I do like the fact that Norwegians take breakfast very
seriously, and once again amply partook of the offerings on the buffet bar. As
I was finishing my delicious breakfast darkness made way to light (around 7:30
am) and I knew it was time to start my touristic exploration of Bergen . The first order
of business was to walk to the old town, to buy a Bergen card, which should give me free access
to all buses and trams, and a goodly number of museums. I was contemplating all
the wonders I would be able to visit when I suddenly realized I had forgotten
my wallet back at the hotel. Bummer L. So I went back,
retrieved my fortune, and off I went. Incidentally, here everybody has a credit
card and it is only old fashioned tourists like me who carry a stash of cash.
After getting my Bergen
card (310 kronen or about US$40 for two days) I decided to go to one of the
museums in the farthest part of the city. Accordingly I hopped on a bus and
promptly got dragged in a completely different direction than what I had wanted
(this is why I prefer trolleys, who have tracks and cannot make sharp turns).
So I went back to being a pedestrian and enjoyed looking at quaint little
houses and narrow streets. Bergen is a mountain
city, with small houses precariously hanging from the mountainside, not unlike
what one sees in say Guanajuato; of course this is a port city, and in that
regard could be compared to the old town in Lisboa or in Seattle .
My first museum (and the only one today, now that I think
about it) was the Fisheries
Museum Norway in general, and Bergen in particular, are very proud of their
fishing past, although in this times of sustainability that past seems reckless
and cruel. For example, catching enormous hauls of cod and herring, hunting
seals for their pelts, and whales for their blubber, are pretty much a thing of
the past (although both practices were still going in the 1970’s). Today
fishing is heavily regulated through a quota system, the condition of the
fisheries is constantly being assessed by international teams, and a fair
volume of the fish exports of Norway
come from farming of high-value fish like salmon. Back to the museum, the
exhibitions occupy an old fish-mongering warehouse (and I swear the smell of
fish still pervades some of the rooms) and they are cute and somewhat
informative, but not as good as some others I have seen.
After the Fishing Museum I wanted to visit the Hanseatic
Museum , but they were not in the list
of museums that accept my Bergen
card, so I gave them a pass. I do notice that Bergen was one of the cities in the Hansa
League.
By this time I was in the midst of the old part of town, the
Bryggen, so I spent a happy hour wandering through the streets. A funicular
ride took me to the top of Fløyen mountain, where I enjoyed incredible views of
the convoluted coastline and the different sections of the city. I also enjoyed
walking down the mountain, which in its upper reaches is a very pleasant,
albeit steep, city park.
Unfortunately during the summer museums are open only from
11 am to 3 pm, and I had taken a long time for my hiking and sightseeing.
That’s OK. Tomorrow I plan to visit the Maritime
Museum , the History Museum
To finish the day I took advantage of the fact that the Bergen card gives me free
access to buses, jumped in bus 15, and allowed the driver to take me on a long
and twisty way through the residential portions of the city. Eventually the bus
driver told me we were at the end of the line, and that I could take line 14 to
get back to city center. Nice guy! I did a bit of window shopping, had dinner
at a Thai restaurant, and eventually took the tram back to my psychedelic room
at the Magic Hotel. I have been wondering what a typical Norwegian restaurant
looks like, but I don’t think there is such a thing. The “pølsa” or sausage
seems to be the go-to fast food, but otherwise I think one would have to look
for things like Lutfisk to hit an authentic chord. I know from past experience
that Lutfisk is this very “bland” cod fish that is done by soaking the dry cod
in water with lye, and then boiling it to death so any shred of flavor the fish
might had had is gone. You end with a tasteless, soggy mass that could very
well be tofu. The key, it seems, is on the side dishes, which—just like with
tofu—are the way to inject flavor back into the poor old cod.
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