Bergen, Vestland, NorwayOur Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret
A Very Pleasant Surprise
We are not often pleased to arrive at a destination during stormy weather. But I think we were both highly relieved that the heavy rain which welcomed us to the pretty city of Bergen was a great excuse for doing - absolutely nothing.
Alan had done a great job with our travel itinerary and while selecting our accommodation, he had been most impressed with the Clarion Collection hotels of Scandinavia. All highly rated, they were centrally located with charming old style architecture and beautifully appointed rooms.
Furthermore, the hotel cost included full breakfast, "fika" (afternoon tea with a sweet treat) as well as an evening buffet meal of starters, main dishes and desserts. We found this feature to be super-convenient travelling in northern winters when venturing out at night into a snowy and often bitterly cold outdoors to explore restaurants was not an attractive option. And although the food was not fine dining by any means, in two out of three of the Clarion Collection hotels in which we stayed, the standard was very acceptable.
I must say however, that I found it odd that the hotel chain allowed for pets, or rather dogs in the rooms - something that is almost unheard of at top hotels in our country of Australia. I wondered if they would entertain the idea of cats. Probably. After all, some of the dogs we saw were massive Great Danes.
We were very pleasantly surprised with our Bergen Hotel. Greeted by friendly and professional reception staff, we were informed that as the hotel was fully booked for a national school sports event, we had been upgraded to one of their superior rooms with splendid views overlooking the UNESCO Heritage Listed Bryggen area with its fine old world architecture and lovely harbour. A wonderful welcome for two weary people.
After checking in, we sat in the stylish lounge area and enjoyed a few welcome drinks. It was however, best not to look at the prices. Just one gin and tonic was about USD 20. And that was something we just had to get used to.... It was however, after such a challenging journey, so nice to be able to at last relax with no commitments nor deadlines of tours or flights.
I'm ashamed to say that we spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping in our charmingly appointed room, reassured that in any case, there was not much else we could do. The rain was torrential.
DAY TWO IN BERGEN CITY
A Tedious Way to Fill in A Day....
Prior to our departure from Greenland, we had been notified by Iceland Air that we had a limited amount of time within which we could lodge a claim for our out of pocket expenses for the loss of Alan's luggage.
Of course, the matter and timing of making a claim was always geared their way. When most people are still travelling, it is enormously difficult to photograph and piece together receipts and as well as prepare documents of justification for purchases. I remarked to Alan that we should have been compensated more for the stress and inconvenience caused by the company's appalling incompetence.
Once again, it was pouring rain. And as we both were suffering with heavy colds and gastric issues, the most useful way - if not the most tedious - was to prepare our claim. After all, in our condition, venturing any distance from the safety of the hotel toilets was a dangerous mission....
My highlight of the day was Alan's attempts to make waffles with the hotel's electric waffle maker. As part of the hotel fika, it made for an amusing time just watching him. Sadly, the resulting waffles were disappointing. Soggy and tasteless, they needed something like a huge dose of butter and possibly a large slurp of honey or maple syrup. "A good thing we that we can barely eat anything anyway", remarked a defeated Alan...
A Brief Glimpse of the City of Bergen
Bergen is a city and port located on the island-fragmented south-western coast of Norway. The main port and business section is located on a peninsula projecting into the surrounding Byfjord (The City Fjord), bordered to the north by the inlet and harbour of Vågen (for small ships) and to the south by Pudde Bay (for larger vessels).
The city is surrounded by steep high mountains, resulting in it being often referred to as the "city of seven mountains". Many of its municipal suburbs are located on surrounding islands.
Today, Bergen is the second largest city in Norway. Boasting a population of almost 300,000, the municipality covers an area of some 465 square km. It is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, an offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, media, tourism and finance.
Bergen Port is Norway's busiest seaport in terms of freight and passengers, with over 300 cruise ships berthing each year, bringing nearly half a million passengers into Bergen city. Interestingly, almost half of the visitors are either British or German.
