Rainy May, and the fate of the Bergen Umbrella

The weather really hasn’t been that bad while I’ve been in Bergen. Although it has rained a bit here and there, most of my bike rides to and from the city have actually been precipitation free! (I admit this was due to good timing.) And the temperature hasn’t gone below 50 degrees very many times...

I’d be quite content with the momentary sunbreaks (of which there have been many, and oh what a beautiful city!), except that everyone keeps raving about the weeks of amazing weather that ended the day I arrived. Starting around Easter it was sunny and 70. Snow quickly melted from hiking trails, people sunbathed and thought summer had come. Oh well, at least I’m used to the rain!

The weather forecast for the 17^th of May – Norway’s Constitution Day – was once again for rain showers. People dressed in their bunads and fine clothing anyway and flooded (ha!) the city center for the parade. Gray skies menaced, but rain held off as the parade made its way along the waterfront. Then suddenly, as the fateful drops began to fall, they popped up one after the other... The crowded streets became a sea of umbrellas.

I wonder what percentage of the umbrellas produced in the world are sold in Bergen?

During the year I lived in Norway I was amazed by the quantity and intensity of the rainfall. It rains 80 inches per year on average in Bergen, compared to only 40 inches per year in Seattle and 60 in Juneau. I admired the children in rubber boots and onesie rainsuits and the fashionable practicality of women in long sleek raincoats.

After winds and often horizontal rains, I started to notice abandoned umbrellas scattered about the city, carcasses in a surreal sunny calm after the storm. During most of these encounters I was camera-less, but I was able to capture a few images. Until now I’ve never had a chance to share them with the world. I now present them to you, and hope the 17th of May umbrellas meet a better fate…

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I’ll write soon about fisheries fieldwork in the fjords and visits with friends and Øye and Sandvik relatives.