Bergen - Only 2 1/2 hours away from Tromso, Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norway and it is known for its surrounding fjords & the Bryggen wooden houses.
My group and I flew with Wideroe from Tromso for only less than 100 euros.
Wideroe and SAS are widely known for their domestic flights in Norway and not to forget, they're very affordable. Wideroe has cheaper rates for youths flying.
We were in Bergen for 4 Days 3 Nights which was quite a long time for a small city.
However, I figured out that we might be exhausted from the Tromso activities so I decided to "take-it-slow" in Bergen. There would be ample time to rest and we could take our time to explore Bergen.
I booked Harbour Apartments online for our whole stay at a price of 10,000 NOK ($2000SGD).
There were cheaper options but most of the apartments could only accommodate a maximum of 6 people whereas we had 7.
The owner was really friendly and prompt in rectifying problems we had throughout the stay.
There was a bus stop directly in front of the apartment where we could take a 10 minutes bus ride to the city center.
A huge living room and every night, the teens would set up our miniature mahjong set and play!
Gambler level x9999
Most shopping areas in Norway closes at 6pm? The latest will be 8pm.. so this is what we entertain ourselves with.
Almost every day, we would prepare breakfast and dinner in the kitchen because food in Norway was reallllyyyy overpriced.
Wharf view from our apartment
The gloomy weather in Bergen was a common sight, as said by the locals, Bergen is the city that rains the most in Norway.
The weather forecast stated "Showers" for all the 4 days we were in Bergen.
Rain and wind was not something nice to deal with.
This city has the highest precipitation throughout the year.
Therefore, most of the pictures I took haz no blue skies....
After settling in at the apartment, we headed out to the local Fish Market (Fisketorget) located right smack in the middle of the city center.
It opens from 7AM in the morning to about 6PM , of course there will be longer working hours in summer.
The first level of the building is Fisketorget while the second level is the tourist center.
You can en-quire about the local tour activities or do relevant bookings from this place.
Once you stepped inside, you'll be greeted with the smell of fresh flowers .
Mom obsessed with flowers because she used to be a florist in her younger days.
Its an indoor fish market and there is a series of stalls selling fish that you can either bring home or eat there. Basically, you choose whatever you want to eat and they will prepare it the way you like it, grill/fried/steamed whatsoever.
A whole variety of seafood, there was some uncommon items like whale meat ,fish brains, etc.
Sorry, not a fan of those, especially I OPPOSE THE IDEA OF EATING WHALE MEAT. They are such beautiful creatures and are almost close to extinction so why kill them just for your enjoyment?!
Crabs and lobsters were humongous and FRESH!!
All kinds of caviar sold. Btw, if you didn't know, a small can of caviar sometimes may cost you a bomb. Usually, only fine-dining restaurants will serve caviar.
My love, Norwegian Salmon.
I've always preferred seafood over meat whenever I dine in at restaurants and salmon will be my frequent option because its healthy and contains omega 3!
Apparently, fish soup is a must-try when you visit the Fish market but I felt like it tasted like normal cream soup from the can mixed with chunks of fish meat.
Nothing fancy, just a delicious meal of fresh shrimps with my mum.
After we were done with our meals, we took a slow walk along the harbor and visited the little shops in the area.
I love how the houses are stacked beneath the mountains and it goes up higher and higher.
Felt a little like the villages in Switzerland.
Halfway through, we went to the supermarket to get a few stuff and I saw something really interesting.
A recycling machine that accepts used bottles/cans and returns money to the user.
One recycled bottle/can will give you 2.50 NOK, that's 50 CENTS SGD?!!!
WHICH IS SO MUCH MORE COMPARED TO OUR 5 CENT FOR 1 CAN!!!
But, because the quality of life is higher in Norway.........
An average cost of the cheapest cup of coffee (vending machine) is 20-30NOK, a hot dog bun (cheapo ones from 7-11) ranges about 30NOK (AHEM that's $6SGD)
It also means you have to recycle 10-12 bottles/can to buy a hot dog bun.
So please? Singaporeans? Can we be more grateful about the things we have now?
The Macdonald's house was too prominent to be missed, has to be the most interesting Macdonalds'outlet I have seen.
