Bergen was the only proper city during our tour along Norway. For hundreds of years this was as far north that central European merchants (mostly German) we allowed to trade. Likewise, Norwegians had to bring their goods from the northern villages to Bergen to sell. Therefore, there is a very Germanic feel to downtown.
My big tour was visiting a stave church. They were made during the “transition” to Christianity. Per our guide, there were once thousands in Norway, but now less than 30. The one we visited is a recreation of a church made in the 1100s that was destroyed recently by arson. They rebuilt it as truthfully as they could. It was a 10-minute walk thru the woods from our bus stop.
A common design element for these types of churches was the inclusion of both traditional Nordic and christian symbols. Note the dragon heads on the roof.
The original churches used “fresh”, non-aged/dry lumbar. They followed that with the recreation – note the cracks in the columns.
The smell was great, and I admired all the wood-craft.
Sorry for the delay – I was sure I hit “publish” a few days ago. The last days of the cruise were very busy.
Next – Copenhagen.