Bergen: Nordnes A-Wander

After stopping to take photos of the boats along Vågen Bay, we continued down the Nordness Peninsula, to the historic neighborhood by the same name.

The peninsula, which is about .6 miles (1 km) long, stretches into Bergen Harbor. Back during the time of the Hanseatic League, Norwegian merchants dominated this part of the peninsula, leaving Bryggen on the opposite shore of Vågen to the League members.

The neighborhood was where judicial decisions were handed down at the courthouse and executions were carried out … including burning witches at the stake during the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the area became infamous as the red light district frequented by sailors, and the dark alleys that provided a safe place for undercover activities.

All that is gone now. In fact, the neighborhood is filled with expensive homes … and all the amenities of family-life, including schools, parks, and churches. The Bergen Aquarium sits at the tip of the peninsula, and not far away is the Nordnes sjobad, an outdoor swimming facility that offers locals and visitors alike a chance to swim in the cold fjord waters before taking advantage of the heated pools to warm up.

Continuing along the waterfront for a short bit, we cut inland when we spotted a park, and continued through the neighborhood streets that were lined with small shops and houses. The streets were all but deserted … offering a peaceful setting for us to explore. At one point, we stopped at Dromedar Kaffebar … get some coffee and rest our feet.

Energized, we somehow found ourselves back along the waterfront briefly … where a ferry terminal afforded another vantage point to photograph Vågen Bay and all the boats. Then, back inland to check out Nykirken, the parish church. It was locked up tight, however, so we continued our walk from there to the forest-like park at the tip of the peninsula.

Before sitting down to enjoy the views where the three bodies of water that surround the peninsula come together — Vågen, Byfjorden, and Puddefjorden — we found the Totempæl (Totem Pole). Carved by Duane Pasco, an American artist, the Pacific Northwest style pole, is a symbol celebrating the sister city relationship between Bergen and Seattle.

On the way back, we followed a meandering route along the west side of the peninsula, passing the Seamen’s Old Age Home, which was originally constructed in 1897. The building has since been converted into residential apartments.

This route had more of an incline, but nothing that we couldn’t easily handle. At the highest point of the peninsula, we came upon Frederiksberg Fortress … constructed in 1666 following the Battle of Vågen. In addition to being the execution site I mentioned earlier, the fortress was also used as a fire watch station from 1667 to 1926. As I understand it, the fortress is now the headquarters for the youth marching organization.

We didn’t go inside, opting instead to sit on one of the benches in the small park next door that also serves as an overlook with views of central Bergen. Here we found Per Ung’s “Krigsmoderen” (Wartime Mother) sculpture … which honors the “… crucial efforts of women and mothers on the home front during WWII.”

One of the reasons we took this route back was because we wanted to check out Jekteviksterminalen … from where we will be embarking our Havila Kystruten ship tomorrow. Weaving our way down via narrow residential streets — some of which were quite steep — we eventually found our way to the terminal.

Our ship sails at 8:30p … check-in starts at 3:30p, with boarding starting at 4:00p. All fine and dandy, except that we have to check out of the apartment by 11:00a … with luggage. I had read that there were lockers at the terminal, so we were thinking we’d use them. Except that they were few in number, and they didn’t look like they would accommodate medium-sized wheeled bags. We’ll look for a different solution. In the meantime, it was good to get the lay of the land for tomorrow.

With that, we wrapped up our Nordnes wander, and returned to the Bergen city center in search of lunch. There are lots of seafood places, including the historic fish market, but we didn’t care for the crowds. So we made our way inland. You know our search ended at the Pygmalion Ekocafè, so I’ll call it a wrap for this footprint.

A pleasant stroll in a quiet, residential neighborhood was the perfect way to spend our rain-free day in Bergen.Read more