A Day in Bergen

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7th September 2023 

The Viking Jupiter will remain in Bergen Harbour today, before leaving to sail to Amsterdam at 6pm this evening. Various shore excursions are offered and we have opted to do a fjord cruise which takes in the harbour areas of Bergen and surrounds. Somehow we ended up on the earliest departure time, so need to be on the dock by 7.35am to meet up with our tour guide.

Bergen is Norway's second largest city with a population of only around 280,000. Oslo, the largest city has a population of around 700,000.

It is an overcast day and there is a threat of late rain this afternoon. Bergen is one of the wettest cities in Europe, so we have been pretty lucky so far.

After a short walk from our ship, around 250m, we arrive at our cruise vessel, The Atloy, a converted steam boat built in 1931.



Whilst it was pretty basic, it was comfortable and seemed to fit the setting of Bergen and it's history well. Our tour guide was very good and we had constant commentary through personal receivers, supplied by Viking, throughout the cruise.

For much of it's history, the prosperity of Bergen revolved around fishing, and it still is an important contributor tot he economy, although Oil and Gas are clearly Norways major earners since the discovery of oil in the 1960's.



Houses built over the water date back to the days when fishing was the dominant industry.


A bit of a blend of modern and traditional architecture

Water views seem to be pretty common in Bergen, even this school on top of the hill has a great location.


Nice location for a school


This upmarket suburb is called Sunny Bay


A nice private yacht anchored near Sunny Bay

Gamle Bergen is a reconstruction of Old Bergen, with traditional houses moved there and it is now an outdoor museum, with actors dressed in traditional dress acting out the traditions of Bergen of old. It was established as a way of preserving the history of Bergen.


 Gamle Bergen


Sharon and John taking in the scenery

The cruise covered the area in the map below concentrating on the areas around the two harbours.





This harbour has a small container terminal and a bridge across it.

Once past the bridge there are some nice residential areas.





Housing is apparently cheaper on the non city side of the bridge, but the quality looks pretty good

There is also a cruise terminal in this harbour with a large German cruise ship in port, a similar sized ship from the same shipping line is berthed in the terminal we are at which is on the other side of the peninsula that separates the two ports.



This is the only graffiti we have seen in Bergen

According to our guide, the upmarket area of Bergen is the area below located towards the end of the peninsula dividing the two ports.



Located in the same area is this swimming area where the locals swim in the harbour or in a heated saltwater pool. They even have a tower with diving platforms.

We pass around the tip of the peninsula and the Viking Jupiter comes into view as we enter the harbour where we are berthed.


In an otherwise very tidy place, they is a bit of a renovators opportunity and we round the peninsula on the right hand shore. 



No doubt in amongst these photos you cannot help but notice large orange coloured workboats interspersed with cruise vessels and other ships in the harbours. These are work vessels that support the offshore oil rigs. The one below is also fitted with a helipad.



Our cruise takes us further into the harbour where get some great views of the city from the harbour.


Bryggen


Looking toward the city end of the harbour and the open seafood markets


Mount Floyen Funicular Rail

The afternoon weather had deteriorated quite a bit and we decided to give Mt Floyen as miss (we have been their previously), and in this weather it was probably not a good idea.


The cruise boat we were on this morning passed very close to Viking Jupiter this afternoon 

We filled the afternoon with a bit of rest, attendance at a talk on the Hanseatic League, and dinner tonight  at the Chefs Table.

After dinner there was a function at the Star Theatre to introduce key staff members and the onboard entertainers and lecturers

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