What a beautiful morning! The sky is blue and from what we’ve been told, Bergen is usually overcast. We put on our walking shoes and going out to explore the town.

Our hotel is in a central location right off a nice public square. There are gardens, statues, fountains and the smell of bakeries. lol. I won’t lie, I’m kinda hooked on cinnamon rolls. The square has a reflecting pool by the Monument of Sailors. Imagine how many hundreds of years the Vikings have been known for their great sailors.

Next we walked to the old harbor of Bergen. We didn’t eat breakfast because we wanted to go to the fish market for lunch. We walked past it on our walk. Bob was mesmerized. lol. I will admit, I’m not a huge seafood lover BUT really enjoy mild, white fish (halibut, cod, haddock, grouper). I had fabulous halibut on this trip. I really looked forward to taking Bob to this fish market for lunch because he loves ALL seafood and enjoy watching him enjoy. You know what I mean?

Walked the narrow, cobblestone streets and admired all the old architecture. I appreciate a place that honors their heritage and continually work to preserve it vs others that tear it down to build new. I love history, good or bad and respect those that don’t erase it. That being said, we came across an old merchant’s shop that was having some work done. There was a sign explaining, they continue to keep this building in tact and use only the ancient Norwegian methods to do so.

It was interesting going through the shops on the waterfront. Not a one was straight or plumb. We climbed a staircase that led to a 2nd level merchant. Hold on! The steps were very crooked and unlevel. We purchased some pretty Christmas ornaments in that store and didn’t fall down the stairs leaving.

We continued to walk along the harbor and saw these giant, oil rig ships (off shore supply vessels). They are used for towing, mooring and positioning oil rigs and platforms, as well as providing support services. Several were in port. We were hoping to see an oil rig while we were in the North Atlantic but guessing we may have passed them while we were sleeping.

We continued to walk along the harbor. We saw the Rosenkrantz Tower again. What a beautiful structure. Then we saw the Viking Vela still docked. Hmmm, we were joking about sneaking back on. We went into some more shops that had your typical Norwegian wool sweaters, jackets, hats, furs and even fur slippers. The sweaters were tempting, but living in Florida, I had to pass. Lots of trolls everywhere.

It’s time for lunch. We walked back to the Fish Market that sits right on the harbor. We had a seat inside a very large tent. The menu was endless. I know it was difficult for Bob to narrow it down. I told him, this was a special dinner and order as much as he wanted. lol. I ordered Cod. Bob ordered The Small Symphony which included: muscles, shrimp, langostinos (like small lobster), stone crab claws, snow crab and king crab. Bob’s dinner cost 849 Norwegian Krone which equals $83 US. Worth every penny! He said it was the best seafood dinner he has ever had and that’s saying something (he’s no amateur)! BTW, we were surprised to see ‘whale’. Not something we would order. Certainly, controversial.

We had to walk off our lunch so we continued to explore the streets of Bergen. We came across a beautiful church but it was not open to go inside. We loved the narrow, ancient streets. Later that evening, we found our way to another bakery to enjoy our last cinnamon roll. Headed back to our hotel to pack. We are leaving in the morning for our scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo.

We noticed that hotel room doors open out vs in. You open with a key card, but once you leave the room and close the door, the only way to lock it was use the key card. Many people were just closing the door thinking it was locked.

We had a delightful day exploring on our own. Bergen was a lovely place to visit!