Sat. July 30- Beautiful Bergen, Norway

Nestled between huge snow-capped mountains, magnificent fjords, and one of Europe's largest glaciers, our ship cruised north to Bergen, Norway. As we arrived in Bergen, we passed the colorful Hanseatic buildings that line the waterfront. 

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway. It has a proud maritime history and its Viking roots go all the way back to 1070.  Bergen is famous for its gloomy weather, with an average of 80 inches of rain annually (compared to 30 in Oslo, the capital). A good year in Bergen has 60 days of sunshine. Unfortunately we did not arrive on one of those good days! We docked along the city center and prepared for a rainy last day of our cruise, before leaving for Iceland. Several large cruise ships were also in the port.

The city’s wealth can be traced back to its membership in a medieval trading group of merchant cities called the Hanseatic League. The historic Hanseatic Quarter, of Bergen is in the area where we docked and met our guide for our rainy walking tour. Our guide explained how this area burned down several times and has since become rather and boutiquish with restaurants, wooden planked alleys and old restored wooden buildings,and trendy shops. 

 We walked past an historic old building called King Hakon's Hall that was built in the 13th century as a royal residence and feasting hall. The Norse sagas say the king held court in that hall. The royal family moved away in the middle ages and the hall fell into disrepair. Later it served as an ammunition storehouse for the Bergen fortress and was practically destroyed when a Dutch ammunition ship docked near it on the harbor blew up. It has since been restored as a national heritage site and used today for royal dinners and other official functions. The St. Mary's church was built 850 years ago and is the oldest building still in use in Bergen. We also saw several sculptures near the church grounds including this one, "The Draeggen Boy", which is a memorial to the local "boys brigade" which lost their lives during WWII. The statue shows a young boy kneeling with a crossbow.

Our guide took us over to the Bryggens Museum where the archeological findings from Bryggen excavations, including findings from the time when Bryggens was ravaged by a great fire, are on display. These objects gave us a fascinating glimpse into early Norse life. Our guide did a wonderful job of explaining the exhibits to us.

One of the most fascinating objects on exhibit were old rune sticks from the Middle Ages. All kinds of messages were carved with a knife in rune symbols on the wooden Rune sticks. These sticks were then delivered to the recipient and usually discarded. One of the interesting rune sticks on display simply said, "Gyda says go home." The exhibit had an interesting conjecture as to what this may have meant.

After visiting the museum, we meandered around the open air fish market where you could buy fresh or salted dried cod, all kinds of fresh fish and shellfish, and even whale meat.

They still hunt whales in Norway :-(  I was offered a taste of whale several times but just could not compromise my feelings about killing these magnificent creatures to try it. The whale meat is very dark red and almost black when cooked (see top right on photo below). The market is a great place to get lunch as all kinds of fresh fish dishes are prepared there, including Norwegian paellas cooked right there in large paella pans.

Dave, Beth, and David ordered paellas and a large platter of fresh grilled assorted fish to share. It was a good thing Page came along later to join them as there was too much food to finish. The fishmonger who cooked our fish platter posed for a photo. We agreed it was one of the best meals we had, especially served in such an authentic setting!

There was a lot of reindeer street food including reindeer hot dogs, sausages, and hamburgers.

After lunch we browsed among the many shops in the old section of the city made up of restored wooden warehouses and old wharf buildings, restored as shops and restaurants, often walking through narrow wooden planked alleyways. No wonder the city once had a great fire that destroyed almost everything!

There was a huge codfish statue in the square that just called out to David for a pose!

We found an art gallery with an artist's work we loved and bought a few prints before ambling back to the boat to pack and enjoy our last afternoon/evening on the ship before retiring with the 10:15 PM sunset.

Fri. July 29: Fjords and Flam, Norway

This morning we awoke to absolutely breathtaking views of the towering, western Norwegian fjords as we cruised into the idyllic tiny village of Flam.

Sheer towers of rock, goats on the rocky hillsides, multiple shades of green, shrouds of clouds, cascading waterfalls, glorious glacier-topped peaks- the view was stunning as we cruised into the fjord.

 

Herds of goats perched on the rocky hillsides could be heard bleating.

 

 

We cruised by several cascading waterfalls.

Flam is a tiny picturesque village located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord. A fjord is a long, narrow deep sea inlet between high cliffs, usually formed by a submerged glaciated valley (Webster definition). Flam is famous for its scenic railway, one of the steepest railways in the world.

We cruised past lush farmlands and misty mountains.

