Bergen, Norway
What are two groovy single Sisters to do over Valentine’s Day weekend? Jet off to norway!
Yes, I went to Bergen, norway in February. And yes, I loved every chilly moment of it!
This was a quick trip for us… (just 4 nights) and because it was the off season, round trip plane tickets were only $468 on Norwegian air.
Yep, $468.
how did we land on Bergen? Well we wanted a winter wonderland experience and to see the northern lights… kind of failed at the northern lights aspiration (didn’t travel far enough north).
If you aren’t familiar with Bergen here are some notable aspects: Small fishing town located right along the harbor of two main fjords, unbelievably fresh seafood, known as the “gateway” to the fjords of norway, has a UNESCO world heritage cultural site- Bryggen (The dock) that consists of precious multicolored commercial buildings lining the harbor, and there is a fløibanen (funicular) you can take to the top of the mountain to hike, check out the staggering city views, or cross country ski. We quite literally saw about 70% of the residents with skis slung over their shoulders walking through town to get to the lift.
Now, I love to extensively plan my vacations… because of this my sister and I basically had all of the logistics sorted before we even left for norway. This included two hostels booked, a fjord day cruise, flåmsbana railway tickets, a snowshoe excursion in the city of flåm, and return bus tickets to Bergen.
Like I said, major planner over here (Aka- Amateur travel agent and Itinerary master). some of you may be taken aback by all of this prep work ahead of time. Is there even enough time to have a spur of the moment adventure?
Of course! In fact I find it to be a bit liberating. by the time I reach my destination I don’t have to dick around with the tedious bits of travel (“no dickage” as my family likes to say! Yes, I am aware that this is probably a made up phrase, but my mom has a gift so just go with it).
The first half-day consisted of floundering around for a bit…we basically just checked into our first hostel (details below), roamed around the town, and closed out a long travel day at a cozy pub (Felix pub) where we met two super lovely and welcoming local girls (who we still try to keep in touch with- I mean perks of traveling am I right?!)
*ally afoot advice: I like to change up my living accommodations when I’m staying in one city for longer than 2 nights. I strongly recommend giving this idea a try! it’ll allow you to experience different sides of the city, discover new attractions/hostels, meet new people, etc. it’s such an easy way to add another layer of adventure to your trip.
Day 2- our first full day! That meant tons. Of. Walking. It really is the best way to see the city. torrey and I were so content to wander around the picturesque town of Bergen… we visited the fisketorget (fish market), toured the university, went to an ice bar- complete with the best of Van Gogh’s paintings carved into the ice, and had multiple chili martinis at a super trendy bar that is aptly called “no stress”. The day’s discoveries: the town of Bergen really loves all things chili. I’m talking chili infused cocktails, jams, And salted nuts to name a few. We never did find out the reason behind the chili craze… thoughts?
Day 3- the makes of a perfect morning: watching the sunrise over the fjords with coffee and a sommerbolle pastry in hand (I kid you not, I had about ten of these magical pastries over the course of the trip). After, we moved into our second hostel (details below)…and am I glad we did! We had an absolutely perfect window view of the lightly dusted snowy hillside village. The majority of the day felt like a scene out of frozen… time for the fjord cruise (the captain literally played a song from the frozen soundtrack). You truly will be in awe throughout the entire three hour trip; waterfalls, crushing through the ice packed fjord, water reminiscent of glass, majestic Mountainside Views, and an incredibly scenic coastline. We wrapped up the day with a spectacular seafood dinner in the fish market, where we learned how to properly de-shell a shrimp from the head fishmonger herself.
Day 4- onto the next magical day. We took The famous flåmsbana railway to the city of flåm. The tracks run 20km and takes you right through the mountains. It is known as the steepest train ride, cuts along the fjords, has twenty tunnels, and it took twenty years to build. Another perk of traveling to norway during the winter: we had a whole cart to ourselves! This meant some epic photo ops and unobstructed views throughout the entire ride. Once we got to the city of flåm I was surprised how small it is. Just one cafe, one restaurant, and a museum make up the town situated alongside the aurlandfjord. Apparently a pod of orca swam through the fjord just the day before- couldn’t they wait for us?! This is also where we did our snowshoe excursion… growing up in Arizona definitely did not prepare me for this. It was a bit harder than expected, even though we only went about two miles, but the views were astonishing. Again with the views! Stunning. A bit of bar hoping, karaoke, and dancing lasted us until 4am on our last night of shenanigans (before we miraculously caught a 7am flight back to states…).
bergen, thank you for sharing your wonders with us. Until next time!
Logistics:
-five days/ four nights.
-First hostel- bergen ymca (*permanently closed*): $25 a night, two nights, 6 bed mixed dorm room, epic balcony, close to the harbor.
-Second hostel- marken gjestehus: $37 a night, two nights, 4 bed female dorm, amazing views from your rooms, great common area, felt super safe with locks and codes to get into everything.
-Fjord cruise Bergen- mostraumen: $61 per person.
-flåmsbana, myrdal- flåm: $40 one way.
-snowshoe hike in flåm: $90 per person
recommendations/reviews:
-Fisketorget: fish market with plenty of places to eat inside.
-julehuest: year round Christmas shop along the famous tyskebryggen.
-Fish Me: small indoor/outdoor bar and eatery. They had chili salted nuts and chili jam for sale.
-no stress: craft cocktails, extensive menu, underground artist vibe, must try the “chili cocktail”.
-godt brød: kind of the “panera” of bergen, but even better and a cafe atmosphere. This is where we would buy to-go sandwiches for our day long excursions and the famous “sommerbolle”.
-Scruffy Murphy’s: Irish pub with a live band.
-vinyl: hipster bar atmosphere, craft beer inside a recording studio, great music/acoustics.
-restaurant 1877: I didn’t go to but apparently they serve a great 5 course meal, book well in advance.
-Olivia zachariasbryggen: small restaurant on the scenic harbor, Very chic.
-magic ice bar: $22, comes with a cocktail in an ice chalice, it was just ok.
extremely wonderful article, i certainly enjoy this site, keep on it Tamera Haley Gilles
Quite informative knowledge that you have stated, thank you for writing. Leonanie Feodor Liliane