Bergen experiences a surprisingly mild, wet climate for its high latitude. It is influenced considerably by the Gulf Stream which keeps the seas relatively warm. The city is also protected from severe winds by the surrounding mountains, providing Bergen with a relatively pleasant climate.
Bergen dates back to the 1020's when trading is thought to have begun. According to tradition, Bergen was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre who named it Bjørgvin or "the green meadow amongst the mountains".
A trade centre for centuries, Bergen exported fish and animal furs and imported grain and manufactured goods.
Bergen served as Norway's capital city in the 13th century. And from the end of the 13th century became a major trading city of the Hanseatic League, a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe.
In the 14th century, German Hanseatic merchants acquired control over Bergen's trade; their influence in a weakened Norway lasting until the 17th century.
Bergen remained the largest city in Norway until the 1830's when it was replaced by the capital of Christiania - now the modern city of Oslo.
Throughout its history, Bergen was repeatedly destroyed by fires, most notably in 1702 when 90% of the city was destroyed, and 1916 when 300 buildings in the city centre burned to the ground. In response to these events Bergen now boasts wide paved streets and the replacement of many of the wooden structures by brick and stone dwellings.
There was no doubt about Bergen. Postcard pretty with beautifully maintained old Baroque Revival buildings and Monopoly-look-alike pitched roofed houses and cottages, the city exuded a slightly surreal feeling. Understandably, it was a very tourist-oriented destination.
DAY THREE IN BERGEN CITY
Time for a Walk
I was worried about Alan. He was still sick and had eaten virtually nothing for weeks. I had made a slight recovery from my stomach issues but like Alan, I could not face eating. I was also suffering from weird "electric shock" headaches, something very unusual for me. Whatever bugs we had picked up, they were truly woeful.
We would just begin to recover when another form of flu like symptoms or more stomach issues hit us. Even after we returned home and were on several doses of antibiotics, it took me some six months to fully recover, and Alan even longer.
I was especially concerned as were catching the train from Bergen to Oslo the next day. And the thought of a very weak Alan and myself trying to lug our masses of luggage onto the train was for me, all-consuming. When I expressed my concerns to Alan, he replied "Oh, you are always overthinking. The train won't be like Russian ones. It will be level with the platform. You've been looking forward to this trip for such a long time. Just stop worrying...."
It's true. I hold a PhD in Overthinking & Worry. In fact, my brain can readily operate like a Google search engine. But not quite as helpfully.... "You need something to worry about? I can think of a thousand reasons!"
It was time for me to clear my head and take a walk around the city. It was our third day and we had seen nothing of Bergen. But when I tried to encourage Alan to join me he merely replied "No, it's raining". But I knew he was sick. And indeed, it was still raining....
My City Walk
To my relief, the roads surrounding our hotel in the old historic area known as Bryggen, looked relatively easy to navigate. But then again, you may well recall my appalling sense of direction and my not so successful navigation of Tromsø city earlier in our travels. Even with Google Maps, I am hopeless. And amusing as it is for most people, it is a genuine disability for me.
Our hotel was very centrally located and apparently regarded as one of the better hotels of Bergen city. Situated right on the foreshores of the harbour, it was right in the middle of historic Bryggen and close to ancient buildings such as the 13th century Rosenkrantz Tower, the 11th century St Mary's Church, the only remaining of twelve churches that were built in Bergen during the reign of King Olav Kyrre, as well as numerous other elegant and impressive buildings lining Slottsgatan.
Although the rain had cleared somewhat, fortunately I thought of borrowing one of the hotel's umbrellas. I have never been to a hotel that does not allow you the use of a complimentary umbrella, providing of course that it is returned. But no, I had to pay for the privilege. A small issue but one I found particularly irritating.
My walk took me south-east down Slottsgaten and through the Bryggen area. The rain had eased, and it was pleasant and easy walking along the foreshores of the Vågen Harbour inlet. To the left of Slottsgatan were rows of very sophisticated Bryggen designer stores as well as lots of souvenir shops. It wasn't difficult to work out that this was indeed the prestigious and tourist end of town.
