#9 Bergen Break

The First (but not the Last) Norway Trip

This weekend we finally managed to get everyone around and go on our first trip in Norway.
BERGEN 
WE: That is Jonas, Clemens, Alicia (Germany), and Emma, Kirsten and Kirsten (America).

We went to go by train as the train ride is supposed to be one of the prettiest and most spectacular train rides in the world (or in Europe?). As the name already implies, we got to drive through some beautiful mountain scenery with lots of tunnels and amazing landscapes. Both snowy, sunny and rainy weather accompanied us on our 6h train trip. While Oslo was super sunny and all blue skies, we soon hit snowy hills and later on mountains as we gradually increased hight up to 1220m above sea level. As Bergen is also called the "rain capital of Norway" it was no surprise to see some rain once we arrived at the opposite side of the mountain separating Oslo and Bergen. 
Unfortunately, we were also presented with a "Deutsche Bahn"-like feeling, when we had a 2h delay and were forced to switch trains for the last 90min. We ended up arriving at 6pm instead of 3pm!!!
We met Emma's friends, Hunter and Bennet, from America (who currently study in Copenhagen) at the airbnb. After a quick grocery trip where we got food and mainly beers for the night, we managed to find our way to a bar where we played several rounds of pool and enjoyed a few more beer. 
Since it had been a long day for all of us, we retired quite early to get enough sleep to go sightseeing the next day. 

Saturday started our early and rainy. Packed with umbrellas and raincoats we went to the oldest part of town, Bryggen which used to be the harbor area. While it was quite charming I did feel like it was a 100% tourist spot to go to since there were no local cafes or shops whatsoever, but only touristy souvenir shops. Bummer. We walked around town a bit more, exploring the different sights and little streets, some local cafes that offered the famous "brown cheese waffles" and walked to a "secret view point" halfway up Mount Floyen to enjoy a nice view over Bergen's city centre. 
After having a quick dinner (pasta and wraps) we made our way to a recommended bar called "Henrik's" where they offered 50 different kinds of craft beer! I sticked to my current favorite choice of beer, ginger beer, while all the others got different kinds of beer making it possible for all of us to enjoy various brands and tastes. Jonas even got a 17% beer which coincidentally was served with a glass of water on the side (you needed it!). 
Since beer is expensive we didn't linger too long and continued the night in a near by techno club.
Although Jonas was probably having one of the best times of his life in terms of music in Norway (since he enjoys Techno very much), we managed to leave at around 2am to go home. As always though, our party nights end with the traditional visit at McDonalds!

Sunday was another early morning, much to the demise of Clemens, who likes to sleep in until 12-2pm! We split the group with Hunter, Bennet, Emma and Jonas going hiking up at mount Floyen and Alicia, Clemens and I going on a 11am Fjord Cruise from Bergen to Modalen and back. The two Kirstens decided to sleep in only joining Emma & Co at 2pm to go on another Fjord Cruise with them. The Cruise took 3:30h and was amazing. Although we started out with a stretch of bad, rainy and grey weather, the sky soon cleared up revealing sun and beautiful sights to the surrounding mountains and villages. While we passed old viking lands, a church from 1024(!) and several other sights, the Fjord became more narrow my the meter. On our way back to Bergen we passed the most narrow part of the Fjord with only 25m room for the boat to pass through. 
Even though it was nice weather we retreated downstairs into the warmth to take a quick nap before getting back to Bergen and out leftover sightseeing. 
Strong, healthy and full of energy after lunch t the daily pot (soup to warm up after the boat ride), Clemens, Alicia and me walked to the Floyen Bahn, the train taking you all the up to the mountain. 
Once we were up there, we were graced by a beautiful, close to sunset sight of Bergen and the Fjord. 
Taking our time with the obligatory photo sessions and soaking up the rare sun.
The day ended with another quick visit to the Fantoft Church outside of Bergen, which was unfortunately closed, a cheap(!!!) beer at the oldest bar in town, Skipperstuen, and the leftover food we had at the airbnb. We met Emma and her "crew" back at the airbnb and exchanged stories about the day. Quite tired from all the walking we soon went to bed. 

Monday, our last day in Bergen, started out with the Americans all leaving early to catch their flights back to Copenhagen and Oslo. Since Clemens, Jonas, Alicia and me only had class at 2pm, we chose a later flight to fly back to Oslo. Instead, we enjoyed another half day in Bergen, hiking around the now snowy Mount Floyen (it had snowed over night) and eating lunch at a very nice fish restaurant/kiosk in town. 
To our surprise, our flight got cancelled and we were rebooked to another flight which again way delayed several times, making us wait at the airport for 3h (which we could have spent in a better way in town!). Finally arriving in Oslo at 9pm, eating dinner at Burger King and going home to finally have a good night sleep!