Published by Vinayak Hegde on 3rd May 2010
Bergen was founded by a Viking King (love the alliteration there) almost 1000 years ago. It was also a Hanseatic trading town in the middle ages but nowadays it is known as the gateway to the beautiful fjords of Norway. It is also Norway’s second largest town and a big university town.
Bryggen is the Bergen’s Quayside with old wooden houses. They are a distinctive landmark of Bergen and can be found on every travel brochure in Norway. Bryggen is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This part of Bergen has been gutted by fires many time in the past and has been reconstructed many times – the most recent being in 1955.
Bergen is also one of Norway’s rainiest cities and receives precipitation about 280 days out of 365 days a year. I was lucky that I did not encounter much rain during my stay there. The city is beautifully lit during the night and it is fantastic to take a walk around the city at night. It is also very safe and has a vibrant nightlife. I did not stay for much time in Bergen as it was just a stopover for going to the majestic fjords in the West. After a nap during the day, I ventured out in the evening and at night to take some photos of this beautiful city.
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 24th April 2010
The journey from Tromso in the north to Trondheim in the west was long and involved 2 ferry rides, 2 bus trips and a overnight train journey. I traveled a about 800 kms in one day. I found Trondheim to be a charming university and historical town. Even today about a quarter of it’s population is students.
The Nidaros Cathedral
Trondheim was the capital of Norway until 1217 AD and was founded more than a millennium ago in 997 AD. The region around Trondheim has been populated since Prehistoric times. Nidaros Cathedral is a Church built in Gothic style. A church was initially built on the same place in 1070 though it has been damaged and rebuilt several times since then. The West front of the Cathedral contains many statues. A legend to the statues can be found here. The complex also has the Archbishop’s Palace and a small museum. Beneath the Cathedral there is a crypt chamber which has many old coffins recovered during excavation and restoration of the Cathedral. It is also possible to go to the Church Spires to get magnificent views of Trondheim City.
Monk’s Island
Munkholmen or Monk’s Island is a small island just off Trondheim port. It used to be an execution ground in ancient times until Benedictine monks built a monastery in the 11th Century. Over the years it has been used as a prison, fort and also a monastery. During World War II it was also used as an anti-aircarft gun station. Today it is a place for recreation with several small restaurants and cafes.
Camera Obscura
As a traveler, once in a while you hit across something that is not there on any website or guidebooks but delights you. The Camera Obscura (A Pinhole Camera) is such an attraction on banks of the Nidelva River. The building of the Camera Obscura was actually built by students of NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). The building is made of wood and has a small hole and lens at the top which lets light through. The image is formed on the floor of the Camera Obscura after being reflected from a small mirror system. The images are really sharp and there are various levers to adjust the aperture of the pinhole and the orientation of the pinhole. It is really educative for people who do not know how cameras work as you are actually inside the Camera Obscura itself. More details at the website of the Camera Obscura.
Kite Festival
During my stay, I walked up to the Kristiansten Fortress situated on a hill. While I enjoyed the view of Trondheim Fjord from the hill, there was a sudden rush of students and their parents from the architecture section of NTNU who were organizing a impromptu Kite Festival as a part of the coursework. It was funny to see students trying to fly kites of different sizes and shapes including some monolithic duds which has no chance of flying. In the end the kites that flew well and stayed afloat were the ones which had the simplest design. A good engineering lesson learnt the hard way 
.
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 16th April 2010
Tromsø is the largest city in Norway north of the Arctic circle. It has been inhabited since the end of the Ice Age. Most of Tromsø is situated on a small island and connected to the mainland by the Tromsø Bridge. The climate in Tromsø is surprisingly moderate for a city at this latitude thanks to the Gulf stream that warms the shore. Tromsø is home to the world’s northernmost university and is also one of the best places to see the Northern Lights being right in the middle of the Northern Lights zone. Unfortunately I was there at the wrong time (summer) and the sunspot activity is currently at it’s lowest so the chances of seeing the northern lights was pretty much zero.
I arrived late at night in Tromsø via a flight from Vilnius and stayed at a CSer’s place. It turned out the CSer’s father was an international diplomat and I had some great conversations with him. It also opened my mind to the other side of anthropogenic climate change as several scientists I chanced up during the trip told me that climate change was just a good way of getting funding for climate research but the situation on the ground (in Norway and Svalbard atleast) was different from what was being reported in the news.
Arctic Cathedral and Fløyen
The Arctic Cathedral is on the mainland and can be reached by crossing the Tromsø Bridge from the city centre. Due to it’s distinctive style and location it has often called the Opera house of Norway (alluding to the Sydney Opera House).
The Fløyen is a mountain overlooking the island of Tromsø and it’s summit can be reached by cable car. It offers spectacular views of Tromsø and you can see the whole island looking northward. The panorama linked below was taken from Fløyen.
Other architectural Attractions
There are several interesting buildings and institutions in Tromsø such as the Polar Environment center built to resemble a stack of falling books, the City Hall, the Mack Brewery – a microbrewery which has been operational since 1877 and the Court building.
