Bergen

17 July- arrived in Bergen by the end of today. Left Flam for a cruise through the Naeroyfjord which is a Unesco heritage site. Amazing views- soaring mountains and waterfalls everywhere. Tiny little villages as well- very scenic. Stayed outside for most of the cruise as did not want to miss anything. Freezing so numb by the end but worth the pain. Arrived at Gudvangen and caught a bus to Voss. Drove through more mind blowing scenery, particularly the Stalheim Girge which has some amazing hotel perched on top of a mountain. There are hairpin bends there and back and the hotel is only open in the summer. The driver told us that the farm animals in this part have to be brought inside from around late Seotember when the snows start. It can get to minus 20 easily and sometimes minus 40. Lots of farms around here- sheep and cows. Apparently are no bears which I had not even thought of. Lots of reindeer, Lynx and foxes. We caught a train from Voss to Bergen. Voss was apparently flattened in WW2 by the Getmans because it is in a strategic spot and has good transport links. Sigh. SA very excited as all through the travels today we passed lots of running water apparently filled with trout and salmon. The price of fishing is actually quite reasonable compared to Scotland but expensive to get here and of course things like food and drink are also pricey. Bergen is lovely- reminds me of Brugge in that it is a very scenic historic little place that used to be a major trading hub. Now lots of tourists. Bergen used to be the largest city in Norway until the 1830s. Used to be a major trading and seafaring port and one of the Hanseatic merchants most trading centres. The hotel is in the historic part called Bryggen. One of the oldest parts of Bergen and consists of beautiful 14th century Hanseatic buildings, including some very old wooden buildings. Lots of narrow alleys and pathways to wander around. Briefly visited the fish market- lots of salmon, caviar and whale meat. They love their whale meat- both of us are not tempted to try it aside from our objections to whale hunting. Dinner at very old restaurant- Tracteursted- apparently it has been serving food and drink since the 1700's. It looked old- complete with sloping floor so we ate at a slant. We had Norwegian tapas so could try a variety of dishes. We had a sausage which may or may not have had reindeer in it, smoked trout ( delicious) , cod, salad, various pickled vegetables, type of salami( again not sure what type of meat), potato salad and salad. Was all very good. Pretty sure we still managed to avoid eating whale.