Bergen
Base camp for all that is Norway.
Situated in the southwest of Norway, Bergen is a coastal city and is the country’s second most populous. The harbor section including reconstructions of historic wooden buildings known as the Bryggen is the heart of the tourist scene. Bergen is a mix of quaint, small town charm with the bustle of a modern city. As you can see from the images on this page, Bergen is very picturesque city.
Walking route from the Bergen stasjon to our hotel
Google maps predicted a 7 minute walk to our hotel from the train station. Countless stops for snapshots turned into more of a 25 minute journey. But who can blame us? The Bergen environs is intriguing and picturesque. Walking down any street here transported us from the well-worn familiarity of any town USA to a place with a truly European vibe.
Bryggen
Bryggen (translated to English as the wharf) is an historic section of Bergen where some artifacts date back to the 12th century. The mainly wooden buildings have been rebuilt several times due to fires. According to visitbergen.com in 1955 parts of Bryggen burnt down. “The following years archaeological excavation took place, uncovering a vast amount of objects which gave an insight into everyday life in the city in the Middle Ages.”
Mt. Fløyen
Having only one full day to visit the area, we couldn’t immerse ourselves in the area’s rich history. Instead, we window shopped, visited the Bergen fish market (Fisketorget i Bergen), and rode the Floybanen funicular. This is a mountain side railway running up to the top of Mt. Fløyen overlooking the city. Mt. Fløyen is one of the 7 mountains of Bergen known as the city mountains. The peak is 400 m (1,300 ft.) above sea level. It offers stunning views of the Bergen harbor and city.
We took the ride up the top. The tram features a curved glass ceiling. The harbor came into view as we ascended, but only for a minute. We rode straight into a cloud. Fortunately, after 15 minutes the cloud floated away opening up vistas of both sea and land for many miles.
Historic Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret
Slottsgaten (Castle Street) 1, Bergen, NO
Our hotel had its own history. The structure was built in 1920 for ship owner Thorvald Halvorsen, as the home to the Nordenfjeldske dampkipsselskap, a Norwegian Shipping Company. The building was designed by Carl and Eystein Michalsen. We were able to secure a key from the front desk to visit the hotel tower overlooking the harbor.
Inside Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret
Stairwell leading to the hotel tower overlooking the harbor and city.
The Clarion Hotel Collection Havnekontoret.
View from the hotel tower.
Wartime mishap blasts through Bryggen
While researching Bergen after our return home, I found some interesting information about Bergen during the second word war. On the morning of April 20th 1944, the troubled vessel Voorbode had encountered mechanical problems en route from Oslo to Kirkenes. It limped into the Bergen harbor carrying 273,000 pounds of explosives. At 8:39 AM the ship caught fire and exploded killing 158 people and injuring 4,800 people. The blast destroyed 131 homes. The harbor office building was the only structure on the street that survived.
See: https://www.donpugnettijr.com/blog/blast-of-the-voorbode for more information.
Aftermath of the April 20th 1944 explosion in the Bergen harbor,