Bergen museums, especially the Hanseatic museum is widely recommended for tourists to visit but my group and I had no interest in visiting museums.
Bryggen Wharf
Little shops selling souvenirs and hand worked items.
The wooden houses and narrow walkways made the whole place very photogenic.
Also, if you realized, the buildings are slanted downwards.
Every wooden house had its own unique charm to it.
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Floibanen
In the evening, we took a funicular ride up to the top of Bergen where you get to see panoramic views of the city. Initially, I had plans to take the cable car up to Mount Ulriken instead of the floibanen but due to bad weather, the cable car was closed.
Bad luck, AGAIN.
Ticket was 85NOK ($17SGD) per adult, both ways.
The weather is so unpredictable. It started drizzling and stopped a few minutes later...
THEN, IT SNOWED?!!! For like 5 minutes...
I was freezing cold so I had no mood for pictures, was just finding shelter in the souvenir shop.
Felt better after purchasing my favorite DAIM ICE CREAM !! Ironic huh? SO COLD YET EATING ICE CREAM.
ITS THE BOMB! Bet all y'all daim lovers out there will love this ice cream.
Unfortunately, so far it seems that only Norway stores sell this.
We did not stay at the top till the sun set because it was the temperature was unbearable.
If we did, we would have seen this,
Norway In a Nutshell tour
Rated 1st on Tripadvisor, the Norway In a Nutshell tour is one of the easiest way to view the fantastic Norwegian Fjords in a day.
There are several options for you to choose from, a round trip from Bergen or a trip where you start from Bergen and end at Oslo (if you intend to stay there).
Tickets can be purchased from the Bergen tourist center OR online.
The different modes of transport of the tour which will be explained further in this post.
Please know that this is not a guided tour, you will get all your tickets once you purchase the tour.
After which, you're on your own, just make sure you follow the transport timings.
The tour starts off with a train ride from Bergen To Voss. Due to landslides that affected the train tracks, we had to take a 2 hour bus to Voss instead. BAD LUCK X2
At Voss, a bus takes you to Gudvangen.
Along the whole ride, you're accompanied with stunning views of the waterfalls + snow capped mountains.
About 1 hour later, you'll arrive at Gudvangen where there is 45 minutes leisure time before the ferry leaves from the port.
Towards the end of the port, you could already view the fjords so it calls for photo-taking time!
Panoramic shot taken by trusty Iphone.
Honestly, I can't wait for the iphone 6 to launch because I regretted changing to the android platform.
Fjord Cruise to Flam
Quite an unbelievable sight that mother nature has created.
The main highlight of the tour was the Flam Railway.
Commonly known as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TRAIN RIDE IN THE WORLD, the train ride from Flam to Myrdal offers the most magnificent views of Norwegian Fjords.
I had to agree after experiencing it for myself.
Everybody was busy taking photos of the views .
I don't think my photos can justify how spectacular the train ride was? Was busy enjoying the views instead of constantly looking at it through my camera screen.
Some things are better seen with the eyes.
There was a short stop in between the train ride at I-HAVE-NO-IDEA-WHERE for the tourists to take photos. I was more interested in taking photos with the old-school Flamsbana train.
This tour was well worth the money to see large parts of scenic Norway in a day.
If you're considering to join this tour, I suggest that it will be better to take a round trip from Bergen.
Reason being is that if you're ending at Oslo, you will have to take your luggage/bags along with you and it will be VERY troublesome to carry it around especially when you're taking different kinds of transport throughout the whole day.
Amongst, all the three Norwegian cities I've visited, Bergen had the best views and sights.
I am more of an adrenaline junkie so I preferred Tromso because of its exciting activities.
As I bid good-bye to Norway, I told myself that I will be back again in Summer to
1) Climb the pulpit rock, one of the Norway Fjords (only in summer)
2) Catch the Midnight Sun
Last but not least, hopefully chase the Northern Lights (which I missed this time round).
Oh, by the way, I just added a new tab at the right side of my blog >>>
It's a drop-down menu of all the places I have visited and blogged about.
Of course, there will be more destinations added in time to come.
Similarly, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me through ask.fm.
XX
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