So today the weather forecast was for rain. The day started off blue and brilliantly sunny again, but then about 2pm it went grey and it has been spitting rain ever since. My umbrella got its first workout!
Let myself have a bit of a lie in this morning until 8.30 and slowly got ready. Cold is getting better but I'm still not great.
Got to the Bryggens Museum at 10am and bought the combination ticket which includes entry to it, the Hanseatisk Museum, the Schotstuene Assembly Halls and a walking tour for 1.5-2 hours. Had a look around the Bryggens Museum for an hour before the 11am tour in english. They built the museum around the ruins they found after the fire of 1955 that burned down some of Bryggen's buildings. Lots of fires have occurred over the years and due to all the buildings in the area being wooden, this didn't end well for the buildings of Bryggen !!! Only royal buildings were built out of stone. Also saw other things hey excavated including skeletons, pottery and board game pieces.
In the 1300s Bergen was the capital of Norway, and a big trading place. All the buildings in Bryggen are right on the wharf (hence the name Bryggen meaning the wharf - funny that!). People lived upstairs in these buildings and stored things and sold things downstairs. Today they all house shops and restaurants. I also read about how in those times the water was no good so everyone drank beer - including children - up to 4L a day!!! Health was a big issue and the Black Plague killed 1/3 of nor ways population in the 1300s. There were two temporary exhibitions. One was about lots of pottery that was found in Bryggen made in Grimston, England. The other was a strange photography exhibition on level 2. Dad - don't bother with that one!!
I met the tour at 11am. Started with a brief walk around the museum that I'd just looked at. Our guide's name was Thomas and he had a very long beard!! There were about 15 of us. I was the only Aussie. All the others on the tour had very irritating accents and asked the most obvious questions ever. And all I could do was laugh in my head as mum and dad weren't here to laugh with!!! I'll leave it to you to decide which country they were from - no stereotypes here!!!
Then we went to the assembly halls (Schotstuene). These were a common place for the people living here in medieval times. For parties, for dinner, for games and even for public punishments.
Next we walked out into Bryggen and it's buildings. Thomas told us that the figures on the outside of the building represent the street name (eg the unicorn). I hadn't even noticed but all the wooden buildings lean slightly right. This is because on April 20 1944 a German munitions boat caught fire in the harbour and exploded. It killed 102 Norwegians and 56 Germans, destroyed 248 buildings and greatly damaged 183.
We ended our tour in the Hanseatic Museum. This is in an old trade house and is set out with furniture from the time. We walked through sleeping quarters and common areas. Saw lots of dried fish which stank. I found it interesting learning about the Hanseatic league as I didn't know much about them. They came and took over Bryggen in 1360. The Hanseatic league were German and had offices in bergen, Novgorod, Bruges and London. They segregated themselves and made it so only Hanseatic merchants could live in Bergen during their rule. They did trade with the Norwegians but set up their own little community. They were a merchant league.
Had lunch and sat down outside Bryggen for a bit. My cold was making me feel a little dizzy today.
Next I went to Rosenkrantz Tower, part of Bergenshus Festning (Bergen fortress). The tower was built as a look out and as a living quarters for some of the royals including King Magnus the Lawmender. I saw all different rooms and ascended the stone spiral staircase from the dungeon right to the roof. There were a few very random exhibitions here about someone called Annie that I couldn't figure out and about laws in Bergen. Then I went to Håkonshallen in the same complex, a hall built for events and still used today. Both these buildings were severely damaged in the explosion in 1944.
With your ticket for here (finally somewhere had student rates - hooray!!!!) you could have a free coffee from the cafe. And remember everyone, I drink coffee since I've been here. Which is really strange seeing as I've always despised it! Anyway, was feeling rather tired at this point so had my coffee. The guy behind the counter here was really nice and spoke beautiful English. We chatted for about half an hour! Prior to this the only thing I had said all day was "hi, can I please have one student ticket for....", so was glad of the conversation!
Finally I went to the Bergenshus Festning museum which was FREE ENTRY. My kind of museum! Read about the role of women during the war (not much English in this bit though), then about the nazi occupation of Bergen. And finally briefly about the history of Bergenshus Festning.
Headed back to the apartment about 3.30 because I was feeling dizzy again. Had some coke and cheese and crackers and felt better!!
Took myself out for dinner on a hot date with myself tonight haha. Went to a restaurant my guidebook recommended called Pingvinen (meaning penguin in Norwegian). I enjoyed a fish stew with bacon and some strange biscuit things on the side. Yum!! And relatively "cheap" considering where I am.
Walked home and really did not feel well. Felt dizzy and really really hot. So another early night it is to rest up and get rid of whatever this is. Had a shower though and feel a bit better now :) I'll be 'right.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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