Evening star., 1938-04-03
TRAFFIC ENLNENS
ANCIENT BERGEN
Autos, Bicycles, Carts and
Cows Form Endless
Street Parades.

BERGEN, April 2.-When Norway's
famous ford season gets under way
late this spring. most of the tours to
the magnificent fjords that pit the
country's long west coast will start
from the old Viking port of Bergen.
and many travellers will seize this
opportunity to make a tour of the
lovely old town.
Not Bergen's age, but Bergen's
youth and verve will impress visitors
first of all. This is an exciting city,
a city whose traffic problems would
make the ordinary American police
man throw up his hands in despair.
A hodge -podge of oddly assorted We
hicles throngs its quays and streets.
Automobiles, bicycles and trolleys
with "trailers" tagging behind min
gle with hundreds Of tiny two-wheeled
drays drawn by sturdy little horses
whose drivers perch hazardously on
the edge of bobbing piles of produce.
Occasionally farmer strolls down
the main street, casually driving a
pair of cows through the jumbled
traffic.
Odd Bicycles.
Most numerous of vehicles are the
bicycles. Some have two front wheels,
some have popping motors, but the
most popular is type with a front
wheel much smaller than the rear
None look orthodox to the American
eye. Mounted on them, delivery boys
dart by at breakneck speed. and the
traveller does we'll to heed their furi-
ously ringing bells, for otherwise he
Is certain to be run down.
The American visitor will be i'm
pressed by the faces he sees in Ber-
gen. Judged by American standards,
most of the men are handsome and
most Of the girls beautiful. The girls
compilations, with their vivid color
ing, must be the loveliest in the world.
In winter and early spring boys, and
many Of the men, walk about the
streets in ski pants, ski boots, ski caps
or little black hats with short. shiny
vlsors. Girls, too, wear ski boots or
knee-length rubber boots and occa-
sionally Sabots, while silk stockings
are a rarity Every one wears light
coats. even in winter, for although
Bergen is as far north as Hudson
Bay, the Gulf Stream keeps it warm
and the temperature scarcely ever
goes below freezing
Situated at the head of the Bergens-
ford and pierced by its three
branches, Bergen lies wedged in be-
tween its quays and its mountains,
with Floifjellet over 1000 feet high.
rising at its back door Tile-roofed
houses in white and yellow stick to
the mountains sheer slopes like pins
on a map. and a cable-car takes
travellers up to the famous restaurant
at Floien on its crest, where they can
look down on the city and the ford
spread out below
Water Front Busy.
The traveller arriving BY sea
glimpses at once the very heart of
Bergen. Shipping and commerce have
been its lifeblood, and all activity
centers around its water front. Here
is the great open fish market where
blue-clad fishermen in wooden-soled
sabotS and rubber boots sell live fish
from hundreds of tanks Here, too,
are many of the finest old buildings
King Haakon's Hall, Rosenkrantz
Tower, the Hanseatic Museum, while
nearby is st. Mary's Church, built in
the 18th century.
On the old German quay is Nordnes,
the Oldest part of the city. where tiny
houses, jammed one against another,
cling precariously to the slopes of a
steep hill, and narrow streets climb a
zlg-zag course to the top These
houses are ancient, and Bergen, in
spite of its tumble of traffic, the life
and color if its fish market, is an an
clent city. 1t was founded in 1910 by
King Olav Kyrre, the Peaceful, and
during the Middle Ages was a great
port of the Hanseatic League. Today
It's beautiful harbor, its mountain
background and its delightful old
architecture make it one of the great
scenic thrills of the north, while it's
famous National Theater and splendid
museums give 1t particular interest
Z" the tourist.