of a modern merchant ship while further naked male figures are greeted by an angel below, presumably representing dead lost at sea and the angel has descended to guide their souls to Heaven.


Continuing north towards the harbor, Hilda brought us back to the statue of Baron Ludvig Holberg (see earlier description)...

... and we did another circuit around the harbor in case we wanted to do a little more shopping now that the weather was more cooperative.

The commercial harbor and associated 18th century buildings follow in a long tradition of maritime trade dating back to the 13th century, founded by the Hanseatic League. 

The league was made up of German merchants, the Hansa, who established outposts and relationships that would dominate trade and defend members from robbery in the North and Baltic Seas. 

In Bergen, salted fish from northern Norway was traded for grain and other supplies and it quickly became one of the most important trading centers in Northern Europe. The League's economic power enabled it to impose blockades and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities. Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought against Denmark in the Danish-Hanseatic War and Hanseatic commercial interests were also involved in the Swedish War of Liberation between 1521 and 1523.

Aside from the historic harbor, I enjoyed looking at the variety of ships in port.

For the finale of our tour, Hilda guided us to the Fløibanen funicular.

It connects the city centre with the mountain of Fløyen and its trails and magnificent views of Bergen.

Inside the entrance to the funicular, there was this little piece of graffiti.

Hilda told us that she lived on the mountainside and took the funicular everyday to and from work (with her bike of course).

She lived in one of these houses mid-way up the mountain.

After a short steep ride, we arrived at the upper funicular station.  Like in Oslo, Bergen was celebrating pride week.

As promised, the views were stupendous!

After a rainy, overcast morning, we were so lucky that the skies had cleared!

Hilda told us that there was an elementary school up on the top of Mt. Fløyen.  The children would often ride unaccompanied from the neighborhoods mid-way up the slope.  Once assembled at the top they would have a group decision to make regarding the path they would all take to get to school.  They would vote - "playground path" or "goat path".

Trollskogen is a whimsical forest area, featuring wooden sculptures of trolls and other mythical creatures.

The "playground path" takes the children through this area, which includes a popular adventure playground, with slides, forts, jungle gyms, rope challenges, etc.

Photo by Michael Heegaard

The "goat trail" leads the children on a paved path with more amazing views of Bergen where a herd of goats can often be found.

The goats are cashmere goats.  They prefer to eat bushes and trees so they are good for clearing and controlling vegetation along a defined portion of the slopes and this helps maintain the views from Mt. Fløyen.  

Thank you goats!

They wear shock collars (solar powered, of course!) to keep them contained and where their work is needed.  

The goats are tame and will gladly accept a gentle pet and pose for a picture.

Who would blame the children for choosing "goat path"?

On the way back to the upper station, I stumbled across this plaque in the pavement.

The marker commemorated a "time trial" bicycle race from Bergen up to the top of Mt. Fløyen won by famous Tour de France rider, Tom Dumoulin.  Being a bike racing fan, I thought that was pretty cool!

Hilda surprised us with dinner reservations at the mountain top Fløirestauranten.  So beautiful inside!

We were joined by her husband John, a naval architect/engineer and learned that he had been inspired by the Opera House in Oslo and used its shape and characteristics to design a more ADA-friendly ferry that is now used on the Norway-in-a-Nutshell route between Flam and Gundvagen! Small world!

After a lovely dinner, we bid farewell to John and Hilda and boarded the funicular to head back down into central Bergen and back to our hotel.

This was 10pm at night, but the northern latitude, mid-summer light shone bright still!

On the walk back, I paused to capture another beautiful storm drain cover featuring many of the historical landmarks in Bergen.

We passed a Munch banner on the way home.  A traveling exhibition was touring Bergen, but we had already seen many of his works in Oslo.  

We hit the hay around 11pm. Tomorrow we would fly back to Copenhagen, Denmark and get 24 hours more in that magical city before returning home to the US :(