You don't get anywhere fast in Norway, and we still had 140 kms (87 miles) to get to Bergen. That's about three hours. Most roads you're between 60 and 80 km/h (36 to 50 mph) and then of course you're on a ferry or two and they take extra time as well.
We left Vadheim at 9:15am. Yes, it was raining.
My mother mentioned yesterday that we seem to be spending a lot of time in Norway and asked if that was the original plan. Yes, that was the original plan... June 1 to July 26. But we booked it well before fuel prices went crazy. And, we were expecting better weather.
Don't get me wrong... we are totally enjoying the scenery. As I've said before, every road in Norway is a scenic drive! But the weather is weighing on us a little bit. With July high temperatures below 15C (60F) so far, it doesn't exactly feel like summer.
Anyhow, lots of photos today, so we better get on with it...
Looking back at the picturesque village of Vadheim, Norway.
Yet another farm with it's own backyard waterfall.
Getting on the ferry between Lavik and Oppedal.
It's a major route and we're surprised it wasn't busier.
Maybe only 1/3 full.
We got off the ferry 20 minutes later and saw... some patches of blue sky!!
But it didn't last long.
We followed that other motorhome for quite a while.
Beautiful drive up through this canyon.
And a nice view on the other side.
Coming into the city of Bergen.
Lots of bridges and tunnels in the city itself.
Bergen has a population of about 272,000 but it's a really spread out city. Although the central core feels fairly small. It's also very hilly.
And parking is an issue. There is very little free parking, even for cars. And more difficult for a motorhome, even a small one like Max. Pay parking in the center is expensive... about 30 kr ($3.85 CAD, $3 USD) per hour. And on the outskirts about 10 kr ($1.25 CAD, $1 USD) per hour.
But we don't give up easily. We ended up at the parking beside a sports field where the automatic pay machine is well known to be broken and has been for a long time. So for the time being, it's free. About 3 kms (1.8 miles) from the center of the city.
We had some lunch and then walked in to the city.
No sunshine yet, but at least it wasn't raining!
Interesting mural.
Lots of little alleyways in the old town.
What's that?? Some blue sky moving in!
Wow. We haven't seen blue sky for a few days!
Totem pole in Norway.
The totem pole was a gift from the city of Seattle back in 1970, when Bergen was celebrating it's 900th anniversary.
There were a couple of cruise ships in town.
The sun is coming out!
It turned into a decent afternoon, which was actually in the forecast. And it's one of the reasons we drove to Bergen so quickly. So much nicer to play tourist when the weather is decent. Still not warm... only a high of 15C (60F), but at least it wasn't raining.
This church has a date on it... 1761.
This section reminded us of a mini San Francisco.
Lots of small steep hills.
Another view of the church.
Funny street names.
Stone carving around the door.
Dated 1670.
Lots of statues and fountains in Bergen.
All of them nudes.
It turns out this is a "thing" in Norway and there are over 700 statues of naked people in the country. Over 200 in Oslo alone. Men, women, children... it doesn't matter. Isn't it interesting how different cultures are around the world?
Look at that blue sky!
Sorry, but we were pretty excited about that. 😁
The popular tourist area of Bergen.
Bergen, Norway.
The tourist seafood restaurants at the center.
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Lots of people out enjoying the afternoon.
Most of these buildings were constructed in the 1700's.
Some of them are pretty crooked.
This is "the" Bergen tourist photo.
In between those buildings are the tourist trinket shops.
Another funny street name.
St. Mary's Church is one of the oldest surviving structures in Bergen.
It was built in the 1100's.
From there, we went into the Bergen Fortress Museum, which was (surprisingly) free. But we didn't want to waste a sunny day inside, so didn't spend much time.
I did take one photo of an artist depiction of Bergen done in the 1700's.
Can you find the church from the photo above this one?
This tower also dates back to the 1100's.
Part of the fortress area. It is all free to wander around.
Old town pedestrian street.
Not all of Bergen is attractive!
Colorful mural.
There is a pond in the center of the city.
This was pretty!
But that's enough of the big city for us. Except, we are headed to Bergen's largest shopping mall, located on the southern outskirts of the city. We're going laptop shopping!
This was our drive the last two days...
Flatraket to Vadheim on Wednesday.
Vadheim to Bergen on Thursday.
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Thank you for the tour of Bergen. Apparently my ancestors came from there and Eidfjord.
ReplyDeleteWe are glad that you enjoyed it! It seems that quite a few people that read our blog and also friends of ours, have ancestors that came from Norway. I am happy that we could show you a bit of the city where some of yours are from. It seems to us that maybe you need to make a trip over here to see where a little bit of you came from. :-)
DeleteI'd actually heard of Bergen before; one of the few cities in Norway that I know of besides Oslo. When I was teaching at an international school in Germany in the mid-1980s, our librarian came from Bergen. However, she was an American. I forget if she was married to someone from Norway, or they were both Americans--anyway, she came to our school outside of Frankfurt, West Germany, from Bergen, and the husband stayed behind. That is the extent of my knowledge of Bergen before your informative blog post. I love the numerous pics.
ReplyDeleteBoth Bergen and Oslo are the two best known cities in Norway. It was good to be able to show you around the city to see where one of your old co-workers came from and to give you a little more information on the pretty city.
DeleteEven those cityscapes are inviting though I'd be concerned about a Fire Hazard among the wooden structures.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy your adventure.
It's about time.
Bergen and the Bryggen (dock side area) itself have had many fires throughout history, the last one being in 1955. Some of those wood buildings are still standing from their rebuild in 1702 and others have been replaced since then but built to what they had looked like in 1702.
DeleteLast night I set my clock radio to listen to rain and thunder when I went to bed. Slept like a log....I miss rain & thunder. I think naked statues are the most natural art. I think Italy has a lot of naked art too...David and fat little boys/girls, & women. Love the stone buildings & colorful houses.
ReplyDeleteWe don't mind the sound of rain at night but it doesn't make for good conditions during the day if you want to get out and view this beautiful scenery.
DeleteWe have no problems at all with the nude statues but we have noticed that back home in both Canada and the US they don't always have such a free view of art like this and many statues we have found had now added "leaves" to cover up the unmentionable parts of the natural body.