Norway - Bergen - A short hike up Mount Floyen followed by a walking tour of this beautiful city скачать в хорошем качестве

Norway - Bergen - A short hike up Mount Floyen followed by a walking tour of this beautiful city

Bergen, Norway Whilst we were in Norway, we decided to visit the historic city of Bergen. The city has a population of around 300,000 and it is beautifully situated between the sea and the mountains. Historically this enabled it to be a leading port, part of the Hanseatic trading league, and was once the capital of Norway. We caught the funicular at 8.30am up Mount Floyen, which ascends 1,000 feet in 7 minutes, with a couple of stops on the way. We had bought tickets on-line in advance (€6.50 one way). There are lovely new carriages, even though the railway itself is 100 years old. The train is mostly in tunnels, with some glimpses to the harbour. The funicular is used by locals to access their houses on the mountain, as well as by tourists. It was very busy later, so we would definitely recommend getting there early. There are fabulous views from the top, and it gives you a great introduction to the layout of the city. There are free toilets, a cafe (opens at 10am), and several children’s play areas. From the top there are various walks through the forest to lakes, and down to the town. We followed the path to Skomakerhiet Lake - a beautiful 10-minute walk through the trees with bar-b-queues, a cafe, and toilets. Continuing we arrived at a road, and followed the paths to another small lake. It was beautiful in the early morning air, with insects and bird life. We followed the road back to the cable car station, where many more people had now arrived. We decided to walk the 3.3km back into the town, following the road down with glimpses of the town between the trees, passing a barrier to stop cars, and arrived back at the bottom funicular station at 11.20am, where a large queue had now formed. The previous day we had gone on-line and booked a walking tour with Guru free walking tour company. We met up with Ivan the tour guide at 12.30pm by the statue of Edward Grieg, with about 20 others. Ivan was extremely knowledgeable and an excellent guide for the next 2 and a half hours. At the end of the tour, he is paid by how good people think his tour was. We learnt so much, firstly passing the statues of Ole Bull, the father of modern Norway, Henrik Ibsen, a famous author, and Nordahl Grieg, a war hero. We passed the theatre, brightly painted houses, steep alleyways with special steps in the middle for the horses. We went to the indoor and outdoor fish markets, and had free samples of whale, and reindeer. The tour ends in the historic area of Bryggen, which in 1979 became a UNESCO natural and cultural site. On April 20th 1944, there was an explosion aboard a boat in the harbour, which destroyed much of the roofs of Bryggen, there was also a fire in 1955, reducing half of the area to ashes. Many thought that the remaining area should be demolished, but by 1962, it was all saved by a renovation team. Work is still on-going to restore the buildings based on traditional building methods from 1702. We would recommend a day in Bergen, there is plenty to do, 2 hills with funiculars, walking in forests, walking tours and museums to visit. It is a very pretty town, and has good communication links with other areas of Norway. Bergen apparently has 200 rainy days a year, it was the end of August when we visited and we had beautiful weather, if not rather hot. We were so lucky as it had been a very wet August with floods in the east of Norway. Be prepared for all weather!!! Information The Tourist office is located upstairs near the fish market, with toilets nearby. It was very well stocked, and busy when we called in. Instead of taking the funicular, we could have walked up Mount Floyen, but we were slightly short of time. https://ulriken643.no/en/ https://www.guruwalk.com/bergen https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to... https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather