June 7th

This morning our luck with the weather ran out.  It rained all night and the sky was very overcast, with Mt Ulriken hidden behind cloud – very dark cloud.  We met a local after breakfast who said ‘it rains very much in Bergen – it is said that God loves Bergen so much He makes sure it is washed every day’.

With our raincoats in our back packs we headed off to the Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene.  The Hanseatic League was a German trading company set up in 1360.  One of the four offices of the League was in Bergen.  They kept to themselves in a gated community.  No women allowed as the Germans didn’t want any mixed marriages.  Each house/warehouse had a Manager, a Journeyman (the Manager’s assistant) and 8 apprentices.  The interesting point is that the local red light district was located directly behind….hmmm

Because the wooden walls were covered in pitch no fire was to be used for heating, cooking or lamps could be used in these buildings.  The fire-fighting equipment was two large barrels of water hung on the walls and a large long pole with a hook on one end.  In the case of a fire the barrels were broken and the hook was used to pull down the walls to try to make a fire break – from the amount of destruction from fire over the years I don’t think it worked very well.

The Traders mainly traded in dried cod and also grain.  There was a ‘king cod’ hanging in one of the rooms that was over 100 years old.  Back in time they would keep the dried cod for 3 years, but nowadays about 3 months.  You can just put it back into water or break it up with a hammer and have it as a snack – ahh no thanks.

From there we walked up to the other part of the Museum this was where the more important traders lived.  These buildings had a kitchen and so any cooked meals for the Manager or his staff had to be eaten here.

We wandered around what is said to be the most beautiful church in Bergen – St. Mary’s (Mariakirken) built in the 11^th century.

We had intended to walk on to the Fish Museum but God had decided it was time for Bergen’s bath!!!  So we donned our raincoats (very attractive) bought some lunch and headed back to the peace of our Hotel room to eat and dry off.