Europe

[Visited: October 2002]

Norway obviously is a country closely related to the sea. Its fjords are famous all over the world, and so is their whale hunting, and oil drilling in the open North Sea. Their salmon are sought after far abroad, and fish is an important and obvious ingredient in the Norwegian cuisine. Therefore, it is interesting to visit a fish market in Norway; I visited the one in Bergen.
Early in the morning (like most fish markets!), the stalls are set up at the quay in the centre of Bergen. I found shellfish, crabs, chunks of salmon and other, less easily identifiable, fish, kaviar, and many other types of fish. They are all on display in an attractive, colourful combination on small pieces of ice. White, red, pink: not many colours, but very vivid ones.
Surprisingly, the men behind the stalls are often not impressive, rough Norwegian fishermen, but quite often exotic strangers trying to lure you into buying something. Some of them come as far as from China! As a consequence, it is possible to speak many languages at the stalls. Although there are other vendors selling other commodities - mostly fruits, vegetables and Norwegian sweaters - this market is known as the fish market.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Bergen Fish Market (Norway). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Bergen Fish Market.
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