We have reached our first port of the call, Andalsnes, located along Isfjord at the end of Romsdalfjord.
It is a small town of about 2000 people. The size of our ship, approximately 400 passengers, allows for docking in the heart of this picturesque coastal town.
We have just passed the other gondola. Our ship is seen below in the distance.
During World War II, this peaceful fishing village was completely destroyed. It has since been completely rebuilt as a modern municipality and is situated in a place of remarkable natural beauty.
First, a few images of our accommodations.
The rooms on the ship, with the exception of a few suites, are small (about 12 x 18 feet), but efficient in their design. The room and bathroom are smaller than they appears in these image..
We were in port from 8 AM until 2 PM.
My breakfast. Service is buffet style, except in the upscale restaurant. All beverages are included, including wine, beer, and select cocktails.
Christine and I walked to the nearby Romsdal Gondola and for $30 each ascended 2000 feet to the mountain overlooking the town.
Christine shared a brief walk with me and then retired to the nearby café.
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I continued on trails around the mountain top before rejoining her for a coffee and return to the ship.
Some museums are primarily entertaining while others stir deeper emotions. Most, if not all museums are intended to inform and educate. This post focuses on two exhibits we visited in Bergen, the first being of the former variety (entertaining) and the second of the latter (emotional).
Both informed and educated. Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to convey fully their messages. Perhaps this post will encourage you to dig deeper on your own through available Internet resources.
From the very beginning, the Bergen Troll Museum was FUN!
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We expected that, but we did not expect to turn into Trolls!
Here we are before…… and here we are after!
We also did not expect the myths and legends surrounding Trolls to be so rich in depth and history. The Troll stories intertwine religion, heroism, valor, and the supernatural. Each of these few selected images was accompanied in the museum by a detailed account. Use your imagination and you probably won’t be far off.
The world and kingdom of Trolls A video feed which displays scores of images in nature that Norwegians have long believed to be Trolls looking out upon them.A huge Mountain TrollPeer Gynt at the Hall of the Mountain King (Troll). “Peer Gynt refers to the classic 5 Act dramatic poem by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1867. It tells the epic story of Peer Gynt, a braggart and adventurer who flees his homeland for a life of self-indulgence and fantasy, only to ultimately face the question of his true self. The play is also famous for the accompanying music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875, which includes the well-known pieces “Morning Mood” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King”A Winter Troll who looks suspiciously like one of Santa’s elves or perhaps even Santa Claus.A sea temptress calling sailors to their deaths.A Troll maiden who’s music charmed a young shepherd. She was beautiful and promised to marry him if he kept their meeting and betrothal a secret for one year. He broke his promise and he thus lost his lover and she her beauty. The Queen of the Trolls who stole my heart.
In every generation, there are a few noteworthy individuals who dedicate their entire life to a passion. Some are lucky enough to achieve recognition during their lifetime others are lost to the dark curtain of time. Ragna Breivik (1891-1965} falls somewhere in the middle. Her achievements in tapestry design and execution were known nationally and internationally. However, full appreciation of her extraordinary skill, even genius, is still emerging.
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In all there were 10 panels, each measuring approximately 10 feet wide and 5 feet high. I could have spent the entire day taking them in.
Here are a few additional moments from our time in Bergen.
Dinner at the top of the mountain. .Bergen below at sunset. 1966Early 1950’s Cadillac EldoradoOne of hundreds of phone booths throughout Norway that are no longer in use. These are federally protected as culturally significant. This one has been repurposed as a lending library. 
I am typing these words as we sail out of port to destinations north.
Bergen is not short on museums. We counted 29 in the hotel guidebook. I suspect a few may have been left out.
They are as diverse as one dedicated to fire fighting over the years (Bergen has survived 39 known major conflagrations between the year 1000 and the last major one which occurred in 1702), and another museum located in the former Leprosy hospital.
I really wanted to see the one about leprosy, but it was closed due to illness. (It’s really closed for renovation.)
We chose three that were within an easy walking distance of our hotel. Bergen’s town center is such that almost everything is within easy walking distance.
