Bergen Travel Guide - Norway Tour

Interrail tickets took us on our Scandinavia tour, and after a long ferry journey we arrived in Bergen! Easier said than done: we got to Bergen from Denmark after a 17-hour journey! After Oslo, we set foot in Norway's fjord region for the first time. A Bergen travel guide with our observations and experiences awaits you..

Our Norwegian fjords trip was starting, the part of our tour that made us most nervous but just as curious. Nervous because Norway is not just expensive, it's very expensive! The curious part is that it offers exquisite natural beauty.

Norway has its own currency, the Norwegian Krone. As of June 2018, 100 NOK is roughly equal to 55₺.

Now to this charming city: with its old and large harbour, Bergen has made its name in the records as Norway's second largest city. We, however, found a city we could walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes when we went. We couldn't believe it; if you go and think like us, don't be surprised!

The biggest tourist groups in the area are here too. It's given as the starting point for touring Norway's unique fjords. We managed a wonderful tour of Bergen in the late afternoon without feeling the crowds.. We were surprised there's so much natural beauty, but the weather has a big part in nature being preserved like this. Scandinavia is a world apart in Europe!,

How Many Days for Bergen?

Even though we travelled with an Interrail ticket, by using the Interrail ferry discount we both spent 1 night on the ferry and saved a lot of time by reaching Bergen by sea. On our Bergen tour we gave Bergen 1 full day and stayed the night here too. We think 1 day is ideal for Bergen, but you could spend 1 more day to live like a local. In total, 2 days will be more than enough. Bergen made us say we wish we'd had time to stay..

But if you want to include the fjords too, we suggest adding a day or two. Our post about the activities in Flåm is here too. We suggest reading both before you set off.

One of the must-haves for coming: if you have your Schengen Visa, get your plane tickets and hit the road.. If you're saying you don't have a visa, apply to countries like Greece or Italy where it's relatively easier to get one and combine two trips. That way, while going on one holiday you've opened the door to a second one too.. :)

When to Go to Bergen?

Ever since the city of Aarhus in Denmark we've been climbing straight north. Every passing day we see the temperature drop by at least 3-4 degrees. Considering we ran into this at the start of June, the weather must be pretty sweet in winter, right!? :) Jokes aside, some like to travel in winter, some in summer, and some, like us, in spring weather. Even if you come here in summer, don't forget to bring a thin fleece and a thin raincoat. You never know, one minute it's raining, the next it's sunny..

Bergen is known as the region with the most rainfall in Norway. It rains almost 260-270 days a year. We have that in our Black Sea region too, but here the rain is stormy.. Our advice is to visit in June, July and August. On these dates, even though it gets a bit warmer in the day and cold at night, average temperatures are between 15 and 20 degrees. We have endless respect for those who want to come in winter too, enjoy your travels..

In June, when we travelled, it got light at 4 and started getting dark around 11 at night. Perfect for sightseeing! You can make the most of the daylight. But if you go in winter, you may experience the exact opposite. After 5-6 hours of daylight everywhere is pitch dark..

If you don't sleep, you should definitely watch the sunset from a hill. The Airbnb house we stayed in looked down on Bergen from above. Now for the photos, enjoy the view..

Where to Stay in
Bergen?

There are two things I found hardest when planning the Scandinavia trip: accommodation and food! We managed the food side with what we brought with us and what we bought day by day at local supermarkets, but we couldn't manage the same success with accommodation. With no positive reply from Couchsurfing, we naturally started looking on Airbnb and Booking. There was only one place I could find that was both close to the city centre and economical. 2 people, 1 night, cleaning fee included, we stayed for 68$. You can find the place we stayed here.

Our host Leonard is a conservatory student in the piano department. After touring the city and coming back, we had a really lovely dinner with him and chatted for a long time. That's also why we love shared stays so much. Meeting locals is definitely full of clues about that country and its people. And with this friendship we made, we've decided to host him in Turkey too :)

In the city centre, hotel-type places usually cost 100€ and up for 2 people. Of course, the quality of service changes with the budget too.. According to Leonard, he's had Airbnb guests from every nationality but never any Japanese tourists, I wonder why? :)

Getting to Bergen and Getting Around Bergen

If you're thinking of going to Bergen from Istanbul, unfortunately you can't go without a connection. But that's fine, this way you'll get the chance to see Norway's capital Oslo or another city. We came on a single ferry from the Danish town of Hirtshals. If you like, you can fly from Copenhagen to Bergen on a single flight. Fjord Line, which runs the ferry we came on, has sailings every day, and with the Interrail ticket's 30% discount we got seats called airseats for 2 people for €65. Of course you might want to stay in a cabin, but the Interrail ticket discount doesn't apply to that part. :(

As I said, this is how we travelled. The whole view is actually at your feet, and in the very comfortable seats you can close the curtains and sleep. While you're awake you can enjoy the ship too. With full glass, the view is even better than from a cabin

Those coming from Oslo to Bergen by train face a train journey of about 7 hours. The train ticket varies depending on when you buy it, but it's rarely much below €80-90.

