Bergen - Fjords and Rain

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Oslo to Bergen

Oslo was spent catching up on the sleep I had sacrificed whilst enjoying the Gothenburg nightlife. I did however, reacquaint myself with the joys of a double bed. Even us small people like a little bit of room!

I managed to get from the hotel to the Airport Express train without any hassle and arrived at the airport in next to no time. I was really surprised how efficiently run the airport is - even the budget airline counters were calm and quiet.

The only tricky bit for me was trying to figure out how to attach my luggage labels to my bag. You see the check-in staff doing it all the time, but I've never really taken any notice to their technique. Although there were pictoral instructions on which bits to make sticky and which bits to keep as reference, the whole thing seemed beyond me. Luckily, a nice lady ahead of me in the Bag Drop queue helped me out.

The next challenge, navigate the x-ray machine! This is quite an ordeal - first the coat, then the shoes, then the handbag, then the 20cm x 20cm clear bag filled with liquids and finally the day pack. How surprised was I when the scanner beeped..I didn't have anything left to take off!

The woman attendant waved me over to one side and moved a hand-held magnetic scanner across my body. No problem with the wand, but the hands following the path of that little gizmo were a worry...she could at least have bought me dinner if was wanting to get that familiar! It seems a bit strange to me that the scanners are so sensitive that they beep at underwire bras, but hey maybe someone in Norway is just paranoid.

The flight was an easy, 50 mins and before long we were touching down in Bergen. A quick and convenient change of my left over SEK in a machine and I was cashed up in NOK and ready to board the Flybussen. Sadly, the weather was dire and it was about 13C, not the best way to arrive in a city.

Bergen - First Day

The bus dropped me off at the SAS Radisson Norge and armed only with my Lonely Planet map I made my way to my hotel. Not even the rain could dampen my elation at finding a hitheto recalcitrant sense of direction and map reading ability.

Once checked in (and greeted once more with a very small single bed), I decided to get familiar with my surroundings. Bergen is a very pretty town. My hotel was on the main pedestrian mall and I first made my way towards the port. The port is a decent size and is a hub for people enjoying fjord tours. One side of the port is commercial, the opposite residential and the fish market lines the space between.

It's really quite pretty and the houses seem to creep up the sides of the surrounding hills. The reminded me of the types I'd seen in Sweden - wooden structures with peaked roofs, somewhat like a gingerbread house.

I made my way back toward the mall and checked out the other side of town, which seemed to have a more student feel to it. That is of course once you have passed all the tacky tourist trap venues.

An innocent looking Italian restaurant took my interest and I ordered a lasagne to go with my Hansa beer. The beer almost didn't happen as the waiter / chef answered my question of "what type of beer is Hansa?" with a simple "beer". Hmmm beer that is beer, most helpful. Never mind, we moved past the initial misunderstanding and I enjoyed my surprisingly good lasagne and beer. When I was settling the bill, I discovered that the chef was Turkish, so a Turkish guy cooking Italian cuisine in Norway and playing Meatloaf for his customers - welcome to Europe!

Bergen - Second Day

Early morning start and off to the port to catch my 08:00 boat and embark on the Sognefjord tour. Sadly, the rain had come back overnight with a vengeance, so visibility was next to nil for most of the trip. What I could see though was spectacular. Gorgeous, pristine waterways with massive mountains rising up out of the water on both sides. All the way along those gingerbread houses in wonderfully warm colours were spotted.

There was one town called the Ladder Town as the residents had to use a ladder to get from the water to their homes. This came in most handy in times of old when the tax man called. These innovative folk simply hauled the ladder up when he arrived.

Our last stop on the boat was Flam, a tiny town with a couple of tourist shops and cafes and a railroad. Finally, the sun came out! The railway is now a scenic rail only used during the summer months for tourists. The trip to Myrdal is stunning, the was is lined with waterfalls and lucious green moutainsides. Again, a sprinkling of the mostly yellow and red gingerbread houses throughout. From Myrdal it as a normal train to Bergen via Voss.

