Bergen is a city of many charms. This beautiful Norwegian city standing on the brink of the western fjords of Norway is an old and important sea-faring town, surrounded by mountains. There’s much to see and do here, but one of my favourite things about it is the traditional fish market or the Torget i Bergen.
I love my fish, as a self-respecting Bengali, so it’s always nice to visit a place that loves it too. Spread around the central wharf of Bergen, next to the old town of Bryggen, the fish market consists of rows upon rows of stalls selling fresh fish as well as vegetables, flowers, handicrafts and souvenirs. But it’s primarily all about the fish, lobsters and crabs. You can have them raw, with bread, mayonnaise and wedges of lemon, along with a bottle of beer — absolutely delicious — or you could have them baked or fried. You can have heaving seafood platters too; a collection of dried or salted cod (the Atlantic variety called ‘Skrei’), crab, shrimps, salmon, mackerel and herrings. The fish is unbelievably fresh, and so tasty that most of the dishes available require little garnishing. It rains a lot in Bergen, all the year round, and even if you’re carrying a regulation umbrella, there’s little better to do when the skies open than to duck under a shaded eatery, order a seafood platter, and watch the rain.
You can get seafood platters from SKR75 at the Torget i Bergen.