This is the station
We arrived in the evening, so the first stop was to find some food. On our wanderings, we came across the old fish market which is now mostly restaurants. We were only just in time, the cafes were about to close so perhaps it was the wrong time, but the fish and chips were less than impressive.
We took a few photos and hoped for better weather on the next day, but it was not to be.
In the morning the rain continued. Apparently it has been known for there to be rain in Bergen for 85 consecutive days .... We were only there for one night.
We wandered around the area of the port where many of the tourist attractions are.
This is the Kjøttbasaren, built in 1877 as a market hall and is now home to upmarket food stores
A selection of photos from around the immediate area
A cruise ship was in port, so the main tourist area, Bryggen was full of people
The houses in Bryggen were built of wood in the 14th century and so are susceptible to being burnt down. Following a fire in 1702, the area was rebuilt in the same style. There are narrow passage ways between the houses with interesting buildings not immediately visible from the main street
This area was being excavated during the reconstruction of a house that burnt down relatively recently.
After lunch nearby, we went to see Bergenhaus fortress which dates back to the 13th century. This comprises the Haakonhall (named after King Håkon who lived in the 13th century),
and the Rosenkrantz tower. Both were badly damaged during the second world war when a German armaments ship that was moored along side the fortress, blew up - an accident as far as the Germans could tell.
Buildings in the centre of the fortress.
St Mary's church in Bryggen was closed for structural repairs.
We were able to take a tour of the tower and hall.
The fortress is still used for state occasions with the hall used as a dinning room.
Rosenkrantz was a Danish tax collector and he and his wife (photo below) lived in the tower in the 16th century. They enlarged it and made it as it is today. His cannons pointed both out to sea and at Bryggen which was run by the powerful Hanseatic community whom Rosenkrantz distrusted.
On our way back to the hotel, we spotted this drain cover, depicting Bergen.
Then it was time to collect our cases and go to the station to catch the train back to Oslo. So we chugged across the harbour on a convenient tiny ferry to our hotel.
The train journey was again very picturesque starting off along fjords. After half an hour the train stopped in a tunnel and we were delayed by a widespread power cut which took down the signalling system halting all trains. After a few minutes we were allowed to exit the tunnel and wait at the first little station so that people could at least stretch their legs. We eventually reached our Oslo hotel 1.5 hours late and past midnight.
Pat and John on tour