Bergen
The sun rose this morning dappling the deep blue of the Bergen Fjord. The fjords of Norway are amongst the most dramatic in the world and some of the deepest with water depths of four thousand feet. This, the second largest of Norway’s cities, is the jewel of the west. The waterfront of Bergen remains distinctive with its brightly colored 18th century wooden merchants’ buildings now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. At one time Bergen was the largest wooden city in all of Europe. Imagine a city in multi-colored pastels sitting on the edge of one of Norway’s most beautiful harbors. Bergen has a distinguished history: it was of course important during the Viking period and was one of the wealthiest cities in northwest Europe five centuries ago during the heyday of the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic League needed Bergen’s seemingly limitless supply of dried cod and the citizens of Bergen needed the cereal crops from the north German cities in the Baltic. The city was processing 1 million pounds of cod a month. Bergen once again is enjoying prosperity and once again it is from the sea. Today it is revenue from North Sea oil that is fueling the booming Norwegian economy.
We sailed from our berth at 6 PM into a golden sun. We will not see a sun set tonight until almost midnight since we are so far north. The view from the stern was magical, the propeller chopping the dark blue sea into sparkling diamonds. It left a white wake on the blue sea that marked our passage out from the fjord.
The sun rose this morning dappling the deep blue of the Bergen Fjord. The fjords of Norway are amongst the most dramatic in the world and some of the deepest with water depths of four thousand feet. This, the second largest of Norway’s cities, is the jewel of the west. The waterfront of Bergen remains distinctive with its brightly colored 18th century wooden merchants’ buildings now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. At one time Bergen was the largest wooden city in all of Europe. Imagine a city in multi-colored pastels sitting on the edge of one of Norway’s most beautiful harbors. Bergen has a distinguished history: it was of course important during the Viking period and was one of the wealthiest cities in northwest Europe five centuries ago during the heyday of the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic League needed Bergen’s seemingly limitless supply of dried cod and the citizens of Bergen needed the cereal crops from the north German cities in the Baltic. The city was processing 1 million pounds of cod a month. Bergen once again is enjoying prosperity and once again it is from the sea. Today it is revenue from North Sea oil that is fueling the booming Norwegian economy.
We sailed from our berth at 6 PM into a golden sun. We will not see a sun set tonight until almost midnight since we are so far north. The view from the stern was magical, the propeller chopping the dark blue sea into sparkling diamonds. It left a white wake on the blue sea that marked our passage out from the fjord.
