Bergen, Norway

Ever since I had first seen the pictures, I had always wanted to visit the Fjords in Norway. The blues of the sea framed by towering imposing cliffs provides for such a dramatic landscape – a landscape that has been shaped by giant glaciers ages ago. Falling for Norway was inevitable!

So, this summer, along with my partner Mr AW, I embarked upon this beautiful journey to the Norwegian fjords. I will break this into two blog posts – one that talks about Bergen and the second part will be more about Flam.

We took a Norwegian Airlines flight from London to Bergen in West Norway which is basically considered the gateway to visit the fjords. Bergen airport is quite small and it did not take us long to complete the formalities and collect our baggage. Once outside, we boarded the airport shuttle bus which, very conveniently, took us right to our hotel’s doorstep. We stayed at the Radisson Blu near Bryggen wharf and could not have asked for a better location.

Bryggen Wharf & the Guild buildings

After checking in and getting ready for the day, we stepped out and walked towards tourist information centre on the other side of the wharf. We wanted to book our Fjord cruise tickets. There was such a long wait at the information centre that we actually managed to go to a restaurant nearby, have lunch and yet be back in time before our number was called out. Tourism is obviously big in Norway!

Later, during the day (after a hail-shower), we did a little walk around, explored the Bryggen area with its mish-mash of the historic, wooden and old-worldly Guild buildings. They looked as if covered in fresh snow, in MAY!

There were a variety of shops, bakeries, etc. in the area to keep us busy – mainly window-shopping. Norway is definitely very expensive and I had to keep myself in check 😉 My favourite bit was browsing through the interiors shops, such modern, minimalistic and understated yet beautiful items. Now I know why Scandinavian design is all the rage these days.

The next day, we left for Flam for our Norway in a Nutshell tour.

A fantastic way to see Bergen is, well, from the top. Top of a mountain, to be precise. And the funicular that will take us to the top of the said mountain was, again, very conveniently a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. This time, luckily, there were no queues. Buying the ticket was straightforward, and so was boarding the funicular. In a few minutes’ time, we reached the top of Mount Fløyen, around 320m above sea level. The bird’s eye view of Bergen city and the fjords surrounding it is stunning. It was a bright and clear day, offering rewarding views.

View from top of Mount Fløyen

Bird’s eye view of Bergen

I bet it would be simply amazing at sunrise or sunset and even after dark when the city lights are on. That’s on the list for the next time!

We had bought a one-way ticket because we wanted to hike down back to our hotel. It was a very short and easy hike, with well-marked trails.

View when hiking down

Houses in Bergen

Houses in Bergen

Houses in Bergen

Everything was fresh and green and clean, a promise of spring and a promise of more scenic adventures to follow. Spending a day in Bergen before heading to Flam was the perfect way to start our Norway adventures 🙂

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Have you been to Bergen? Do you have any recommendations?

Cheers,
Ameeta xx