Nothing beats a breathtaking day of sightseeing than a couple of drinks, so I headed once more to the student side of Bergen to a bar I'd spotted in my wanderings the night before (Pingvinen / Penguin).

The barman here was very helpful and translated the menu for me. I decided to be adventurous and have some Elk balls (Elgkarbonader), which were very tasty but shaped more like rissoles. The helpings were also massive, so when an English tourist asked for a menu translation, I offered him some of my Elk balls. He liked it so much both he and his girlfriend ordered the same!

I had a good view of all the goings on in the bar as I had perched myself at the bar. After a while the girl next to me and I struck up a conversation. It seems that she has a talent for meeting Aussies in Bergen and had even spent a year studying in Newcastle, NSW (yuck!). Kristina was absolutely lovely and introduced me to her friend Eunace and we had a really good laugh and several beers together. It seems I'm getting good at meeting new people in bars.

Bergen to Norheimsund - Third Day

I bought a Ford tour ticket that had me on a train from Bergen to Voss, then a bus to Ulvik and a boat from there to somewhere to catch the connecting boat to Norheimsund. I got to Voss = no problem. Got the bus = no problem. Got on the boat = no problem. The boat pulled away from the dock and the announcer said that our trip would be about 2 hours = problem!

I knew from looking at the information sheet that the boat ride was 30 mins before I'd need to change for the Hardanger boat that stopped at Norheimsund. I checked with some of the other passengers and you guessed it, I was on the wrong boat.

The purser was called and I must have looked really, really scared because he was very sweet to me, assured me that we'd be pulling in to Flåm and from there I'd be able to sort out a path back to Bergen or even Norheimsund if I was lucky. He told me that this happens regularly and not to worry, my ticket could still be used even though I was no longer on the right tour.

Apart from the scared part when I realised I could end up in the middle of nowhere, I just had to laugh. When I couldn't raise anyone on the phone, I put my iPo in and played the Panics 'MyBest Mistake'- That cheered me up straight away.

One I was able to raise Emma and Olav on the phone, we figured out a new route to Norheimsund. Even though I ended up doing part of the same tour I'd done before, it was a relief to know I didn't have to pay any extra for my stupid mistake. Once back at Voss, I got the correct bus and spent the next 2 hours on a ride of a lifetime. Hairpin bends, narrow roads, speeding bus driver - Sydney buses move over!

Eventually I arrived in the RIGHT town and Emma, Olav and George were all there to greet me. Emma's other cousin Rebecca (on her dad's side) was also visiting so we had a really chilled and laughter filled night in.

Norheimsund - Fourth Day in Norway

We rose late-ish and had a leisurely start to the day. Poor Olav nearly died of shock and then laughter when I emerged with my hair allowed to dry a la naturel. I'd promised the night before to let it dry naturally with a compromise that I was allowed to blow dry the fringe so I didn' look like a total freak. Emma liked it, Rebecca was a little scared and George wasn't phased at all. After a massive breakfast feasting on brown cheese, Emmental, several types of ham and warm bread we made a move for Rosendahl. Just as the finishing touches of the GHD were being applied, Aunty Wendy and Unlce Graham skyped us from Sydney. It was almost like Christmas Day, without the cricket. Very exciting indeed!

We took a scenic drive to the ferry and then boarded the ferry towards Rosendahl...not a chance of Olav taking us on the wrong fjord at least!

Rosendahl is a baronette's mansion built a few hundred years ago and set in amongst the beautiful rising mountainous lansdcape complete with waterfalls. The grounds are lucious and manicured to perfection, the rose garden is glorious. Sadly, we didn't havr time to wait for the English tour, so didn't go inside which apparently houses some fabulous artworks...ah well next time!

A quick dash back to the house and it was once again time for me to experience Norwegian bus drives of death to Bergen.

I took it easy on my mast night as I had to be up at 04:30 for my flight to Tallinn and the amazing Phil.

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