Wednesday June 4th

The weather in the North Sea was not as bad as I had feared. We had a few hours of rough weather but by about midnight it had settled and by morning it was almost a mill pond again and the sun was shining.  The max temp in Bergen was predicted to be 22 degrees.  Eventually we reached land and made our way up the Byfjorden to Bergen. 

While we have been on the ship, I have been impressed with the way the Pilot transfers to and from the ship, but this was the first (and last) opportunity I had to get a photo.

As you can see from the photos, it was a beautiful day.

There was also a submarine making its way into the harbour, but it docked in a different area so I was not able to get really close photos of it.

Once the ship had been cleared by customs we were free to go ashore to explore Bergen. There was a bus trip on offer that took us around Bergen then out to the Fantoft Stave Church in the south of a Bergen. 

This church was originally constructed in about 1150AD but in 1992 it was burnt down by vandals.  It has since been reconstructed using timber sourced from the same location as that used in the original church and using all of the same methods. Even though the church is now nearly 20 years old, the smell of the timber In the church is still very strong.

There are many intricate wood carvings, all done by hand and some with a mix of Viking and Celtic influences.

We returned to Bergen passing the Royal residence on our way

and went to the Hanseatic Museum which is in one of the old trade houses in Bryggen, in what would have been the old wharf area of Bergen. 

Much of the building in Bergen is quite new as some of it was destroyed in by German bombs in the Second World War and many other buildings have been destroyed by fire as the Norwegians insist on building in timber.

After this I spent a bit of time just wandering around the streets of a Bergen before returning to the ship

And came across this beautiful three masted ship used by the navy as a sail training vessel.  

It was built by the Germans as a sail training vessel prior to the Second World War and forfeited to Britain after the war.  The Brits gifted it to Norway after the war as a thank you for services rendered by Norway (who I gather maintained a neutral status during the war).