One of the biggest sights I’d wanted to see in Bergen was the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bryggen.
I’d spoken about it on the blog before and so when we finally booked our flights to Bergen, this was something I’d put at a high priority on my itinerary!
First things first though, we checked into our hotel – the Basic Hotel in Bergen and met up with Linn (who’s also a blogger and lives in Bergen) for a few drinks in the sunshine and some planning on what to get up to in Bergen.
Linn also caught us up on the best places to eat, the best views and where to head out to later that evening for a drink or two! We also got given our Bergen cards – which by the way, are a great way to see the city! You get discounts off restaurants, bars and the best part is that the card includes entry to the major attractions so it’s always a good idea to get one when you visit and take it around the city with you as you explore it.
Bergen is also the gateway one of the most amazing Fjord’s in Norway, the Sognefjord with it’s UNESCO World Heritage site fjord – the Naeroyfjord, another sight we really wanted to see and seeing as we had just a long weekend here, we knew we had a lot of sightseeing to cram in a very limited time period so Georgia, Chris, Lloyd and I very quickly hot footed it after the beers and made our way through the city, straight through to Bryggen! Oh, and the journey up to the Fjords from Bergen is pretty amazing too so make sure you take the Flamsbana (the train) to Flam when you visit!
The walk was not far by the way, the Basic Hotel is perfectly located in the city centre so we were at Bryggen in mere minutes and I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally see in person something that I’d seen over and over again on Pinterest!
Why is Bryggen so important? Well, (thanks to the UNESCO website) here’s why-
“Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, have ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. Its rebuilding has traditionally followed old patterns and methods, thus leaving its main structure preserved, which is a relic of an ancient wooden urban structure once common in Northern Europe. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape.”
The official UNESCO website has more fascinating details so do check it out if you’re interested! 😉
After wandering about, Bryggen and stopping for photos at every available opportunity, we finally stopped for lunch (looking through our Guest of honour cards for the best deals in town) and we found Enhjørningen Fiskerestaurant thanks to Tripadvisor. Side bar – The Bergen card doesn’t actually have this restaurant on the list but it has so many others on there so you’ll have a decent selection on offer. It’s also the oldest fish restaurant in Bergen and is located in Bryggen so it was quite an easy win.
I went with the asparagus and salmon to start, the fish of the day for the mains (I can’t remember what fish it was now – I do remember however how delicious it was) and we finished off with a group favourite , crème brulee!
Food is quite expensive in Bergen (as it pretty much everything in Norway) and this is when the Bergen cards come into their own as everything becomes more affordable once you have this card! I can’t recommend it enough! We left Enhjørningen thoroughly satisfied with our fantastic lunch and particularly pleased with how much it cost in the end (especially compared to what it would have cost instead).
Next off, we headed to where we were promised the best view in all of Bergen!
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