Around Scandinavia: Part Fourteen

In which I explored Bryggen

Day Five continues …

Bryggen, also known as Tyskebryggen, is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen. We explored narrow cobblestone alleys and quaint traditional coloured wooden houses, similar to the way we saw in Nyhavn. Gaedra briefed us on the great fire episodes which turned the city into ashes and how they rebuilt it. We walked through shops, studios, boutiques, etc. 

Then we were given an hour to explore the place. We got dispersed in small groups. I was accompanied by Gulshan, Amita Rane and Rajashri Savant. We passed by the Bryggen Museum. 

We saw the Bergen Big Wheel, ferris wheel and the Bergenhus fortress. Then we crossed the road and walked back from the waterfront area to the quay. We came across a vintage Cadillac. We saw the Minebosson monument, a memorial for the Norwegian sailors who died in World War I. 

We witnessed the live performance of a Norwegian accordion club, with the ladies dressed in their traditional attire. We assembled at the place mentioned by Vihar by 11:30am. He briefed us on the fish market and its direction, asked us to come back at the same spot by noon.

The Fish Market has a charming location in the heart of the city between the fjords and Bergen's seven mountains. It has since the 1200s been a meeting place for merchants and fishermen. You can find fresh fish and seafood spread on ice bed: oysters, shells, scallops, sea urchins, crabs, whales, salmon, lobsters, etc.

There are also several restaurants serving seafood: calamari (squid rings), platter (lobster, prawns, shrimps, mussels, scallop, langoustines), etc. 

We were back in 15mins, the shops have not yet started serving so the foodies could not try anything. Surekha Walke was a keen observer throughout the market. She is an entrepreneur and owner of restaurant Chaitanya in Dadar, Mumbai. I had time so we again walked the streets, with Surekha, Swati, Shraddha, Gulshan and Poonam Ranade.

We got in the bus at 12pm and drove to our lunch restaurant. We passed by the Skorvevatnet river and Sotra bridge. 

Lunch location was 45mins drive away! After all we want to eat Indian food naa. The bus dropped us at a point and we had to walk our way to the Maharaja Indisk restaurant in Sartor shopping mall. On the way, there's were street shops selling souvenirs. 

I had lunch with Manasi, Amita Rane and Jyotsna. So far, the best lunch for me on the trip. Jyotsna talked about her travels and treks. We left the restaurant by 01:30pm and drove towards the Bergen Airport. More on this in next post.