fresh, no rain
Bergen is one of the rainiest cities in Norway, but so far I've lucked out. There was fog over the water, though, that didn't clear up until noon.
in late morning, I started my self guided walking tour of Bergen. I decided to spread it out over three days, especially because things are closed or are crowded, and I just want to relax for my last days in Norway.
for example: the tour started with the castle, and I found the castle full of a Middle Ages festival. Yes, not a Renaissance fair(e) as we incorrectly it in the US. 😊 When I walked up to the gate, I heard all this shouting and thought -- oh a demonstration. There are several things in the world people could be demonstrating against, which is this? But, what I found were jouster, kids jousting on make-believe horses, and the crowd was rowdy. The festival continues tomorrow, so I'll visit the castle on Monday.
My hotel is in Bryggen ('the wharf'), the part of town founded by the Hanseatic League, a medieval trading league of Northern German cities such as Lűbeck and Bremen. it's very colorful - I bought a fridge magnet! - but very popular of course. I poked around for a while, and will do so again.
I was amused to learn that the Norwegians wanted to tear down Bryggen after World War II because of the German occupation. But (here's the funny part) a Norse rune was found in Bryggen that showed that Norwegians were there before the Germans! Ok then. 😊
I ate Italian food for a birthday lunch. Very yummy!
ETA: I just realized that these posts are marked in Minneapolis time! I'll change them when I get home so you don't think I'm posting in the middle of the night. 😊
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in late morning, I started my self guided walking tour of Bergen. I decided to spread it out over three days, especially because things are closed or are crowded, and I just want to relax for my last days in Norway.
for example: the tour started with the castle, and I found the castle full of a Middle Ages festival. Yes, not a Renaissance fair(e) as we incorrectly it in the US. 😊 When I walked up to the gate, I heard all this shouting and thought -- oh a demonstration. There are several things in the world people could be demonstrating against, which is this? But, what I found were jouster, kids jousting on make-believe horses, and the crowd was rowdy. The festival continues tomorrow, so I'll visit the castle on Monday.
My hotel is in Bryggen ('the wharf'), the part of town founded by the Hanseatic League, a medieval trading league of Northern German cities such as Lűbeck and Bremen. it's very colorful - I bought a fridge magnet! - but very popular of course. I poked around for a while, and will do so again.
I was amused to learn that the Norwegians wanted to tear down Bryggen after World War II because of the German occupation. But (here's the funny part) a Norse rune was found in Bryggen that showed that Norwegians were there before the Germans! Ok then. 😊
I ate Italian food for a birthday lunch. Very yummy!
ETA: I just realized that these posts are marked in Minneapolis time! I'll change them when I get home so you don't think I'm posting in the middle of the night. 😊
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