Costa Brava gives us lessons in history, culture, and fish

Our visit to MAC Empúries is a highlights of our Costa Brava vacation.

Although many people travel to the Costa Brava for its sunny beaches, we're dodging raindrops on our March trip to this northeastern corner of Spain in the Catalonia region. Soggy times call for creative measures, and we end up bringing home memories and knowledge that we might have otherwise missed had the weather cooperated. 

Certainly this rain won't continue all day, so we head to Palamós, one of the main seaports in the province of Girona. Parking is free at the port on weekdays this time of year, and we easily find the tourism office across the street. Given the rain, the tourism worker suggests we check out Museu de la Pesca, the Fishing Museum, and if we're still here in the afternoon, we can go to the fish auction. Now, I can't say I've always wanted to know more about fishing, but surprisingly, this museum turns out to be a real gem. 

This fishing boat is the centerpiece of Museu de la Pesca in Palamós,

Our visit starts with a short film and then we're free to wander around the various fishing-related exhibits with placards in English. The museum also houses a documentation center relating to fishing and the sea, and is the headquarters of the Chair of Maritime Studies of the University of Girona. There's a strong emphasis on sustainable fishing that is presented in a relatable and easily understandable way.  

The Fishing Museum in Palamós is a great place to visit when
the weather isn't ideal.

After an hour of exploring the museum, we decide to forego the fish auction and to continue onto our next destination, the charming medieval village of Pals. 

The lovely medieval village of Pals is quiet today
but comes alive at night.  

I've been to dozens of tourism offices — it's usually my first stop — and I have to say, the worker here is one of the finest. She spends some time talking to us about the history of Pals and gives us a well-designed little map. (Trust me, tourism specialists should consider that tourists want a map that can fit in one hand rather than an oversized flimsy map that is awkward to handle.) She tells us to not be fooled by how empty and quiet the streets are because most people are at work. At night, she says, the bars and restaurants will be lively. 

The views from Palos are quite stunning.

Our stroll is a pleasant one along narrow cobbled streets and through arches to a viewpoint at the top of the town. Tall trees and shrubs nearly obstruct the celebrated views of the Montgr Massif and the Medes Islands; maybe they're trimmed in the high season. 

Pertadalla is one of Catalonia's best conserved medieval villages.

We make a brief stop in Peratallada, where we never do find the tourism office, before heading back to our cozy studio in Llambilles. A word about Llambilles: This suburban community near Girona is not a cultural hub, but it's very conveninent for our explorations. Best of all, the local cafeteria is open all day and serves up snacks, small meals and drinks. We become regulars there, popping in for breakfast bocadillos in the morning and croquettes and spritzers in the evening. There's no way we'd be able to stay up late enough to eat dinner in a restaurant in Spain. 

Bike sculptures provide a touch of whimsy in Llambilles.

Colorful houses sit along the Onyar River in Girona.

We spend the next two days in Girona. We've been here before, but only for a few hours, so this time we do it right. At 10:50 we meet our guide at Plaça de la Independència for a walking tour of this beautiful city. Although many of the sites we visit on the tour are associated with "Game of Thrones," which no one in our group had watched, our guide tells us the rich history of Girona's Jewish population. 

This sculpture at the Jewish History Museum in Girona,
was created by Frank Meisler (1925-2018), a Holocaust survivor.  

The Jewish population here was a key influence on Girona's social, political, economic, cultural, and religious life in the 12th through 14th centuries. The city's Jewish Quarter is one of the most important and best preserved such neighborhoods on the Iberian Peninsula. Today we see the site of the oldest synagogue. Tomorrow we'll return and visit the fascinating Jewish History Museum. Our visit is capped with a traditional Catalonian lunch at Casa Marieta. 

Flies hold an unusual place of honor in Girona's history.

Although not of Arab origin, Girona's Arab Baths date back to
the 14th century. 

On our final day on the Costa Brava, we visit Empúries, one of Catalonia's most iconic archaeological sites. Here we find the remains of the only Greek city to be excavated on the Iberian Peninsula, alongside ruins of a Roman city, one of the first built in this area. Armed with a map and audio guide we make our way through the ancient streets of this Greek city that founded in 575 B.C. by a group of Phocaean Greeks as a port to handle trade with the Phonecians and Indigetes (one of the Iberian peoples living in Catalonia). Its original name, Emporion, comes from the Greek word for trading port. 

The Greek settlement at Empúries was established as a strategic trading port. 

