BERGEN, NORWAY

Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It’s surrounded by mountains and fjords, including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest. Bryggen features colorful wooden houses on the old wharf, once a center of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire. The Fløibanen Funicular goes up Fløyen Mountain for panoramic views and hiking trails. The Edvard Grieg House is where the renowned composer once lived. – Google

The Hanseatic League, also called Hansa, German Hanse, organization founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century. This group includes the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Latvia.

In a hurry to catch our tour bus.

We arrived in Bergen after 16 long hours including the 4-hour lay over in Amsterdam, Netherlands. After a quick bite and a much needed hot shower, we went to bed. Tommy and Oya Holgado our friends accompanying us in this cruise arrived much later after 11:00 pm and we did not get to see them until the following morning when we all went to the city tour.

The temperature was in the low 30 degrees Fahrenheit and was cloudy. The streets were practically deserted except for a couple of diehard joggers and a few souls probably heading to work. As expected, we all donned our warmest winter garments to cope with the freezing temperature. The sun did peek a few times but was not enough to provide warmth to our shivering bodies (thank God for the warm clothings)!

Our tour guide was a pretty young German lady, Mia, who is finishing her master’s degree in Bergen. Although a German she was surprisingly very knowledgeable about the history of the city and the country itself!

Mia, our German tour guide beside a statue of Norway’s famous composer Edvard Grieg.

After we finished the tour, Trini and I, changed to our swim suits and headed to the almost empty spa (most of the cruisers are still doing excursions). Two hours in the relaxing sauna, jacuzzi, “ice’ room, and steam room rejuvenated our tired bodies. Tommy and Oya rested to recuperate from their lengthy travel and did not get enough sleep.