Day 15 - Bergen, Norway

When we awoke clouds hovered over the top of the hills but the prediction was for warm (high 60s) and mostly sunny.  For the first time on this trip we could leave the rain coats and heavy jackets behind!  After breakfast we were off on our bus tour of the city of Bergen, the 2nd largest city in Norway.  It started with a funicular ride up to the top of Mt. Florens where we could see all the way out to the North Sea.

Our guide pointed out the seven mountains that surround the city and took us for a walk in the woods to the little lake where people can canoe.  It was a wonderful spot to hike and so very quiet and peaceful compared to the huge city at the base of the mountain.  There were tall evergreens and lots of trees including aspen as well as moss, rock, wild flowers, wild blueberry bushes, a cascading stream, and cute signs along the hiking paths.

Posters indicated that concerts are often held up here in the evening.  Back near the front was a restaurant, cafe, shop, children's playground and a troll statue.

After our return to the bus we were given a couple hour tour of the city and surrounding communities.  More than 120,000 people live in the city center but far more in the "suburbs".  That was especially evident as we cruised out of the fjord late in the afternoon and saw many homes scattered over the hills and rocky outcroppings.  It has to take a long time to get into town from many of those areas and especially the airport that was almost an hour out of our berth.

The old section of the city was primarily wood structures but not a lot remains due to numerous fires and the fact wood construction is no longer allowed.  Instead most everything is smooth cement all painted in a variety of colors.  Everything is very close together with most of the streets still paved in stone.  Once we were away from the old section streets widened and there was even expressway.

Because we were riding in a bus the whole time it was difficult to get many pictures worth keeping but I did snap one of this rather "ugly" statue of Edvard Grieg in front of the concert hall. Bergen was his hometown.

We did pass the summer palace of the king

As we left Bergen and sailed out the fjord, we passed by lots of lovely scenery and homes built in interesting spots.  This definitely is a  wealthy area as we saw many many pleasure boats and some pretty spectacular homes.

Our guide told us that the oil wells in the North Sea have produced enough income to keep the country free of any national debt.  Yet the prices of goods are very high.