Bergen, Norway

Friday, April 26, 2019

Hotels and other commercial buildings near Bryggen

As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a tarp-covered scaffolding covering the outside wall of my hotel room.  The window was an unusual shape, with heavy drapes that weren't meant to really cover.  I was able to pull them shut somewhat, and hold them in place by shoving my big suitcase against them.  This gave me a bit more privacy but left my room a dark cave.

I slept okay, but woke suddenly at 7:00 am to the sound of someone just beyond the glass.  I pulled back the drape a bit to peek out and looked into the face of a man, calmly sitting on the scaffolding plank and wielding a wide paint brush.  I did not scream, I waved politely and let the drape more or less fall back into place.  How very awkward. 

A shower seemed a bit much with the man there so I just dressed and went down to a sumptuous breakfast buffet.  Much of it was Norwegian "fishy things" but I also found a tasty rolled omelette and plenty of other yummy things.

After breakfast I opened the drapes all the way for light as I packed up my bags again.  I brought them down to the luggage room for the day so I could move about the town without having to haul so much.  My hotel was just across the Vagen Harbor from Bryggen.  The area known as Bryggen is a historic area of many colorful wooden buildings that have been turned into shops and restaurants.  The city of Bergen was originally founded within this area in 1070.  Some information I found indicate that these buildings were once boat houses but I'm not too sure.  There have been numerous fires there, including "the great fire" in 1702.

Bryggen and surrounding area, taken from in front of my hotel

Though it was raining again, it was a pleasant walk around the harbor, and past a rather large fish market to the Bryggen area.

My hotel is the red building to the right of the boats

Bergen has a long list of things to do, but I've been dealing with a lot of pain in my hip and decided to just browse around the shops, resting as needed.  My Nook is always in my purse so I can sit and read.

One of the many cute tourist shops lining the main harbor street.

Beyond the front street, the buildings are three or four deep, connected in various ways with odd dormers and roofs, creating unique alleys with wooden walkways.

When I was hungry for lunch, the only food places near me were a dark bar and a hot dog shop.  I'm not big on hot dogs so I found a window seat in the bar.  I'm also not a big burger fan but it seemed the best option.  When it arrived, I discovered that oven potatoes were not fries, but potatoes baked in the oven.  A little wishful thinking on my part.  I think the burger would have been good despite the American cheese (they probably intentionally chose it as my speech easily betrays my nationality), but it was so rare it was purple.  I prayed and ate it.

Continuing my browsing, I found this shop that featured Dale of Norway sweaters.

Once I went in and tried a few on, I pretty much decided that I would buy one.  I've been told that if I take care of it, it will last pretty much forever.

Beautiful Norwegian knits

The pretty young salesgirl modeled one of the sweaters and was very patient and helpful with my selection.  And no, she was not on commission.

Dale of Norway sweater

Since lunch didn't turn out too amazing, I was easily tempted in when I spotted this little bakery.  Turns out that they also made sandwiches.  I guess I should have persevered a little longer on my lunch search. 

The cases were full of all kinds of temptations.  I used to work at a bakery so pastries aren't a big draw for me.

Another case that I couldn't get a picture of was full of all shapes and sizes of sweets.  I couldn't read the labels so I just pointed to one.  Marzipan over a fluffy filling on a little crumb crust.  Amazing! 

The tables were all full so I sat outside on this little bench to enjoy my treat with a cup of coffee.

After finishing my coffee I walked back to the hotel and got my luggage out.  The rain had stopped so I sat outside in a chair and waited for the shuttle bus to the Hurtigruten Terminal.

I was able to check both of my roller bags so I could freely move about the ship the 1 1/2 hours until my room was ready.  Once in my room I spent lots of time putting everything away.  I am rather fond of organization so having this room with all it's little cupboards suits me well. 

Dinner was free seating (rather than assigned) this first night.  The buffet was delicious and featured lots of local ingredients and dishes.

By 9:00 I was exhausted and also feeling very sad as I'd received word from home that my father was not well at all.  It is very hard being so far away.  I cried myself out and was finally able to leave it in God's capable hands.

We were supposed to be departing Bergen at 10:30 pm but they waited until 11:30 as an airline was on strike so some passengers were late in arriving.  Finally we pulled out of port and the lights of the city blurred through my dirty window.