We wake up to more spectacular fjord views. This morning we are cruising into Bergen. It is also Jasper’s birthday. After Flåm and mum’s birthday yesterday, I’m hoping we can still make today special. We have a fjord cruise to Mostraumen brooked for the morning and then we will find somewhere for the boys to let off some steam.
We begin the day, however, with presents and best wishes for Jasper. He’s excited of course as he has been through a week of birthdays already with his being last in line. After a celebration breakfast we disembark and wander through the town from the port to the centre. There is a park with a pretty music pavilion. Although the air is chilly, the summer flowers remain in full bloom and we have a little game of hide and seek.
Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It is accessed from the North Sea and connected to the Sognefjord (as is Flåm), surrounded by mountains, water and history. The winters are said to be mild compared to the rest of the country but judging by the weather today the summers are short and sharp nevertheless.
The city was originally founded around 1070 by king Olav Kyrre and the original name, Bjørgvin means ‘the green meadow among the mountains’. It was Norway’s capital and served as the administrative hub of the Hanseatic League from the 13th Century, enjoying exclusive trade rights with Northern Norway until 1789.
The activities of the Hanseatic League here were concentrated in and around Bryggen, the colorful wooden commercial buildings at the old wharf, located on the eastern side of the Vågen harbor. Now a World Heritage Site and one of the main features that lend Bergen its picture postcard port at all times of the year.
We take a look around and then board our cruise boat docked next to the Zachariasbryggen restaurant and bar and also right next to the Fish Markets. We depart slowly over the bay of Vågen and get lovely views of Bryggen from the water. Once we said under the Nordhordalandbrua (the 1.6km Nordhordland Bridge) we leave the North Sea behind and enter the 27km long Osterfjorden.
The scenery changes slowly from old town to suburban to greenery with little villages dotted along the way. It feels less wild that the Nærøyfjord and the Aurlandsfjord, both arms of the larger Sognefjord that we discovered yesterday. For the most part the water is wider, the mountains less steep and the inhabitants along the way appear more numerous.
Further up the fjords, however, we are once again surrounded by steep mountains and mighty waterfalls, the landscape swallowing up the inhabitants with evidence of humankind dwarfed against the towering terrain. Our journey takes us to the innermost point of this astonishing landscape. Through the narrow reach of the Mostraumen straight we find ourselves at Mo in the Modalen municipality, the second smallest in Norway with only around 380 residents.
There are waterfalls along the way but they are not large at this time of year. I try to picture all this green as white under the snowfall of winter but it’s impossible. Although the air is chilly, the water has a cold depth to it and the low cloud teases the mountain tops, this is firmly summer in this part of the world. The lushness of the landscape is palpable and winter, though just around the corner, is still far enough away to feel distant.
All too soon we are turning back to retracing our route through the magnificent landscape. Back through the Strait and past the dotted huts that become villages and then suburbia as we make our way back through the Hordaland province, along the Osterfjorden to Bergen.
Good To Know
There is no need to book with your cruise ship provider. We booked online with Rødne Fjord Cruises five days beforehand although I would recommend organizing it a bit earlier in the height of the summer season. The cruises depart from Zachariasbryggen in the heart of Bergen and are rather punctual. They operate all year round.
There are other options including different destination fjords and cruise/hike combos. We opted for the shorter (3 hour round trip) as we still wanted to leave time to explore Bergen properly.
Would I Return?
Yes. There is something special about this part of the world and although I don’t particularly like cold weather, I think it would be worth braving the elements for a first hand view of these fjords covered in snow.
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