Bergen: A-Wander

The weather promised to stay dry for most of the day.

There were no cruise ships visiting the city. It was still crowded, though, because there was a festival along the waterfront in Bryggen … old vessels, buses, cars.

We decided to put into play our plan to check out the historic Nordnes neighborhood, which a friend had suggested would be less crowded. We took a roundabout way to get there, visiting a couple of churches along the way, and enjoying the back streets of Bergen before the crowds descended.

Our first stop was at the Bergen Domkirke (Cathedral). When we visited Bergen in 2018, the nearly 900 year old church was under restoration, so we’d not visited it then.

Dedicated around 1150 to Norway’s patron saint, Olaf the Holy, the Domkirke is part of the Church of Norway. Quite understated … inside and out; beautiful stained glass windows. Like so much of Bergen, the building was heavily damaged by multiple fires that ravaged the city starting in 1248. It was rebuilt each time … most recently in 1880.

Meandering through narrow, cobblestone streets, we passed one of Bergen’s most popular eateries … a hot dog stand. It was quiet at that point, but on our way back to the apartment this afternoon the line was all the way down the street and around the corner.

Just past the hot dog stand we came to Korskirken (Holy Cross Church). Built around 1150, it was originally in the shape of long church. It wasn’t until the 17th century, after surviving many fires and rebuildings, that it took on its current cruciform shape.

Used as an inclusive social and cultural venue, Korskirken no longer functions as a parish church. In fact, when we stepped inside today, we noticed they were setting up to feed the needy … which might explain why there was a “no photography” sign. Before we left, I took a few shots … pointing the camera in the opposite direction from where food was being doled out.

Our steps eventually took us to Vågen Bay. We stayed on the opposite side from Bryggen since we were heading to Nordnes. The UNESCO-listed buildings were mostly hidden behind the historical boats participating in the festival. We stopped to take a few photos anyway.

I’ll leave our Nordnes meander to the next footprint and wrap this one up with the delicious lunch we had at the Pygmalion Ekocafè overlooking Nedre Korskirkenallmenningen … a square down the street from the church.

It is housed in an old house that dates back to the 18th century, and we were tempted to sit indoors to soak up the ambiance. But the sun was out, so we decided to eat al fresco. Of course, the sun went into hiding by the time our food was served, but we enjoyed it for a while at least. Delicious food; charming hostess.

We would have had dessert at Pygmalion, but the one we were tempted by had sold out. So, we picked up some gelato from a ‘truck-gelateria’ nearby instead.

The day had grown chilly as the breeze off the water had been steadily picking up. Time to head back to the apartment and relax.

Oh, and yes … the rain did hold off until about 8:00p tonight … but it’s now pouring like crazy.Read more