Tuesday 9th September
Most of the day was spent touring Bergen. An overview of the city is to be had from Floyen, which is reached by a funicular and cable railway (the longest of its type in Europe) known as Floibanen. From the summit the ancient and modern cities and harbours can be seen.
We explored the Bryggen again and especially the passageways where hoists were used to lift the fish from the wharf into the buildings for processing. This was all part of the trade between the Hanseatic Towns, such as Lubeck in Germany and Bergen, but also with connections to other countries such as France and England. This was a centre of trans-European trade which lasted for about 200 years. The history of this Hanseatic trade is very well illustrated in the Hanseatic Museum which is housed within one of the original wooden buildings.
During the late afternoon we embarked on the Hurtigruten, MS Finnmarken for the journey to 71 degrees north. We set sail at 8:00 p.m. bound for Alesund.
