OUR 27,200 STEP DAY

The City of Bergen, Norway

OUR 27,200 STEP DAY

BERGEN NORWAY

October 10th

The morning rained so we decided just to stroll around town and see the sights in Bergen. First we went to the ferry to check on availability to boat to Stavanger, but I don't think we will after all.

Bergen is a good walking city, as much of it is compact and we were staying not far from downtown. A lot of the architecture is interesting, and old. Some dates back to the 1760's. Five or six stories high seems to be a standard height, with many built close together.


Down near the dock there is an old fish market area with a lot of tourist shops and restaurants. Also, they had these amazing alleys that were close and just caught my attention.

The Alleys

THE CASTLE: BERGENHUS FESTNING

Bergenhus is one of the oldest and best preserved fortresses in  Norway. In medieval times it was known as Holman (the Island).

Hakon's Hall was built by king Hakon in the 13th century.
The Rosenkrantz Tower was completed in the 1560's.

THE FUNICULAR, OR NOT...

The Funicular to Floyen

We decided to look for the Funicular, a tram which goes up the side of the mountain (or hill) to Floyen. So, we started wandering up the side of the hill looking for it. The thing we thought was it turned out to be a church (maybe). But then we could see the tram and we were above it, so we kept walking. This is a steep, long climb with amazing views of the city and port below.

Some of it goes along the city streets until it becomes a trail with switchbacks in the forest. We got quite tired and certainly were getting our steps this day, as we ended up with 27,200 by the time we got home (I think that may be a record for us!).

At the top, once we arrived, was a fun park which looked great for kids. There were many troll statues, which is a theme in Norway. Also, we hiked a little further to a lake where the leaves were turning golden yellow.

TROLLSKOGEN / PLAYGROUND

LAKE SKOMAKERDIKET

THE TRAM DOWN

After taking many photos of the city below, we caught the Funicular tram and went to the bottom. The funny thing was...we'd been right there at the entrance, but hadn't recognized it earlier!

The Actual Entrance to the Funicular

Tomorrow we'll take the tram a little out of town to see an old Viking church.