Today was the perfect day to be in Bergen: Mid to high sixties, bright and sunny, with just the right amount of breeze. Our tour was walking in the city and a cruise out in the harbor on a sailboat. The boat we were on, The Galleon Loyal, is a 140 year old wood ship that was used for shipping cod (what else?). The Germans confiscated it during WWII, as they did all ships and boats except for the small fishing boats. But now it is back in Norway where it belongs. We had an al fresco (apologies for the term) lunch of open-faced king crab sandwiches, prosecco and strawberries and cream. It was a fine, soft day for sure.
Bergen is situated between Songefjord on the north and Hardangerfjord on the south. It’s a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site because a Kontor (kind of like an outpost) of the Hanseatic League was situated here called Bryggen. I will leave the research to my readers at this point should there be sufficient interest, but basically the Hanseatic League was a confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northwestern and Central Europe from about the late 1100s to around the 1450s. Anyway, Bryggen is a group of historic buildings that are nearly all red (see pics). They brought goods in by sea and stored them in the upper floors of the building, then had a store front on the street level where the goods were sold.
On the street today at twelve noon they shot cannons from the fort to celebrate the 45th birthday of Haakon, the Crown Prince of Norway. One of the ladies in our group almost had a heart attack. The expression “jumping out of your skin” came to mind. These Norwegians just love their royalty.
I feel kind of sorry for PeeWee (Ian, the guy who laughs like Peewee Herman). The airline lost his luggage and he has had to wear pretty much one outfit the entire time, jeans and a T-shirt. Not sure why he hasn’t bought some new clothes. I guess he just sends his jeans and T-shirt out to be laundered every night.
A. Roam of My Own: Travels With Annie 
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