If you're coming from Bergen Airport to the city centre, you can use the Airport Bus or the city buses going to the centre to get there. By the way, apart from by plane, you can come right into the middle of the city centre both by rail and by sea.

In Bergen city centre you can reach almost everywhere you want to go on foot. As people who generally don't even like using buses and the metro, we've never yet tried a taxi abroad. We can't give information on that, but in small cities like this, how would exploring be any fun if you didn't walk?

What Budget Do You Need for Bergen, and Is Bergen Expensive?

We can say that coming to this part of Norway, we loosened the purse strings a bit. Having come this far, we wanted to do the things that must be done. Even if we still weren't very flexible about food and drink, we'd started to be flexible about sightseeing.

To say a bit about food and drink: for example, a 1.5 L water is roughly 30 NOK, i.e. 15₺. At places like Burger King and McDonald's, medium menus are 100 NOK, and if you only want a hamburger you can get one for 13 NOK. Fries are 27 NOK. You can see how healthily we ate out of necessity:)

If you say we've come all this way, let's eat fish, you can eat fish dishes for between 100 - 200 NOK. If you want to taste something different, you can try reindeer meat at some restaurants. We tried fish soup at the fish market; it cost 75 NOK.

For your grocery shopping, and I mean for Norway in general, you can use the Coop, REMA 1000 or 7-Eleven supermarkets.

What Comes to Mind When You Say Norway

• For us, the first thing that comes to mind when you say Norway must be the fjords! Just open the map and look at how jagged a country it is. You'll be surprised!
• Some love it and some don't, but say Salmon and Norway comes to mind!
• The favourite especially in the winter months, bringing people to Norway from the other end of the world: the Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis
• Not just Norway, but an important part of Scandinavia as a whole: the Vikings!
• The part we like most, and now when we hear Norway what comes to mind is peace & civilisation!
• And finally, it wouldn't be wrong to say the high cost of living. By the way, the minimum hourly wage is 198 NOK, and with at least 26 hours of work a week the monthly minimum wage comes to 20,000 NOK, about 10 thousand TL.

Things to Do and Places to Visit in Bergen

First, for those who don't know the word fjord, fjord that we've been saying since the start of the post, let us explain..

Fjords, which are especially typical of Scandinavia, are defined as a kind of bay formed of steep-sided landmasses that took shape during the fourth ice age on coasts near the polar regions.

Let us share another nice fact.. Just as our Istanbul is a city built on 7 hills, Bergen is similarly a city surrounded by 7 hills. Bergen, where about 500 thousand people lived as of 2018, welcomed us as a city built around 7 mountains.

If you want to go to the world-famous fjords like we did, your first stop should definitely be Bergen!

Another reason to come to Bergen is Trolltunga! Bergen, chosen as the transfer base by those planning the Trolltunga climb, is the starting point for the climbing tours. Since we don't have much climbing experience, we didn't even consider the Trolltunga climb. But there are people who come here just for this climb. You can get there from Bergen by taking the train to Voss and then bus number 990.

If there were a train connection, we'd have added it to our route even without climbing. It's worth going just to live that moment, but since it wasn't an activity that really suited our holiday plan, greetings to those who go..

As in most places, here too we start our sightseeing from the town square..

Fish Market

We've always loved squares in Europe that keep their simplicity and history. This one hosts a fish market where local fishermen sell the fish they caught that morning. For those who come early in the morning there are breathtaking photo views.

We walk it from one end to the other; there are many fish restaurants and stalls cooking on the spot. June is strawberry month here, so the stalls are full of selections of the red fruits we call berries. We only learn afterwards that we can see this much fruit here only during June:)

We taste the fish soup at the kiosk at the end of the fish market. As you know, everything costs a fortune, but we were hungry and said it would be worth it. In the evening chill the delicious soup was just what we needed. We paid 75 NOK for the soup. But you can taste other flavours unique to Norway too.

