Bergen, Norway

Posted On June 25, 2020

This was a last minute trip for me as I decided to tag a long with an old coworker. We ended up deciding on staying in Norway for majority of our trip in the Scandinavia region. We stayed in Bergen for a few days, then Stavanger to hike Pulpit Rock, Oslo, and ended in Tromso for the Northern Lights. Of the places that I have visited, I would definitely say that Norway is the most beautiful place.

Currency: 1 USD ~ 8.25 KR (this was in 2018)

Flights:
Total: ~ $800 USD (Total for 4 flights)
LAX -> Bergen == Norwegian Air
Bergen -> Stavanger == Wideroe
Stavanger -> Oslo == Norwegian Air
Oslo -> Tromso == Norwegian Air
Transportation: Uber; walked

Accommodations:
Super cozy apartment in an older building. It was a little difficult to find due to the area being poorly lit, but I suspect that if it was during the day it would be a lot easier to find. It was a 2 bedroom apartment on the second floor of a building. The building was structured like a dorm. It had one shared full bathroom on the first floor for three rooms and a full shared kitchen on the second flood. It definitely was a little surprising to see but it wasn’t too bad since we were going to be out most of the day.

City view of Bergen I had no expectations traveling through Norway since I didn’t have much knowledge. I just thought heck, I’ll just go with it and this will, at the very least, be an exciting adventure. We flew into Bergen and landed around 11:30pm and got to our AirBnB a little after midnight. The next morning it was gloomy and rainy. We ended up walking around the city and found a cute, little coffee shop to stop at for some breakfast. I had a pastry and a hot chocolate. We grabbed a seat at a window and enjoyed our first meal. After breakfast, we walked over to the Fløyen where we took a gondola to the top of a mountain overlooking the city.

Due to the weather, it was impossible to see the city from the top of the mountain. It was colder and a little wetter up where we were at, but we weren’t going to let that stop us. At the top of the mountain there was a restaurant, a play area for kids, and some trails. The trails weren't strenuous at all and were more for leisure walking; however, we it was still pretty muddy. We also came across a lake up in the mountains. The low clouds and grey skies gave an ominous feel to it, but the view of the lake lined by green and orange leaves on the trees provided me with a sense of comfort. We continued walking around the lake and by the time we got back to the gondola to take down, the skies had cleared up a bit.

The view was absolutely stunning and I was speechless for a minute. The mix of the city and the buildings and the green trees of the mountains and the water just reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest here in the U.S., that I felt like I visited before and I didn’t want to leave. It was at this point that I knew if this is what Norway had to offer, I would be in for the trip of a lifetime. We went back down the Floyen and made our way to Bergenhaus Fortress. The view from the fortress, although we weren’t as high as the Floyen, was just as spectacular. The red roof buildings lined the mountains bordered with the mountains to one side and the water on the next. Hence, I couldn’t help stop every few feet to just let it all soak in.

For lunch we stopped at Trekroneren for a hot dog. My friend and I split a reindeer hotdog because of the sheer size. It was topped with lingonberry, ketchup, mustard, and fried onions. Lingonberry reminded me like a strawberry sauce, but not as sweet. I was very skeptical because who would think to put something like that on a hot dog mixed with fried onions?! I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised.
It was a nice mix of sweet and savory with the added crunch. We spent the rest of the day walking through the city, checking out the small shops and buildings around the marina. The people there were extremely nice and the views from anywhere in the city were gorgeous.

Day 2

We had brunch at Fish Me Fishmarket which was right on the water. I ordered the Bergen Fish Soup while my coworker decided on the big seafood plate that had crab legs, shrimp, giant prawns and mussels. We both shared an order of the 4 different types of caviar. The taste of the food matched the view; it was incredible! The soup was light and had a good amount of fish. It resembled clam chowder. The caviar was tasty as well. I don’t usually eat caviar for a few reasons: 1) i usually can’t afford it and 2) it tends to be too salty. However, these weren’t that salty and were actually delicious. I probably wouldn’t order it again, but it was nice to try. Our lunch was about 70USD which is not bad for seafood.

After lunch, we boarded the boat to head out on our Rodne fjord cruise. We were fortunate that while on our cruise the sun was out and shining. It was kind of surreal being out on the water in Norway. I mean, just a few months ago I had a totally different vacation planned and to think I was here was something else. The cascading waterfalls virtually on every side of the boat was something I will never forget. At one point, we got close enough to a waterfall that we were able to grab some water to drink. Oh yeah, the water there is so fresh that you can fill up your bottle anywhere and drink it! If Bergen was any precursor to what the next 10 days were going to be like, I would be in for a trip I’d never forget.