Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Bergen, Norway 5/2017

Bergen, Norway.....my solo trip begins. May 13 -19, 2017. Left John in Iceland for a day and then he flew home to Tampa.
Stayed in an AirBnB in the heart of the Fish Market right where I wanted to be. I was next to St. Mary's church (1130, oldest building in Bergen). The owner had written that there was a bar across the alley from my place and it could be loud on the weekend - understatement. That alley was loud every night with extreme drunks, bums and drug addicts. Luckily they were the gentle Norwegians and the owner said I had nothing to worry about. I had them perched on my front doorstep at all hours of the day and night. I had to open the door slowly and push gently because people were sitting there and I'd say "excuse me" and they would move. It was crazy. Drug deals out the back door right at the entrance to the church, 5-8 folks doing deals, loaded. Just unreal. Quite an experience. The morning I left it was raining and as I went out the door there was a little pool of blood on the steps and another drop. Heaven knows what happened the night before right there, a drunken fight I guess.
The Fish Market was amazing. Seafood that was gigantic and luscious. I've been around lots of fish markets, but nothing like this. I had a few wonderful meals My favorite was fresh salmon that was the best I had ever tasted. Food and everything you can imagine was extremely expensive. The monster crabs could have almost kept me in the city. I had a nice crab dinner when I arrived and made a new friend at the restaurant. A student in Bergen who was from Taiwan. Nice gal.
I hadn't planned it but lucked out and was in Bergen on Constitution Day, May 17th. It is sort of like our 4th of July, but no fireworks. The town filled to max capacity with people from all over the area with the majority wearing their native dress, and if not they were dressed up in suits and nice dresses. A fancy day. The clothes were so well made, elegant and each region has their own style. Outfits were embellished with handmade jewelry of silver and even some gold. I later talked to a man in Oslo and he said he was considering buying an outfit and he told me it could can cost anywhere from $12,000 and up. I figured they were expensive, but I had no idea!!!!!!!!!
My reason to visit Bergen was to see the fjords. I didn't want to take a week long fjord trip after having just spent 15 days on a ship so I enjoyed my day trip going up the fjord on a boat and seeing the beautiful scenery and waterfalls. The day was very foggy and it only cleared as we were returning to the city. Best part was making a new friend who I had a happy day with and I made dinner for us. Jasmine is originally from India, but goes to school in Pennsylvania. She had been spending time in Europe for the summer. A terrific person.
Not a favorite city, but I'm sure there is a lot that I did not see. People told me I'd love this place more than Oslo, but that was not the case and I probably didn't need 7 days in Bergen. When I left Bergen I took the train to Olso on a ride that some consider one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. The ride was pretty and it was fun seeing the raging rivers and snow.
Random photos.  I saw in one week here a fraction of Bergen.  This was only the Fish Harbor area.  A very fun city, especially during celebration week.


So fun to be there on Norway's Constitution Day
What a celebration.  Half of country was there




Parade went on for about two hours

 Very green along train route



Down at harbor

In the harbor

 Train Bergen to Oslo
Said to be one of the most
beautiful trips in the world


Train side scenery

Street where my Airbnb was

New friend I met on - boat ride 
through Fjord - couchsurfer from PA



















Nice uphill walk to over look the city