Our ship docked at the village. This was the view of the port from our ship:

 We walked around the village, and through a charming small museum.  The Viking influence could be seen in the buildings and tree sculptures.

Flam is designated a Unesco World Heritage site and is the station stop for the Flam Railway. The Flam Railway is designated one of the most scenic and steepest rail routes in the world. There are over 20 tunnels that go through sheer rock. We decided to get tickets to take the 2 hour up and down trip to the Myrdal mountain station (Meg and Gary were on a different scenic trip). In one hour the train goes from sea level where our ship is docked to 867 meters above sea level.

 We boarded our train as Meg and Gary disembarked from their train. They said there was a surprise when you got off the train at the waterfall. Hmmmm...we wondered what that could be. As the train chugged up the steep incline and we meandered between darkness and light as we passed through numerous tunnels in the rock, we were glued to the windows in our charming wooden interior train and awed by the dramatic scenery. We passed precipitous cliffs, cascading waterfalls, quaint villages, bicyclers and hikers, mountains lakes, lush valleys, and sweeping panoramas of snow capped mountains and glaciers. Even though it was raining for most of the time and a lot of the scenery was shrouded in mist, it was still breathtaking as these scenes shot from the window show:

The train stopped at the magnificent Kjosfossen waterfall and we were able to get out and take pictures amid the deafening roar of the falls spilling over craggy cliffs, spraying those of us who got close.

Oh but wait- didn't Meg and Gary say there would be a surprise here? Suddenly loudspeakers in the distance blared a haunting melodius song and we saw a mystical figure in the distance waving her arms and dancing on a hill, then disappearing and instantly reappearing down the hill on the remains of an old castle.

She would disappear again and reappear instantly in another place. How could this be? Was she magical? The legend goes there are sirens in the mountains, including Huldra, the siren of the waterfall, who lured men into the mountains with their bewitching song. Was that the mystical Huldra standing a top the rocky ruins? Click here to see the video David took of our mystical encounter!

It was a picture perfect day, even with the drizzling rain, ending with our ship cruising out of the fjord, north toward Bergen, with more scenic views along the way. Sunset at 10:02 PM.

Thur. July 28: Stavanger, Norway- A Charming Southern Nordic Port

Shortly after the sun rose at 5:16 AM Thursday, July 28, we approached the southern coast of Norway, on our way to the lovely southern port city of Stavanger, Norway.

Our ship had a central berth just a short walk to a delightful stroll among Stavanger's cultural riches. Stavanger is indeed a "rich" little city with its riches coming from the petroleum industry. Offshore drilling feeds the economy here making the city one of the most expensive in the world.

Stavanger is famous for its old town made up of cobbled streets lined with Europe's highest concentrations of wooden houses, protected by a conservancy after developers threatened to destroy them in the 1950's. These charming homes, most of them white with beautiful gardens, reminded us of old New England houses.

 Even the manhole covers were pretty!

Walking around the city, we came across several interesting sculptures. There was even a real Mini Cooper car attached to the wall of a traffic tunnel.

We strolled the shopping street and found several interesting shops including one with Beth's favorite fabric and a store with traditional Norwegian garb. David and Dave decided to be "knightly".

David found a trace of his ancestry coming across a shop named "Made with Hart"

Obviously the Norwegians are paying attention to the political election discourse in the U.S. as evidenced by this sign outside of a taco shop!

In the afternoon half our group went on the arranged walking tour which included a visit to the Petroleum Museum. We also saw that besides the white, wooden houses, there are many colorful houses and shops in Stavanger.

The afternoon was a chance to catch up on reading (upside down for some of us!), work (for some of us), and just hanging around enjoying life on the ship, including high tea at 4:00! The sunset at 10:09 as we cruised to the fjords of Norway anticipating waking up to a spectacular view!

Wed. July 27: Another Day in Denmark- Exploring Aalborg

A 5:09 sunrise awakened us to the charming port city of Aalborg, on the northern Danish coast. Founded by the Vikings in the late 900's, Aalborg is situated in a gorgeous setting nearly 12 miles from the open Norwegian Sea on the narrowest part of the beautiful Limfjord. Aalborg has a rich Viking history, recognized as early as the 11th century as a key harbor for longships sailing to Norway.

We docked across from Aalborg University, famous for its school of Design and Architecture. The city is full of architectural pearls both modern and old. From our ship we could gaze out at the Utzon Center and see the similarity to the Sydney Opera House. Both were designed by the architect, Jorn Utzon.

