Bergen, Norway

We have reached our final port, Bergan, on the southwestern coast of Norway. Bergan is probably the most celebrated Norwegian city in terms of tourism; boasting sea, mountains, islands and fjords, not to mention the vibrantly painted coloured buildings that grace nearly every Norwegian marketing image.

It's a bittersweet moment as it also marks the end of our voyage, bar the one night we will spend on the ship in port before disembarking tomorrow. I can't help thinking we need to do another lap just so we can tick off all those things we meant to do, but haven't, like 'high tea' onboard, or the 'Nordic bathing ritual' which is a Norwegian wellness tradition, involving alternating time in the sauna and the ice room, interspersed with regular dips in the gorgeous pool in the bowels of the ship that we haven't yet even dipped our toes into. Not to mention staying up past 9:30 to attend any of the onboard performances or nightclubs. Oh well, next time.

In the meantime, I hope we like Bergen as we will be spending a total of 5 nights here all up, more than any other destination on this trip - we based this decision on thinking we'd probably like a few days in one spot, with plenty of hiking opportunities nearby, after being on a cruise ship for 15 days.

Our ship-organised tour today is a 'Nordic Walking Tour' (again not sure what part of the title of the tour would lead anyone to think it didn't involve walking - apparently the issue was that it's flat in Texas so the mountains were unexpected for one poor lady who really was not up to the task, but anyway...)

Having already used crutches after knee surgery I was well ahead of the pack in terms of technique, being opposite arm to leg, and we were off.

Our first impressions of Bergen were probably a little less than enthusiastic. Our guide was not the best and the streets seemed busy and even a bit dirty (odd for this part of the world) - so much so that neither of us actually took any photos and we didn't really learn very much, but at least we got our steps up.

We had a quiet afternoon on the ship, blogging and packing before our last evening of drinking and dining on our all-inclusive package - it should be said that Scandinavia, in general, is expensive and, in hindsight the cruise was quite good value for money! It's safe to say we didn't take advantage of the alcohol and food on offer to the extent of most but, really, there's only so much you can eat and still manage to fit into your clothes at the end.

We have to be off the ship the following morning before 9, so wave a sad goodbye and walk the 1km to our hotel. Being way too early to check in, we leave the bags and head off to explore Bergen.

With a population of nearly 300,000, Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway and was originally its' capital up until the 1830s when it was overtaken by Oslo (then named Christiania). Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s and until 1789 it held the exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad. It also became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League - another one of those topics that wasn't on my radar but that I would now like to learn a lot more about.

Ultimately the fact it was a trading city means it is quite multi-cultural to this day and rather than the blonde, blue-eyed Scandinavian stereotype, people here tend to be much more mixed in appearance and, to some extent, diet and culture. It is also a university city which brings a lively vibe. All in all, we start warming to the city as the day unfolds.

Finally, we make our way back to our hotel which is right in the heart of the city, to check in for our 3-night stay - again, the lobby bar did not disappoint...

We toyed with the idea of doing a tour the following day and probably should have. Up until fairly recently I've tended to shy away from organised group tours, preferring to do things at my own pace but have now learnt that you will never gain the same level of knowledge and appreciation for a place or subject on your own.

We did, however, visit the Bryggens Museum, the home of a huge amount of artefacts gathered from medieval times after parts of Bergan burnt down in 1955 (fires have definitely reshaped so many of the cities and towns we have visited over the last few weeks). Bryggens Museum is built over the remains of Bergen’s oldest buildings from the first half of the 1100s. These architectural remains are on display along with the world's largest display of Runic Sticks, being wooden sticks dating back to the Vikings who used them as a form of both personal and business communication. Essentially the SMSs of another era. They have been translated and are absolutely fascinating.

There is a lot of activity in the streets today as the city is being cleaned and people are arriving to celebrate Norway's National Day or Constitution Day tomorrow.

Held on May 17 each year, it celebrates the signing of the Constitution in 1814 and is, by far, the most important public holiday of the year for Norwegians. Essentially it is huge and involves a number of parades, the most important of the day being the children's parade. It's a day when everyone dresses up in their national costume, known as Bunads. Traditionally the bunad design is representative of the family, in much the same way as a Scotsman's kilt, but as time has gone on fashion has played a hand and girls, in particular, now tend to choose their design based on aesthetic reasons. It was a wonderful day to witness, with national pride on display loud and proud regardless of original ethnicity and prior grievances. I would love to see Australia Day celebrated in the same way but don't expect we will in my lifetime.

These photos don't do it justice at all as we couldn't be too obvious...

Whilst the celebrations were going on, Andrew and I took the opportunity to take the funicular 320 metres up to a lookout with incredible views over the city.

This is also the point from which you can take a number of hikes into the mountains behind Bergen. Having plotted a 9km or so course we head off just as the weather really starts moving in. It was bracing, to say the least, and that was before the snow started to fall. We are already starting to learn that Norway's weather can change in an instant...

As we are pursuing a vigorous healthy activity in the nearby mountains, the city is slowly getting louder and louder (and more inebriated) below us. It seems the Norwegians, generally a fairly solemn lot as far as we can tell, really do know how to party!

So that's Bergen in a nutshell. Tomorrow we pick up our car and head for the fjords for a week or so prior to returning for one night to return the car and embark on our homeward journey.