We started our last day trying to change our panoramic tour of Bergen to the walking one. It was full, and they wouldn’t let us on. Boy, were we lucky!

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, covers about 180 square miles, and has a population of about 300,000. Its history goes way back to the 11th century when trading started because of its fine location. The city is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, the offshore petroleum industry and a huge tourist trade . Bergen port is Norway's busiest in terms of both freight and passengers, with over 300 cruise ship calls a year bringing nearly a half a million passengers, almost half which are German or British.

Once our bus left the dock area, we realized that we had a real gem of a guide. They are all good, but some are better than others. This Parisian is earning money in Bergen in order to start his PhD studies in Edinburgh, and his evident love of history along with his candor and dry wit made the morning fly by. And, it was much closer to the walking tour than we realized, just busing us to the edges of town instead of walking there.

He finally gave us a true understanding of the Hanseatic League— a group of German merchants who dominated the trade industry from the 13th through 15th centuries. Since fishing was the dominant trade, he talked about " stockfish"— cod that is dried in the wind (not salted) in such a way that it could literally last for years and was easily reconstituted in water. They used the stockfish (still sold today) to trade for other goods that were not easily come by in Bergen like wheat, barley, wine and fresh vegetables.

Our first stop was at the Nykirken , a church significant for its spacious stone cellar.

Wine was a dear commodity and very expensive. Most of the churches, and all the buildings were made out of wood and burnt down regularly. They needed a safe, fireproof place to store wine where it could be maintained properly.

The sanctuary was simple with a large organ, and a beautiful mobile.

Looking out from atop one of Bergen’s seven hills, we saw the downtown picture post card area of " Bryggren", the old downtown right on the waterfront where the Hanseatic league controlled the huge fishing trade. It was quiet in the early morning but would be crowded shortly!

Lots of other interestingly decorated buildings kept the cameras rolling.

Next stop was at the Ibsen National Theater. It is in use all year long and a landmark.

Walking through a huge square which led downward towards the water, we passed park areas, gazebos, gardens, and hoards of tourists as well as residents of the city out enjoying the day.

Before the bus dropped us off in the middle of the old city, our guide gave us a couple of history lessons on Norway’s social democracy and why Norway is reticent to join the EU. Although a member of NATO, it chooses to remain independent because of its high standard of living, made possible by the very prolific oil industry. Norway does not use the oil it gets from the North Sea, but sells it to support its promise that every resident gets free schooling, medical needs, and assistance with housing. Although taxes are high, this system seems to make everyone happy and would be severely compromised by entering into the EU ( i.e. having to share the oil revenue).

We left the tour and made our way to our next destination, the Bergen Funicular.

It was very crowded but only took about ten minutes to get our tickets and squeeze onboard to go to the top.

The views were stupendous!

We found the Edward Grieg Concert Hall which is said to look like a piano from these heights.

There was also a huge cafeteria, children’s playground and some rather large goats.

As we had other plans, we didn’t stay too long. The trip down was not as crowded.

Almost as soon as we got back to the main area, it started raining. Stefanie and Bob went back to the ship, but we opted to stay in town. Walking through the old covered fish market reminded us of the Seattle’s Pike market where the fish are oversized and abundant.

The New Fish Market is a series of restaurants. We each had a bowl of delicious fish stew and shared a plate of selections of smoked fish— the best gravelox in the world, mackerel as well as whale. Norway is only one of three countries where it is legal to fish for whale. ( Iceland and Japan are the others). We also tasted smoked reindeer and moose.

A walk back to the ship in the light rain was a bit depressing. We had to organize and pack. But we found a bit of time for one last visit to the spa for some hot and cold body treatments. We will miss that spa!