Our last day on the MS Finnmarken (July 4) dawned clear and bright, perfect weather for sailing up the fjords into Bergen.  We passed under two bridges on the way in, plus many others over the past few days.  All the major fjord bridges in Norway seem to be about the same height – just tall enough that the Hurtigruten ferries can slip under them with a few feet to spare.

Bergen is built in the middle of seven mountains, not quite where you’d expect the second largest city in Norway to be!  We were excited to explore Bergen’s historic wharf area, called Bryggen, marked by the rows of gabled warehouses shown on all the T-shirts and in our photos.  These were dominated for centuries by the Hanseatic League, who operated an autonomous outpost within the city to profit richly off the hard work of the local fishermen. 

We learned more about this era on our visit to a restored guildhouse where they prepared the fish (example shown below) and sorted it into 23 grades of varying quality. In the winter they retired to warmer quarters where the museum exhibits led us to believe the main pastimes consisted of drinking beer and hazing the youngest apprentices.

We ate dinner harborside at the city fish market, soaking up the sun and the breeze.  The fish and chips were very fresh but the market’s summer ale left a bit to be desired.

After dinner, what better way to digest than to ride the funicular railway to the top of Mt. Fløyen and experience Bergen from above.  We were treated to panoramic views of the city and the drifting strains of a major outdoor rock concert somewhere below.

While the others headed back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep, N+S had a date with some hiking trails atop the mountain.  The Norwegians really know how to make a park!  Photos can’t really capture it, but if you’re ever in Bergen, don’t miss mossy tussocks, huge boulders, sudden vistas through the woods, “Do Not Feed the Trolls” and other helpful signs, amazingly well-marked paths, and an inviting ropes course tucked into a pine grove and open to all passersby.  We wished we could have kept hiking all night, but this far south, the sun sets at 11:30 PM, and we had a busy day planned for the next morning.