Travel Notes, Chapter#7, Back to Bergen

We completed the round trip Sognefjord in a nutshell and came back to Bergen.  Now, let me give some brief information about Bergen as I promised in my previous post, before we left for Flam.

The city center of Bergen is located west in the municipality, facing the fjord of Byfjorden. It is situated among a group of mountains known as the Seven Mountains, although the number is a matter of definition. My beautiful city Istanbul is known with its seven hills, too.

Bergen experiences plentiful rainfall in all seasons, this is because the city is surrounded by mountains that cause moist North Atlantic air to undergo orographic lift, yielding abundant rainfall. 

This photo taken in July! The weather conditions change so fast, but it was mostly cloudy and heavy rainy when we were there.

I hope this photo is so meaningful with the general weather conditions in Bergen! A boat with the name of  "Sunseeker"!

However,, Bergen is well known for having the mildest winter climate, though with a lot of precipitation, of all cities in the Nordic countries.  The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, and the mountains protect the city from cold winds from the north, north-east and east.

Due to weather conditions we've had to postpone our Mount Floyen tour next day.
We went to Floibanen funicular queue next day, early in the morning, however it was crowded, waited for a while. It was a breathtaking view from top. 

Glad it was sunny when we reached there, afterwords rain started but we took good photos in that short period of time.   

In that heavy rain, we enjoyed to follow-up the synchronized model funicular wagons on the roof of the old station building. We also liked those lovely  goats, they were in nature and looking happy with the high attention of the visitors. They 

The funicular was too crowded, especially in our return, it  was completely full, the door closed hardly, it was impossible to move. Maybe it could be better to have a limitation for each chamber during high season periods. Anyway, it was so nice experience, worth to visit to see that wonderful panoramic view.

I would like to share one interesting place which is Gamle Bergen Museum, it is worth to visit, especially if you are a history, antique, vintage staff lover like me, this is perfect address for you. 

But, visit before 14:00 to complete tour and join actors performances.

It was really an enjoyable tour wandering around the historic buildings which have been restored and filled with original items from past eras.

This photo shows the decorations style of little girl room from past era! I really enjoyed this museum, I wish we could go there earlier to visit more places like this one. They close at 16:00 p.m.

Its garden is so nice too. We went there by bus from Fish Market, an easy transportation, indeed.

By the way, Fish Market is one of the famous place in Bergen. I'll write details about it later in foods chapter.

There are so many statues, monuments in Bergen, one of the is Seamen’s Monument,  located at Torgallmenningen.

created by the sculptor Dyre Vaa, was unveiled on 1950 in honor of Norwegian seamen’s achievements through the ages, their contribution at the ocean since the Vikings.

It is so obvious that, sea, seamen and ships are a part of their life in Norway.  

They precisely protect their past, this an old vessel still works in good conditions as a sight-seeing tour boat.

This photo is from our hotel room!

As I've explained  before, after completing a round fjord tour we arrived back to Bergen by ferry from Balestrand and reached to hotel in a few minutes from ferry dock, Hotel  Augustin  was a good choice, indeed.  It is just a short walk from the harbor and the old town. Our room's panoramic harbor view was so nice, I wish we could stay longer, I could watch daily routine of the harbor life!  I come from a naval family, sea&ships have a special place in my life. 

Lille Lungegardsvannet is a small artificial lake in Bergen.

A view against to Mount Floyen at dusk during white nights in July 2016.
So, I hope these are enough to tell Bergen shortly. I still have lots of details, the next chapter will be Stavanger!