The city thrived in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., but eventually help was needed from the Romans. What was initially a military fort, grew into a Roman city. After a couple hundred years existing as friendly neighbors, the two cities merged under Roman control until it was eventually abandoned. A part of Roman Empúries was somewhat revived in the 9th-11th centuries as the capital of Ampurias County. 

Visitors to the Greek and Roman ruins at Empúries can also visit
a museum containing artifacts unearth by archaeologists.

Our day at Empúries has provided us with another history lesson that we unexpectedly — yet happily — found along the Costa Brava.

For more information:

Museu de la Pesca (Palamós Fishing Museum) 

Pals Tourism Office 

Girona's Jewish Quarter

Mac Empúries

Polar nights along Norway's fjords

After a brief appearance, the sun sets on Norway's fjords. 

We depart Bergen on a rainy Christmas Eve evening. Having read many posts on the Havila voyagers Facebook page, we aren't surprised by the long line to check in to our cabin aboard the Polaris. Havila is one of two ferry lines that provide passenger and cargo service between Bergen and Kirkeness along Norway's western coast. Among the reasons we've chosen Havila is because its Eco-friendly boats are new and much smaller than the huge cruise chips, and its food is locally sourced and served restaurant style in sensible portions. Except for one unfortunate choice (lutefisk really is an acquired taste) we enjoy every meal during our voyage.

Polaris offers cozy corners in which to pass the time.

The ferry stops at 34 ports during its 12-day roundtrip. On most days, there's a stop that is long enough for us to disembark for a few hours. It's raining at our first stop, Ålesund, but we still can admire the city's Art Nouveau architecture. A fire here in 1904 left 10,000 people homeless, but the city was rebuilt in just three years. Today, there's hardly anyone around, which is understandable because it's Christmas morning.

It's a quiet rainy Christmas morning in Ålesund.

The next day, we visit Trondheim. Since we only have a few hours here, we make a bee-line for the Nidaros Cathedral, one of Northern Europe's largest cathedrals. The church was built over the grave of King Olav who introduced Christianity to Norway. Nidaros is a destination for pilgrims and the venue for the coronation of the country's kings and queens. 

Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is known for its towers and 91-meter spire.  

One evening — or is it afternoon? — we visit Tromso, known as "Paris of the North" and "Gateway to the Arctic."  With Christmas behind us, we finally see people out and about, shopping and sipping. We're intrigued by the long line at an outdoor bar. The drinks (and heaters) there must be worth the wait. The church here is quite pretty. On its southbound trip, our ship will stop in Tromso again and passengers will be invited to attend a midnight concert at the church.

Tromso Cathedral is said to be the northernmost
Protestant cathedral in the world.  

The midnight concert is one of many excursions that Havila offers. Some of the excursions are quite adventurous, like cross-country skiing, dogsledding, and snowmobiling. More to our liking, instead, are the two excursions we do sign up for. 

It's even colder than it looks on the day of our visit to the North Cape. 

The first, a trip to the Nordkapp (North Cape), is very memorable. The sun will rise and set while we're en route, so the view during our bus ride is spectacular. Once we arrive, we don our boot spikes and head into the wind to take some pictures at the iconic globe monument. Enough of this! We spend the rest of our time here at the museum. I find it fascinating that until the road to the cape was completed in 1956, visitors would climb the thousand steps straight up from the beach below. Food, drink, supplies, and wealthy women in long full skirts would be carried up the 307-meter cliff.

The iconic globe sits at the edge of the North Cape.

Before the road was completed, visitors to the North
Cape plateau had to walk up this steep path.

Heading south now, we join the "A Taste of Vesterålen" excursion. Early in the morning, we disembark in Harstad and board the bus that takes us through the city then on to  Trondenes Church, the world's northernmost medieval stone church. 

Trondenes Church near Harstad can trace its history back 800 years.

Next, we walk over to the medieval farm where we hear a brief talk about what life was like on this farm 800 years ago. We have time to explore the Trondenes Historial Centre that provides insight into the rich history of the Harstad region. 

Clipfish dry on a rack in Trondenes. 

Displays at the Trondenes Historical Centre provide a look at
life in the Harstad region from Viking times. 

Our excursion continues with a ferry ride across a fjord where we enjoy lefse (traditional soft Norwegian flatbread) with brunost (soft brown cheese) and a coffee. We have a few photo stops during this most enjoyable excursion along Vesterålen's mountains and fjords, before stopping along the Sortlandbrua (the Sortland Bridge) to wave at our boat passing below. Sad that the day is at an end, but ready for some hot Norwegian fish soup, we reboard our boat at Sortland Harbor.  

I love the red barns of the Vesterålen region.

Could this really be an AirBNB accommodation?

