May 25 - Last Day in Bergen and the Hurtigruten

On Friday morning, after eating breakfast at the usual place, we walked along the Bryggen area and explored Bergenhus and the Hokenshallen and the Rosenkrantztarnet with a variety of sun, clouds and rain.

The Bryggen area is comprised of about 40 small wooden houses which are painted in bright colours. They were placed on squares, streets and narrow alleys and date back to the 18th & 19th centuries. The foundations of the oldest buildings in Bergen date from the 12th century.

Hakon’s Hall was built during the reign of King Hakon Hakonsson between 1247 and 1261. It was the largest royal residency in the 13th century when Bergen was the political centre of Norway. Rosenkrantz Tower was built in the 1560’s by the governor of Bergen Castle, Erik Rosenkrantz. It was both a residence and a fortified tower. Earlier structures from King Magnus the Lawmender’s keep from about 1260, and Jorgen Hansson’s defences from about 1520 are all part of Bergenhus.

We drove out to the Arboretet og Botanisk hage pa Milde with Lill in the early afternoon. We walked around the arboretum for about 2 hours. Wow, what a display of Rhodadendrons in a beautiful forest park setting. And then, it was on to Lysoen Island so that we could see Ole Bull’s villa/castle. Ole Bull (1810-1880) was a Norwegian violin virtuoso in 1873, and was referred to as the Paganini of the north. He had a lot of influence on musicians of the time, and is credited with discovering Edvard Grieg. Lysoen Island is where he spent his summers.

After a quick dinner with Lill and Kjell, we boarded the Hurtigruten, the ’coastal express’ in the early evening. The ship sailed promptly at 2000, right on schedule. When we got on board, everyone was given a schedule of meetings to review safety features and other announcements. The English-speaking passengers had their meeting right at 2000 … yes, just as we leaving. The 15 minute meeting took 40 minutes, so we missed seeing our entire departure from the Bergen area. Need we say that this was more than a little frustrating…however, how can we complain!

We sailed north along Hjeltefjorden parallel to the coast, and inboard of the Oygarden Island chain. Tucked in behind these islands, the sea was relatively quiet, but once we got past Hellesoy Lighthouse, we were exposed to the strong west winds from the North Sea, and the ship began to roll and pitch. We managed to eat supper (open seating) before reaching the open water. The skies were heavy and threatening as we headed for cabin #603 and sleep.