Today we’re gonna be taking a look at the city of Bergen. Norway a place known for its beautiful landscape expensive prices. And surprisingly it’s up-and-coming street art scene. Bergen boasts a much bigger footprint than that it’s a major center for trade since 1028 E and with a current population of 280,000. It’s widely known for its higher education, media, International shipping routes, and tourism. The latter of which has exploded in the last few years.
The Fish Market
Go ahead and start with a fish market because like I said fishing has been a major aspect of bergen’s economy for hundreds of years opening in 1280. Today the market consists of an indoor market which is open year-round and an outdoor market which is open during summer. Now the market has gotten fairly touristy so the prices will be a bit inflated. Being said all the fish is insanely fresh and absolutely delicious. So you end up not feeling too bad about paying a bit more. You can pretty much pick any of the stalls because they also essentially the same stuff. But definitely wander around for a bit and check out the different stalls to see which has the freshest looking fish.
The Fjords
Try and tackle the biggest tourist attraction in Bergen and that is its fjords. And a fjord is basically a narrow body of water surrounded by huge jagged cliffs or mountains. That is created over thousands of years by melting glaciers. And Norway has one of the largest concentrations of these in the world. It’s the kind of picture that you put on the postcard they’re just that iconic. Now there are a ton of different fjords that you can travel to. While in Bergen depending on how much time you have.
Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf
The Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf was the old port of Bergen. Was the center of power for the Hanseatic League in the city. Now for those of you who don’t know the Hanseatic League was a collective of German merchant guilds. They came to dominate maritime trade for over three centuries. Even though they weren’t considered a state. They were the powerhouse of Europe during this time. Today it’s a Unesco world heritage site and has sprung to life dozens of arts and crafts shops. However, if you still want to find the unique authentic atmosphere of the Hanseatic period don’t be afraid to follow some of the narrower alleyways to the back of the buildings. It’ll get less touristy the farther back you go just cut them.
Bergenhus Fortress
Taking a look at the fortress of Bergen and the tower specifically was pretty interesting. Here we have your classic 18th-century ladder check out they covered pretty much. The entire fortresses history including a German ammunition ship blowing up the harbor that wounded like 3,000 people and almost destroyed the entire fortress. There’s also a dining hall which you have to pay extra to get access to. I don’t really recommend it it’s literally just room after room of tables and chairs. It never ends I’ve been sort of a huge dining hall King Arthur style. Kind of cool but not really worth the extra money. The fortress itself is actually still an active military post. I guess you would say you’ll see every now and then. You’ll see soldiers kind of rub in the ground which sort of adds the effect.
Mount Floyan
So next on the list we have number five Mount floyan which is one of the most popular mountains to visit. It gives you spectacular 360-degree views of the city. So naturally, there’s gonna be a lot of tourists. Now there are two options you can either hike up or you can take the funicular which will take about eight minutes and cost you $125 million. Explore some of the trails that start from there. And then just walking back down depending on the hike you choose.
Food
Now there is a restaurant up there but the prices of course as you can imagine are very high. So I’d recommend stair and clear from that and bringing your own snacks and water and so forth. So the staple of any international trip should be discovering the cultures, food which can tell you a lot about the people and the place that you’re going to. And Norway is no different. Traditional Norwegian cuisine is based largely on materials readily available. Which means the freshest of ingredients is the name of the game. The dishes aren’t necessarily complicated but it’s how you prepare that makes it. Special one of the classic dishes is called small brook which is essentially an open-faced sandwich.
But they combine so many different unique ingredients that make it really special. And of course, as I’ve said before the diet is centered mostly on fish. So trying to eat as much as you can. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t seek out other Norwegian delicacies. So right now I’m on the hunt for bargains famed reindeer hot dog tablet crispy onion. And some other Norwegian specialties supposed to be pretty good and one of the cheapest meals you can get here.
Street Art
Last but not least number of seven street art. Now I’ve always been a huge proponent of street art because I think it gives the character that’s unique to the city. And in many ways, it’s reflective of the local culture. And burton’s street art scene has been explosive with hundreds. If not thousands of pieces covering its walls. There’s even a website Bergen street art where you can find the latest works and newest pieces interestingly enough. The famous Street artist Banksy actually made a visit here in 2000 way before. He was well known and completed eight pieces. Many of which had been covered up by the city not knowing that later on, they would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars hindsight’s 2020.