The mountains of Vesterålen are seen from across a fjord.

It's our final night aboard the Polaris, and we have a crisp clear evening to walk about Kristiansund. We've made some friends during our cruise and we set off with them along the wharf of this pretty city, rebuilt after being bombed in 1940. We have only just enough time to visit the the Klippfiskkjerrina sculpture that honors the generations of women who processed clipfish along cliffs. I'd love to be able to stay longer and sample some fishan, Kristiansund's take on fish and chips. 

We don't have enough time to stop into this inviting
restaurant along Kristiansund's wharf.

Klippfiskkjerrina honors the women who tirelessly
dried clipfish along the cliffs of Kristiansund. 

We need to clear out of our cabin early on our voyage's last day. Passing the time in comfy chairs, we enjoy our last looks at the coast and a final delicious lunch in the restaurant, The staff here has been so outstanding, that we're sad to leave them. Before we know it, we're back in Bergen, and tomorrow we'll be heading home.

We've left the Arctic behind and are heading south along Norway's fjords.

The beautiful scenery continues as we arrive in Bergen.

It's been an amazing trip to Norway, but I think we'll head
someplace warmer next winter.

Westward to Bergen

This is sound advice, wherever you find yourself.
This particular warning sign is found in Bergen, Norway.

After a few terrific days in Oslo, we board the train to Bergen. The trip is delightful. I had booked the tickets in advance directly through the VY site, thus saving some money. One hitch was that our U.S. credit card wasn't accepted; (they don't accept Canadian credit cards either). Luckily they accept PayPal, and our son kindly let us access his account.

The sun is either rising or setting over the Norwegian
landscape as seen from the Oslo-Bergen train.

'

The winterscape has a blue glow as seen from the train to Bergen.

Bergensbanen (the Bergen Line) is considered one of the most beautiful train voyages in Europe. The scenery is indeed spectacular. It reminds us of a trip on the California Zephyr we took a few years ago from Reno to Emeryville, Calif. On this day, we enjoy watching the sun rise (and then set a few hours later) over a snowy winterscape full of mountains, forests, lakes, and villages, and dotted with isolated farms.

We profit from a rare sunny day in Bergen.

I was aware that it rained a lot in Bergen, but I'm not prepared for the thorough soaking we receive on our first full day here. It rains most of the time during our weeklong stay, but our apartment is just a short walk from the cinema where we see Conclave and Wicked. Unlike in France, most films in Norway are shown in their original version, rather than being dubbed. What's more, the snack bar sells popcorn!  

It's the middle of the day at Bryggen wharf.

Despite the weather, we manage to get out and explore. We're in Bergen at the right time of year to visit Pepperkakebyen, a huge model of the city made almost entirely of gingerbread. Most of the structures have been created by schoolchildren. If you happen to be in Bergen from mid-November through December, Pepperkakebyen is not to be missed. And it smells delicious! 

This gingerbread structure was created by Bergen children. 

The window displays are festive in Bergen's Bryggen neighborhood.

On another damp day, we check out the archaeological exhibits at the Bryggens Museum. The Bryggen neighborhood is a UNESCO World Heritage site for both its distinct wooden buildings and the artifacts found below ground. The museum is built over the remains of Bergen's oldest buildings dating from 1100. The wharf area of Bryggen was a key trading center of the Hanseatic League from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Over the centuries, fires have destroyed much of Bryggen and have been rebuilt faithful to tradition. Thus, the neighborhood has retrained its colorful wooden buildings that enchant visitors.

King Magnus is the focus of an exhibit at the Bryggens Museum in Bergen.

After a short funicular ride, we've arrive atop Mount Fløyen in Bergen.

Finally, on our last full day here, the rain stops and we head to Mount Fløyen. Our mode of transportation up the mountain is the Fløibanen funicular. The view from the top is a highlight of our stay in Bergen. I take dozens of photos of the city and harbor below and amble through the troll forest. I suggest we take advantage of the sunshine and hike back down into Bergen. It's a  hearty and stunning walk. 

The rooftops of Bryggen are seen along our walk down Mount Fløyen.

The ride up Mount Fløyen lasts about 8 minutes;
the 6 km walk down takes more than an hour.

As our week in Bergen draws to a close, we are eager to embark on the second half of our Norway adventure: a 12-day cruise of the stunning Norwegian fjords.

As we enjoy the view from Mount Fløyen in Bergen, we're looking
forward to the next segment of our trip, which begins tomorrow.