The Jens Bangs House is a prominent part of the cityscape. Situated on the town square, it is considered one of the finest examples of Renaissance mansions in Denmark.

Jens Bang was a prominent merchant in the 1600's, who loved splendor and thus the heavy ornamentation on his house. During his time it was whispered that the many grotesque masks and figure heads decorating his building were actually caricatures of his many enemies and it was his way of getting revenge. Even though he was the wealthiest man in the city, he was never allowed to rule which is why some say he put a caricature of himself sitting on the gable of his house sticking his tongue out at City Hall!

 The building was bought by a pharmacist in the mid 1700's and his apothecary has been handed down through generations of his family and is still there today.

There is a picturesque view of the Church of Our Lady on the old Hjelmerstald Street.

The Aalborg Kloster dates all the way back to 1434 and is the oldest and best preserved monastary in Denmark.

In the city square we heard the sounds of screaming, giggling children and it turns out there was a wind simulator in the square that children could stand in front of and be blown forcefully by the generated wind. They were having so much fun! Aalborg's University has a major international center for the development of wind power technology. These kids are learning firsthand the power of wind energy!

The shopping streets were lines with quaint restaurants getting ready to open. This one caught our eye with its simple Danish decor in blue and white. Wish I could take one of these woven chairs home with me!

David and Page went to the archeological site, Lindholm Hoje, where archeologists found several Viking burial sites and settlements going all the way back to the Iron Age. We walked through the woods, passed a flock of sheep on a hillside, and came to the top of a hill with a large field strewn with stones. It reminded us of our field of granite rocks in Maine, except these were laid out in circles for a purpose!

Due to the sand drift, the result of wind erosion after the forests were cut down for wood, the site was completely covered by sand in the year 1000 AD which preserved the stone markings for over a thousand years and eventually uncovered the secrets of Viking life. Over 700 graves have been uncovered by removing the sand, and the remains of the Viking longhouses and fences have also been discovered. The stone circles are actually where they laid out the funeral pyre for the cremation of Vikings. The larger the stone circle, the more important the person.  Sometimes a stone was placed in the very center.

You could also see the tops of their stone pillars that held up their longhouses. These were actually made from an early type of cement. Interesting, as we tend to think of cement as a modern day construction material.

Since the field is strewn with these rocks, it makes it difficult to mow with machine mowers. They use biological mowers- sheep! Of course we had to watch where we stepped and there was a shoe scraper at the door of the museum!

One of the sheep reminded us of our favorite black and grey curly horned sheep, Nutmeg, back in the days when we raised sheep in Maine for  Page's wool spinning.

Inside the museum were excellent displays of Viking village life, on the site we visited and several Viking artifacts.

On our way back to the ship we visited an "allotment garden." Allotment gardens are on land owned by the city of Aalborg which then leases the land to an allotment association made up of members who pay a fee to belong to the association.  Today there are 400 allotment associations in 75 municipalities in Denmark and the idea of allotment gardens has spread to other European countries. Members of the association get a piece of land they can garden on, since they live in the city where they have no land. Many of the allotment gardens are just that- a place where city residents can grow flowers and food. However, many members have erected pavilions on their plots or small seasonal cottages. Some even have greenhouses erected on them to grow plants year round. Many people grow so fond of their allotment gardens that they live there from spring to early fall, close it up for the winter, and return to their city home which is often less than 5 miles away! The couple we visited had beautiful flower beds, a greenhouse, a very cluttered cottage, a "man shed" where her husband hung out, lots of veggies growing, including corn, fruit trees and berry bushes. All of the allotment gardens in the association we visited (which had over 100 garden plots) are divided by a tall hedge and each is accessible by a narrow lane road. Most keep their bicycles there to travel to and from their city home.

Our hosts were very gracious and offered us an aquavit toast. Aquavit used to be distilled in Aalborg but was bought out by a Norwegian company which is now making it. It has a slight taste of caraway seed.

 It was a good day to experience Danish culture both old and new. On our way back to the ship we were met by the "hot dog man" who parks his hot dog shed right across from the ship's dock to welcome visitors to Aalborg with a free hot dog! No wonder Aalborg has been ranked the happiest city in Europe, and it also happens to be in the happiest country in Europe, Denmark.

After dinner we were entertained by the ship's performers with an ABBA show (the Swedish band that was second to the Beatles in the number of albums sold worldwide), bringing back memories of the ABBA songs we used to hear on the radio in the 70's! It was fun to sing along with many of the songs we remembered.

The sun set at 9:42 as we cruised to Norway.