It was a wonderful day with cousin, Arnhild, despite the coldish temperatures. She traveled five hours to meet us here in Bergan and we had a fantastic day together!
While waiting for Arnhild, we visited the Fish Market, which once again had changed from eight years ago. They now have added eating dining areas so you can have fresh fish immediately prepared as you wish.
Once Arnhild arrived, we walked to Bryggen which was once the busy part of the city during the Middle Ages. Both the oldest wooden buildings and the thick cultural layers located below ground appear on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
We visited the exhibition at Bryggen called “The Underground.” In 1955, part of Bryggen burned down and a 13-year old archaelogical excavation took place and uncovered hundreds of thousands of objects. The place gives visitors a chance to understand the life in Bryggen’s medieval life. One fascinating object was a Guddal-garment which is nearly one thousand years old, and one of few intact pieces of Norwegian medieval clothing.
The buildings of Bryggen are fascinating with architecture far ahead of its time. They are continually working on restoring each building, and there were were places this time where one could look in and see the work being done. Each time I’ve been here (this is my fifth time in Bergen), I’ve seen different parts being restored.
While shopping is always fun in Bryggen, there were two cruise ships in plus all the visitors coming in for Syttende Mai, so it made things crowded.
Lunch was at the fish market was both unique and tasty. Besides the smørbrød, we decided to share a slice of the famous layered white cake with raspberry filling and marzipan frosting. Yum, yum!
Since Arnhild had never been on the funicular, we took it up to see the view of Bergen and surrounding fjord. Despite the cold temperatures and cloudy skies, we had fairly decent views.
Throughout the day we saw many stores with windows decorated for Syttende Mai or flags and decorations for sale. On the way back to the hotel, a group of women from the group #selfmadeBergen were lining the trees along Festplassen with cloths looking like Norwegian flags. It was their gift to the city of Bergen.
Arnhild returned to our hotel room and we spent the rest of her time talking. It was so wonderful to be with her again! She’s the best! WE are so lucky to have such wonderful family members in Norway!
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