Wednesday 14 May 2014

Unexpected Experiences in Bergen

No one expected to stay longer in Bergen, but sometimes life is full of surprises. A longer lasting maintenance of FRAM enlarged our stop until the 15th of May. But in the end we spend a wonderful day in and around Bergen.
The beautiful city which belongs to the Unesco World Heritage List has around 270 000 inhabitants. The most historical and colorful part is at Bryggen founded by the merchants of the Hanseatic League. The old wooden houses are quite old some are from the beginning of the 18th century. One of the most beautiful buildings houses the Hanseatic Museum where the history of the trade and the living conditions of that time are perfect presented.
Afterwards we took the Fløien funicular up to 300 meter above sea level. How wonderful! Sunshine, a marvelous view over some parts of the town, the islands and the mountains; is there anything better? The following bus tour gives us an impression of Bergen, the different parts and the development. It is really a wealthy city – and of course a lively city. There is a lot ongoing specially the preparations for the National Day on the 17th of May.
Some of us preferred to make a hike up on the mountains just behind Bergen. It was a wonderful hike around mount Føien and 21 succeeded to walk up to Blåmannen. The great weather conditions – blue sky, sunshine and some lovely clouds – presented us stunning views.
In the late afternoon we had the possibility to sail on board of Statsrad Lehmkuhl, a 100 years old ship. It is owned and run by the foundation “Seilskipet Statsrad Lehmkuhl” and used for different purposes, f. ex. a trip around Bergen listening to Irish music and eating shrimps and herring.
It was a busy and exciting day filled up with a lot of impressions of Bergen.