For details on some sites included in this story, visit these websites:

Oslo-Bergen train

Pepperkakebyen gingerbread city

Bryggen UNESCO World Heritage site

Bryggens museum

December in Norway starts in Oslo

Development of the area around Bjørvika harbor is part of the city's
'Oslo as a fjord city' vision.

Oslo is the first stop on our recent trip to Norway. The city is all decked out for Christmas, and our hotel is just around the corner from the Spikersuppa Christmas market. On our first evening in town, we check out the festivities, then go in search of a restaurant that won't break the bank. Peppees Pizza, it is!

Oslo's Spikersuppa Christmas market features this Ferris wheel. 

Skaters enjoy the evening at Oslo's Christmas market. 

Some visitors to Oslo's Christmas market warm up around a firepit.

Oslo's historical Grand Hotel and the Parliament shine under a full moon.

Oslo receives one of its first snow falls of the season. 

I have two places on my list to visit on our second day here: Norsk Folkemusem and Vigelandsparken. It snowed overnight so we gingerly make our way to the bus and manage to visit both sites during the short daylight hours. 

Oslo's Norsk Folkemuseum contains Norway's largest collection
of Sami culture and artifacts. 

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Norsk Folkemuseum, invites visitors to step back in time to see how people lived from 600 years ago to the present. Exhibitions showcase the different regions of Norway and offer an entertaining history lesson. Permanent exhibits include Sami culture, folk arts and crafts, toys, costumes, and religious relics. Outdoors, the vast grounds of the museum contain nearly 160 buildings including shops, homes and farms. The highlight is the Gol Stave church, built around 1200, and moved to the museum grounds in 1907 when the collections of King Oscar II were incorporated into the Folkemuseum. We spend hours here, trudging through the snow and peeking into the ancient buildings. Our visit is topped off with a bowl of Norwegian fish soup at the café — the first of many bowls I'll enjoy in the upcoming weeks.  

This sled is part of the permanent collection at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo.

Handmade trunks are exhibited at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo.

The Countryside collection at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo
includes dozens of buildings from different parts of Norway.

Built around 1200, the Gol Stave Church was faithfully
restored  to its original design before it was relocated
to the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo. It is part of the
collection of Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway.

Snow has fallen on the Countryside at Oslo's Norsk Folkemuseum. 

Fortified with soup, we board a bus to Vigelandsparken, home to more than 200 bronze, iron, and granite sculptures created by the artist Gustav Vigeland. We enter the park by crossing The Bridge lined with 58 bronze sculptures of men, women, and children. We pass The Fountain, the earliest sculpture piece in the park. Since it's winter, the water isn't flowing, but we can still admire the six giants supporting the fountain base, and the 20 tree groups that represent man's relationship to nature. We then climb the stairs to the Monolith, a 17-meter-high pillar sculpted of one stone. Here, 121 human figures seem to cling and float together. According to the Vigeland Museum website, "The sculpture has been interpreted as a kind of vision of resurrection, and our longing and striving for spirituality." As a start to our Norway trip, the park portends many more moments of awe ahead.

Fifty-eight bronze sculptures by artist Gustav Vigeland
line the bridge in Oslo's Vigelandsparken.

Gustav Vigeland's Fountain is surrounded by 20 tree groups
in Oslo's Vigelandsparken.

On our last full day in Oslo we've signed up for a walking tour. Meeting at the tiger sculpture in front of the main train station, we embark on a two-hour guided stroll through the city where we see the city's oldest buildings and some of its newest architectural gems. We step inside City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony had taken place a few days before our visit. We hear about and see from afar the striking Opera House, and decide to return later in the afternoon to enjoy the sunset from its roof. 

The statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt at Oslo Harbor honors
the U.S. President for his kindness toward Norway and the
Norwegian royal family. FDR helped Queen Marthe and her
children (one of whom is Norway's current king) escape
the country when the Germans invaded in 1940. 

Oslo's Opera House was designed to look like a glacier rising from fjords.

The works of Edvard Munch, best known for his painting The Scream,
are housed in this museum which opened in 2021 in Oslo. The
museum has several versions of The Scream, but displays only
one at a time in order to protect them from light.

She Lies is a floating stainless steel and glass sculpture created by
Italian artist Monica Bonvicini. The sculpture is tethered to the
floor of the Oslo's Bjørvika Harbor, but turns and moves with the tides.

Our time in Oslo is too short to see everything we'd like to, but I suspect we'll return to Norway's capital city some day.

This gull seems to be enjoying a bird's eye view of Oslo
from the roof of the Opera House.

Sun sets over Oslo's Bjørvika harbor.

For more information, visit the Norsk Folkemuseum  and the Vigeland Museum websites.