At the marina right next to the Bryggen houses, we tour the climate-change-themed living spaces of the Bergen International Wood Festival, held as a biennial. These designs, with 17 teams from 14 countries competing, were put to the public's appreciation and vote, and are on display here for a while longer.

Houses of Bryggen

The colourful houses right across from the fish market, also on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with triangular roofs and many of them 3 storeys, are among the first things that come to mind! Don't think it's just the front row: as you go towards the back you'll see the houses continue back in a copy-paste way. For those who love colourful photos, great shots are inevitable!

Building here began when the Hanseatic League, known as the trade guilds, set up its first office here in the first century. These beautiful buildings, which burned and were rebuilt several times, have kept the same layout for centuries.

One house among them presents visitors, as the Bryggen Museum, with objects from the period, especially trade goods. Many artists also sell their products in these shops they use as workshops. At Laerverkstedet there are products made of reindeer leather and a workshop where the craftsman explains how they're made. For those who are curious.. :)

Bergenhus Fortress

From the Bryggen houses, keeping the sea on your left, a 4-5 minute walk brings us to one of Norway's oldest and very well preserved fortresses. Entry to the fortress is free, but entry to the fortress museum is paid.

Lille Lungegårdsvannet

Turning our route in the opposite direction from the fortress, we come to Lille Lungegårdsvannet, a small lake of 5 decares.

The lake, which has an octagonal shape, was connected to the Lungegårdsvannet bay until 1926. In 1926, when the strait was filled in, it became a small park visited in the city. In the middle of the lake there's a photogenic decorative fountain. And if you watch the lake from the top of Bergen, it's really lovely.

University Museum of Bergen

After a rest at the lake, we set off towards the University of Bergen, famous for its world-renowned museum collections. The museum has natural history collections and exhibits telling the history of seafaring. If, like us, you don't want to go into the museum, Bergen has a tremendous botanical garden; we suggest going into this park right next to the museum. Explore the Norwegian Arboretum, which has a wonderful collection of more than 5000 plants brought from all over the world.

Fløyen Hill - Fløyfjellet

Get ready for the view! We're going up to look down on Bergen, and of course it's not an easy climb. That's why the way up is by funicular. Actually, we climbed half this road with our suitcases, on the way to our Airbnb house. The local people use it for transport too; the funicular has stops at certain intervals.

We use it both for sightseeing, and on the way to our host's house we'll walk the slope down the other way and enjoy the view;) You can buy a one-way or a return ticket, as you like. Our choice was a one-way ticket, going up to the top by cable car. And on the way back, as we said, going down letting ourselves go to the view and to gravity.. Tickets are, per person, one way 50 NOK, and if you buy a return 95 NOK. These days it might be better not to convert to Turkish lira. :)

If you like, you can buy tickets online from the Fløyen website. This ride, which takes you up to a height of 320 metres, lasts about 7-8 minutes. We waited for 1-2 cars so we could sit right at the front, and watched the view on the way up!

When you get to the top: a view that will make you say wow! And full of activities, you could happily spend a whole day here alone. When we came it was after work: people walking in the forest at the top, running, walking dogs..

Mothers swinging with their babies in the park, aunties looking after grandchildren, students who'd come for a picnic, chats in the café: it was such a pleasure to experience all of it. As we headed down towards the city centre with all this beauty, suddenly a lake sign appeared in front of us. There's apparently a sweet lake here where you can go canoeing for free, with climbing and other exciting activities too. A Bergen beyond our dreams!

Keeping the promise we made to our host, we head home to make dinner together, but it's not as if our minds didn't stay at the lake :) Depending on your pace, it takes 35-40 minutes to walk from this hill to the city centre, about 3 km. The view is like this..

There's another hill worth visiting that we didn't have much energy left for, and even if we had, we wouldn't really have done it because of the price. We couldn't go there, but let's leave the information here.

Ulriken Hill

On this hill, which is higher than Fløyen, I suppose the view is even more beautiful, given how expensive it is. From what we've learned, there's also a wonderful restaurant here where you can eat facing the view.

This hill, open every day from 09.00 to 21.00, can be reached by cable car. You can get a ticket, per person, one way for 115 NOK, and if you buy a return 170 NOK. But to get to the cable car you have to come either by car or by bus.

Bus tickets are sold per person, one way, for 37 NOK. Two people there and back (one-way cable car) makes 378 NOK, which as of June 2018 is 200₺. Honestly, we didn't really want to pay that much.

Wishing you many more beautiful journeys..

While it's still fresh, if you'd like to read about our Flåmsbana Train journey, we've left the link...