The first of these we visited on Sunday, just a few minutes walk from our hotel.
The Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene consists of a group of restored buildings that date to 1703, a year after the last great fire to ravage Bryggen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In an effort to combine resources and defend against pirates, 12th century German merchants formed a trading guild, The Hanseatic League. Bergen was one of its principal cities.
The league flourished to include over 200 major cities and dominated trade in the Baltic, Scandinavia and Northern Europe for hundreds of years. Merchant ships traveled in convoy with an exchange of goods that covered the whole of Europe, northern Africa, and even extended along the Silk Road to the east and North America to the west.
Bryggen (Bergen) controlled access to the entire 60,000 mile coastline of Norway.
The League reached its zenith in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Its influence continued even into the 19th century.
Hanseatic vessels grew in size.
By the mid 1500s League ships were among the largest in the world, some measuring over 250 feet in length and able to transport over 500 tons of cargo.
This is a meeting room which served also as a courtroom where infractions were dealt with among the apprentices.Rule breakers names were listed on the chalkboard of shame, and the stick of shame was used to point the guilty out.Among the punishments given were public whippings with this 1 yard long “stick”, which is a dried oxen’s penis.Merchants had learned the importance of hygiene. Wash stands were located in all meeting rooms.An airtight wood-burning stoveThe “kitchen” . Open fires were located beneath the pots on the stone floor.The dining hallThe windows are authentic. Noticed the strings in the center of the windows and those in the wall. They allowed for the remote control of storm shutters from inside the building.An exterior view of the storm shutters.
Today (Monday) we visited the Bergen Archeological Museum. I am including some images of artifacts that date to and before the Hanseatic period.
A leather shoeThe cobbler’s tools.The remains of long buried houses from the 12th century.A representation of archaeological dig strataAn exhumed skeleton from the 12th or 13th centuryA 13th century altarpiece
Our visit to two other museums/exhibitions will be featured in the next post.
This is the second of the two posts about our wanderings today. This afternoon we joined thousands of Norwegians and foreign tourists for a remarkable culinary exposition.
The following from the festival promotion:
“Join us in the heart of Fjord Norway for a culinary journey… Wander through Bergen‘s vibrant city center, and discover an array of local food artisans showcasing their culinary creations…”
........This is the Bergen Harbor Fish market.Various seafood items available to purchase and take home or have prepared at the market....
…And so we did. Peace everyone. Pete.
Christine, Queen of the Universe.This was a rally featuring various of Norway’s political parties. Campaign representatives were available to meet and greet.These were union workers who were voluntarily promoting their employer’s products by providing free hotdogs, ice cream, sodas, and coffee. As was explained to us, “They treat us well and so we want to treat our employers as well.”
I believe that Norway’s entire population of 5 1/2 million was in Bergen today… At least it seemed that way.
In spite of the crowds we were able to fully enjoy two amazing activities/events. To do them both justice I’m going to separate them in two posts. They will be short on narration and long on pictures.
First the Floibanen:
After breakfast we took a five minute walk to the famous Floibanen funicular railway.
First opened in 1918 this steep 25 degree railway ascends from sea level at Bergen Harbor to Floyen at an elevation of 1000 feet.
The current ultramodern electrical conveyance consists of two sets of train cars. They are connected by a cable.
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Each set of cars can hold up to 120 passengers. When one set of cars is at the top of the hill the other set is at the bottom. They pass each other at mid journey, the weight of one counteracting the weight of the other. They require comparatively minimal engine drive support.
The journey to the top of Mount Floyen takes about five minutes. A round-trip ticket costed us each $20 (200 kroner). Christine rode the railway back to the bottom, but I hiked down the mountain, a journey of approximately 3 km which took me just short of an hour.
The views from the top were fantastic.
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There is a restaurant that first opened in 1925.
There are also shops, a café, toilets, a playground, and goats!
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My hike back to the city center was magical! A forest of massive evergreens, carpeted by moss and ferns.
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If you look carefully you will see families of Trolls peaking out from behind the trees… but only if you believe in them.
