St. Mary's Church (Mariakirken) seen through modern buildings walking on the Bryggen street.

St. Mary's Church, 12th century, the oldest remaining building in Bergen. It was damaged by fire a number of times and was restored. It was closed so we couldn't visit it.

Part of the church's graveyard.

A beehive tomb.

Statue near the church.

Also near the church was the statue of Snorre Sturlason (1179-1241), an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He wrote down sagas about the first kings of Norway. The statue is by sculpture Gustav Vigeland, who did the statues in the Vigeland Park in Oslo that we visited later on our tour.

Houses seen on the hill from this area.

Back on the main street: the free trolley. Photo taken on the rainy day, so few people on the street.

A view of the Bergenhus Fortress from the main street. Today was the sunny day, so many people on the street.

Rosenkrantz Tower, part of the Bergenhus Fortress was built in the 1270s and modified and expanded in the 1560s.

More of the Bergenhus Fortress, parts of it dating back to the 1240s.

The Bergenhus Fortress.

Haakon's Hall, construction in the mid 13th century. It is still used today for banquets.

The inner courtyard. The children in the photo are wearing Viking helmets.

On a side street walking down from the fortress. Interesting exchange rates: Norwegian krone, 19.90 = US$ 2.40, but at 3 euros, it would be about US$3.34. If you pay in U.S. dollars, it would be a whopping US$4.00.

In a market, strawberries at 45 krone would be US$5.48. If you paid in euros, it would be about US$6.69.

Pay in krone, US$6.70. Pay in euros, about US$7.80.

A DeWalt drill here will cost you 3495 krone or $425.55. In the U.S., no more than $150.

Walking back along the Bryggen street.

An interesting sculpture on the waterfront.

A photo I took of the tourists on the rainy day. Rain would not keep them away but the crowd was much smaller.

At the Fish Market. This fish market didn't get started much before lunch time. The market is for the tourists, not for the residents of Bergen. Fisk and Chips is not a mispelling--rather, Fisk is the name of the fish stall.

Cooking up a fish stew.

Barbecuing the fish.

Cod drying from the ceiling.

Big crabs for sale.

Also Bergen caviar.

More caviar. I tasted some: not as good as the Russian kind.

Caviar paste. You spread it on bread.

Reindeer and moose burgers for sale here. From US$4.86 for the small size to US$14.59 for the large size. The small size seems to be a bargain for Norwegian food.

Whale steak or salmon for $US $18.11.

But here is the real Norwegian food bargain: a baconpolse (a hot dog wrapped in bacon) for only US$3.53. These are for sale throughout Scandinavia. I tried one: okay.

Lyn and I ate lunch at the indoor fish market.

Cod drying.

Fish for sale.

More fish.

We decided to treat ourselves (and blow our lunch budget) to lobster. We did not know that the lobsters would be taken out of the tank for our approval. This is Lyn's lobster. She named it Freddie.

My lobster. I did not name it. I really was uncomfortable seeing alive what I was to soon eat.

Beer for lunch.

Our lobster lunch. The lobster was delicious. One of the best I have ever eaten. The total for each of us, including lobster, beer, free water, and free bread, was US$50.00.

Just hanging around.

For dinner later, we saw a Subway store.

The sub of the day was only 35 krone (US$4.26). The cost of our dinner made up for our extravagant lunch bill and, actually, our sandwiches were quite good. l

More of Bergen, mostly seen on our tour's tour of Bergen and on my ride on the hop-on hop-off bus. Photo: the Customs House.

A group of old houses.

More old houses.

Another view.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

A small old fortress. If you take the hop-on hop-off bus, you can get off here and take a very nice walk downhill, ending up near the Bergen shopping street on the southern harbor side..

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

The middle strip of the cobbled walkway was made smoother for the donkeys and horses.

Another walkway.

The National Stage, 1850, founded by Norwegian violinist Ole Bull. The statue is of playwright Henrik Ibsen.

The National Stage.

Another view.

Another statue here.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seafarer's Monument, celebrating Bergen's relationship with the sea and a remembrane of those who toiled on it.

Each side of the monument represents a century.

A pavilion given to Bergen by the Germans in 1889.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Close-up of the mural.

Seen on the drives. Close to the shopping street, which has department stores, etc.

A building with copper decoration.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives.

Seen on the drives. This building was very near our hotel.