Bergen

A couple of weeks before Christmas my husband and I spent a weekend in Bergen. Although it is not far, we seldom spend much time there as we usually just travel through. This time, however, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

We were travelling with a group, and it was mostly a social trip, but with plenty of time in between for walking around the town, and for shopping.

The Saturday was very nice, so most of the day it was possible to walk the streets without an umbrella.

The harbour area is a very nice place on a day like this.

People were coming and going by boat, just as they have been doing for centuries in this place.

I could not resist zooming in on some of the patterns created by the reflections in the water.

Walking past the market stalls was also a feast for the eyes.

… and you could grow hungry just by looking…

We also walked over to the Bryggen area, where the Farmers’ Market was open this weekend.

The stalls were filled with lots of goodies, and there were lots of people looking and buying.

It is hard not to be tempted to buy even more than you can carry.

We were especially tempted by all the delicious home made cheese, and we bought pieces from several stalls. They will be a tasteful addition on our Christmas lunch table.

Bryggen has some very old and pittoresque buildings, which are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

The narrow alleys between the buildings are worth exploring.  Many small shops, galleries and studios can be found here.

There are also many charming open spaces at the back of the buildings.

When it started to rain, we ducked into one of the shopping centers nearby. As this was two weeks before Christmas, they were not too crowded, and as we were not in a hurry either, we had time to look around and enjoy the Christmas decorations.

I especially liked theese:

When strolling along the festive streets, we also came across this sculpture:

A useful reminder that not everyone is prosperous, and someone might be in need of assistance, – and not just at Christmas time.

We also visited the Gingerbread City, but I’ll have to make a separate post about that. After all, it is the world’s largest of its kind.

Eldrid