Busy in Bergen

Thursday was all about Bergen. We spent the entire day in this beautiful city in western Norway. Bergen is known as the gateway to the fjords and is an important economic center for the country. Millions of people visit Bergen each year; it’s that compelling and popular.

Bergen was founded in 1070 and grew into a major trading city. Its location made it ideal for accessing the rest of the world. For almost 100 years, Bergen served as the capital of Norway (and then Oslo took over about 1299).

I woke up early Thursday morning and went out for a run, past some empty tourist attractions and a couple cruise ships and into a more residential area of the city. Once back at the hotel, we roused the kids and headed downstairs for yet another breakfast buffet.

These lazy breakfasts have been so wonderful; we get to talk and enjoy good food and plan our days. The breakfasts have been a good balance to this trip’s on-the-go approach.

After breakfast, we attempted to visit the Bergen Leprosy Museum, about a 10-minute walk from our hotel. Interestingly enough, the Leprosy Museum used to be a leprosy hospital. In 1873, Bergen doctor Gerhard Armauer Hansen identified the leprosy bacillus. Bergen was, at one time, the center for leprosy research in Europe. Unfortunately, the museum was closed when we arrived, and it wouldn’t open until 2pm. We decided to just walk around the city center instead.

We headed toward Bryggen, a quayside that’s lined by old commercial buildings used from 1350 to the 1750s. In 1754, these properties were transferred to Norwegian citizens. The buildings are made entirely from wood and are so colorful; it’s a huge tourist attraction now, with boutique shops and restaurants. It was really cool to walk down the different alleyways and peer into the various shops. For good reason, Bryggen has been on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites since 1979.

In front of the Bergen harbor.

The buildings of Bryggen (no tourists in the early morning!).

A little bit down from Bryggen, we visited the Bergenhus Fortress, one of the oldest and best-preserved fortresses in Norway, with some buildings dating back to the 13^th century. The fortress is currently used and maintained by about 150 members of the Norwegian military; the huge grassy area inside is used to host concerts and festivals.

In front of the fortress.

A cool door.

Another cool door.

All the walking made us hungry, so we stopped by a popular sausage stand to grab some sausages; Tim had a reindeer sausage that he said was pretty tasty.

Let's do lunch!

Not too shabby.

By this time of day, the sun was coming out. We decided to head up to Mt. Floyen, one of Bergen’s seven mountains, where we could get a great view of the city. We took the Fløibanen, a funicular that gets you to the top of the mountain in just a few minutes (our other option was to walk the stairs, which the kids most definitely did not want to do).

The top of Mt. Floyen was packed – and incredible! Not only did we get a great view of Bergen, but there were multiple playgrounds (which the kids loved), a couple cafés, a shop, an interesting overnight rental called “The Cone,” and hiking options.

That's Bergen below us.

I love that they still love playgrounds.

Wyatt is still wearing his Phillies sweatshirt. I can't wait to wash it! ;) 

The kids played at the playgrounds for an hour and then we told them we were going on a hike. Taylor expressed her immense displeasure with this plan by trailing behind us and hitting her leg with her empty water bottle, a sound that’s louder and more annoying than you might imagine.

We hiked up a gravel trail on Mt. Floyen to another lookout point, then called it a day, hiking back to the funicular to return to the city center.

Taking in the view.

Taylor is pretending to be happy. 

That evening, we ate dinner at Bergen Tracteursed, a Bryggen restaurant in a building that dates to the 1700s.

One of the many alleyways in Bryggen. This one happened to be right outside Bryggen Tracteursed.

Another alleyway.

And, of course, we had to get softis (pronounced “soft ice,” meaning soft serve) for dessert, at where else but Nargesen, that idyllic convenience store.