Back to Istanbul

We spent the whole day in the bus, heading back to Istanbul, except for when we hopped out on the ferry to cross back from Asia to Europe.

Goodbye, Asia

Also had an excellent lunch at a restaurant I didn't catch the name of in a town I can't remember. It was the last day of Ramadan and there were lines at every ATM. Ahmet said it was a special day; people got paid early so they would have money for the coming holiday.

I read Get Shorty and enjoyed it.

Things to do near Drammen

Mum sent me an email. "Drammen doesn't look very exciting." She wasn't wrong. Some pretty bridges and a nice river, but I didn't get far from the train station while I was there.

What Drammen did do was let me spend a day exploring Horten (The sunny part of Norway! It rained the entire time I was there). Overlooking the fjord in a spot called Borre is the Midgard Historical Center.

Built in a barrows field, the center has a number of artifacts recovered from the field on display. Most of these were discovered when the barrows were being dug to lay train tracks.

A sword and a spearhead

The center also provided the most comprehensive information about life in the viking times that I've seen so far. The collection was small but very well curated.

This sword was intentionally bent out of shape before burial, the theory being that it had to 'die' to travel to the afterlife.

But even without the artifacts on display, my trip to Borre would have been worthwhile for one piece of information I gathered while there - details about Viking era Novgorod, the one city I am not able to visit on this trip. My research so far had given me everything I needed except one crucial detail - Holmgard, the fortified island on the Volga, was an earth fort, not a stone fort.

Long spearhead for stabbing, short spearhead for throwing

I'll happily recommend the center to anybody looking to fill a day in southern Norway. It only takes an hour or two to see the exhibits and has a good cafe, friendly staff, and is situated in an interesting and historic part of the country. They tell me it stops raining sometimes, as well.

A decorated thing that was buried. Really, that's what the card said!

The field the center is situated in is supposed to be the burial place of the Yngling kings, but given that the same claim was made of the barrows I visited in Uppsala, I'm not certain how much credit I'd give the theory. The Ynglings seem to be the subject of a Scandinavian pissing contest - I've got more buried than you do.

Barrows! Well, barrow.

The rest of the day was given over to getting to Oslo (bus to Skoppum, train to Drammen, pick my bags up, train to Skøyen, bus to Oslo). The next day; Viking ships.

Photos from the bus

The Coast Bus goes hourly from Bergen to Stavanger and back again. It uses two ferries to cross the fjords, goes over, under and around mountains and offers very few opportunities to get out and take photos. Except, obviously, on the ferry.

Very easy from the ferry

It was a good opportunity to see some parts of the country I haven't seen, with all its beauty and its danger.

Fair warning.

The weather out of Bergen was fantastic, bright and warm until we hit the second ferry.

The sky was almost blue.

After that, though, it started raining. It's been raining since then.

Bergen by foot

"I want to get up the hill to take some photos," I told the guy at the counter. "Can I walk up?"
"Of course," he said. "There are lots of paths."
"What's the best way?"
He shrugged. "Go that way," he said, pointing to the hill. "If you get lost, make sure you're going up."

Turned out to be pretty good advice

At the top I found what at first appeared to be a children's park but turned out to be the setting of a low-budget horror film (I assume) with carved trolls and heads on stakes peering out at every turn.

Gah!

A shower and breakfast, and the rest of the day was spent exploring. I went to the university and saw the foundations of the St Catherine Church and Hospital.

The first women's hospital in Norway

I crossed a couple of bridges and took a bunch of photos I'm not posting here because they're not really of anything. I was staying at the end of an historical area, a bunch of buildings which, if the information outside them can be believed, are sinking into the fjord.

Bright colours indicate wealth

I was also next to a castle (with lots of families having picnics on the walls, in spite of the rain), a remnant from Bergen's days as a member of the Hanseatic League. One of the major structures within was the Rosencrantz Tower.

No Gildenstern Bridge, sorry

And, of course, Haakon's Hall.

Obviously

My last act for the day was to work out how to get the bus to Stavanger and prepare for the six hour ride.