Bergen

 

Bergen 06/06/2016

 

 

If you have a decent job earning a good wedge then Bergen must be one of the best places in the world to live; if you can put up with the 250 days of rain it gets. This is a very pretty place, a sort of mini-Stockholm with handsome buildings spread over the Seven Mountains and numerous Islands the city is built upon. Having said all that it is not a great place to visit as a tourist. There is not a lot to see that makes you sit up and want more, it has little emotional pull.

 

We used the newly built light rail to get from our parking spot into the centre. It is fast, cheap and efficient like most things in Norway, apart from food, alcohol and petrol that is.

We started off with a trip up the Gondola to the 643m high mountain top of Ulriken. From the summit you get a wonderful panorama of the city and outlying districts.

 

Bergen Panorama

Still hot

We stayed by the circular lake

 

Next we headed for a quick amble around the city centre and a fuel stop at Norway’s most popular restaurant; MackieD’s. Again it was fast, cheap and efficient; for Norway, in reality it was tasteless expensive junk. Larded-up we strolled over to the Olde Worlde area of Bryggen where we met a couple of disgruntled Viking Cruise Passengers from our home town. They recommend the River Cruises but not the ships.

Bryggen is twee, a bit false and overrun with tourists. We spent about ten minutes before getting the need to escape, it gets claustrophobic when packed.

 

Stone Buildings

 

Expensive Tat Shops

Back streets

So to sum-up Bergen is probably a great city to live in but not a great one to visit. It neither has the grandeur of Stockholm or the cuteness of Stavanger. It helped us to re-arrange our route to concentrate on the landscape and forget visiting towns and cities here.

 

Love to All

Take Care

Ӂ

xxx