Interestingly, there were not a lot of people around and certainly not many who looked like tourists. From the pace of their determined walks and forward focus, they looked to be local workers or residents. All on their phones, of course....
The architecture was elegant and interesting, each building having steep pitched roofs, and built neatly right against their neighbouring buildings, giving the skyline a kind of saw-tooth appeal. Some were wooden, other more imposing buildings were constructed from brick or stone.
On the Vågen Harbour side, the buildings appeared to be constructed right on the water. For someone who until this trip, had never travelled in Scandinavia, it looked just like what I would expect of a Norwegian city. Everything in order and very attractive. Here is a video of Vågen harborside: https://youtu.be/pboetaAGfvg
I wandered left as the street took me past the end of Vågen Harbourside and past a major intersection into Torget Street. This was the Vågsbunnen district and from the number of bars, cafes and restaurants, it was a very popular and pleasant place to dine. The architecture had changed from the “Monopoly-styled“ side-by-side structures to pretty chocolate box stand-alone buildings in colourful hues of candy pink, bright cream and reds, many with highly ornate roof patterns and attractive white trim.
A number of narrow laneways led to the outskirts of the city. Nestled at the base of some very steep mountains, Bergen enjoyed an attractive backdrop of some very substantial apartments or residences. With stunning water views and close proximity to central Bergen, one would guess, it was an expensive part of town.
A busker played traditional music on a piano accordion, adding to the rather lovely ambience to the Vågsbrunnen part of central Bergen. Here is a video of Central Bergen: https://youtu.be/QB.03-cgZzM
And then the rain fell..... It was time to head back to the hotel.
On my way back at the end of Vågen Harbour, I came across an imposing bronze statue of Ludvig Holberg. Born in Bergen in 1684, Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright.
Influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque, he is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature. Interestingly, he is best known for his writing of comedies for the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen. Furthermore, this talented man's works about natural and common law were read widely by many Danish students over a period of 200 years, from 1736 to 1936
Intrigued by this person of whom I had never heard, I took an obligatory photo then walked back as quickly as I could through steady rain to the warmth and comfort of our hotel.
A Quiet Afternoon
I arrived back at the hotel to find that Alan had packed his bags for our coming train trip to Oslo the next day. I had forgotten all about this onerous task. I groaned... But it was necessary to pack beforehand as our train departed Bergen railway station at the relatively early time of 8:15 am.
This was serious stuff as it meant admitting that I no longer needed my snow boots and would have to take everything out of my luggage and totally re-pack. Thankfully, I found one of the cleaning staff who allowed me to use her vacuum cleaner to finally "cryovac" all my bulky padded gear and finally convince everything back into my bag. There was however, a lot of pushing, shoving and sitting upon the obstinate pile of winter clothing. Why clothing increases in volume when you have it out of your case, I have no idea. And it's nothing to do with vacuum packing!
We shared some beer, before I embarked on my final walk around Bergen. Consumed with all the challenges of our trip, I had completely forgotten to buy some gifts for friends. With our limited luggage capacity however, they had to be very small.
By that time I had no choice other than to visit some of the souvenir shops. The goods of course were very tacky and in the end I settled for some fridge magnets, scarves, hats and pens. I laughed that all were made in China.
My walk took me to the lovely old Holy Cross Church and past what is known as Cultural House, a function centre for weddings, meeting etc. I was intrigued with another stylish, grand old building. It was in fact, the local Starbucks of Bergen....
An Early Evening
I arrived back at the hotel to the raucous shrieks and laughter of numerous schoolgirls. Aged around 15 years, they were having a wild time.
Over dinner, we chatted with two of their coaches who told us they were part of the national Norwegian Team for Girls' Football, and that their grand final game was the next day. The men were charming. Smiling and shaking their heads, they told us they were well aware that the young women would be up all night talking. And goodness knows what else....
Thankfully, it was a quiet evening for us. Certainly no sounds nor signs of wild schoolgirls.
Lying in bed that night, I wondered just what would be in stall for us the next day on our seven hour train trip. I had to admit, it had not been an easy journey....
2025-05-22