Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Bergen, Norway; 14 Dec 2012
14 December 2012
Bergen, Norway
It is December and we are in Bergen, Norway.
Norway has a long coastline. It is irregular and broken into hundreds, maybe thousands of islands and fjords. In two days we will travel by ship, the Lofoten, up the coast, but first we will spend a few days in Bergen in the southwest of Norway.
Bergen is about one-thousand years old. What remains from it's earliest days is a row of Thirteenth-Century buildings on the harbor's edge. The row consists of a dozen-plus wooden structures. Each one is three stories tall with a pointy roof. Some, in their old age, lean against each other otherwise they are stand about a bed-width away from each other. They are painted each a different shade of butter, terracotta, moss or rust. Together, they make a quaint, folksy postcard image which is used as the symbol of Bergen.
They were built for use as headquarters for German sea-faring merchants, known as the Hanseatics. The buildings were multi-purpose. Their lower floor's long and large rooms were used for cod. The fish was piled high. Their livers were pressed for oil and the fish themselves, salted, hung to dry and eventually shipped throughout Europe. The smaller rooms housed the inventory and payroll offices. And along the walls were rectangular cabinets--six-feet long, three-feet tall and three-feet deep--each with a little door to open and climb in for a sleep.
UNESCO has designated this cluster of buildings a World Heritage Site. And the first building in the row is our small hotel which shares the building with the Hanseatic Museum where you can see a three-story portion of the building as it used to be. All old dark worn wood planks. Hardly a right-angle anywhere, the walls lean like a house of cards. There is original wall paper--faded and barely intact--and hand blown glass windows. The walls without paper are painted with various designs to bring cheer to the dark interiors.
The Museum occupies the front of our hotel with our hotel in the rear. Our hotel shares some of the old features, but has been upgraded with carpets and wall papers and upholstery that are warm and attractive to the eye. The bathroom floors are heated. The free-standing bathtub is perfect for our cold snowy nights. Breakfast is excellent buffet with all pickled herrings I love. Overall it was a great choice.
Two foods in Norway are unusual: reindeer and whale. When in Bergen one ought to try them. Afterall, where else can you try them? For me, once is enough. I had them when we were here three years ago. I had them again this time. They are more interesting than they are delicious and I can move on to herring which I love.
We went to hear the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Afterward, we hung out with orchestra members. Above their stage, the players operate their own canteen. They have a little bar. They take turns staffing it and sell stuff at cost. Everyone we met was welcoming and interesting.
The climate here is cold. Everything is snowy. The narrow lanes we walk are cushioned with snow in a good way. The city sidewalks are slick with ice in a perilous way. It is chilly, chilly, chilly. And I love it. It suits me. If I am feeling lazy and sedentary, I can go outside and the inertia disappears instantly. I become vividly alert and happy.
On Friday we will board the ship, the Lofoten. It will be my first time overnight at sea. I admit I have butterflies. I do not know how I will respond, but I can't wait to find out!
Marlow and Wes
Bergen, Norway
Thursday, 14 December 2012
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