Bergen is so darn expensive that when you get your receipt from the ATM, they don't say, "Have a great day." They say....
They know you'll be back.
After Chuck's week of working, we jetted off to Bergen, Norway for a little vacation. While living in Denmark, we often talked about going to Norway; however during our 3 week summer holidays, we headed south, thus avoiding Norway. So, this was it....4 days in Bergen.
I booked the Augustin hotel, which is just off the wharf; albeit on the "wrong" side of the wharf, but it was next to the Best Western and received great reviews on TripAdvisor. We had a bit of a check in issue; however it was really the result of a front desk clerk (Hanne), just being a jerk. The cliffnote version....we had booked a deluxe room, she gave us a standard room which looked into the living room of an adjacent flat, I asked if it was deluxe because it resembled the online photos of a standard room, she said yes it was deluxe, I asked to see another deluxe room, we moved to a REAL deluxe room. In the end, the Augustin was a great hotel and all the staff (with the exception of Hanne) were very friendly and helpful.
While in Bergen, we...
Our time in Norway was going to be short, essentially all day Saturday through early Tuesday morning. I had heard and read wonderful things about Bergen, Norway and the nearby fjords. After a bit of research, I decided on the Norway in a Nutshell tour, which has about 5 or 6 different options, but does provide for a good foundation.
The Norway in a Nutshell website is pretty complete. I would have preferred a 'build your own option,' but in the end, managed to deviate slightly from the preprinted schedule.
Norway in a Nutshell puts together some 'popular' itineraries and times for catching the train, boat or bus. Once you book your trip, for about $175 per person for 10-12 hours of entertainment, you will receive a summary pass and two train tickets; however your summary pass really serves as the 'ticket' as everyone looks at it. The summary pass is printed on a ticket similar to an airline ticket or boarding pass. It will say:
Train: Bergen - Myrdal
Train: Myrdal - Flam
Boat: Flam - Gudvangen
Bus: Gudvangen - Voss
Train: Voss - Bergen
You also get a little timetable to follow. There are several other options that aren't printed, so it is possible to deviate from the preprinted schedule a bit. Here's a sample.
Train from Bergen - 8:40
Arrive in Myrdal - 10:55
Train from Myrdal - 11:00
Arrive Flam -11:50
Boat from Flam - 3:10 ... there is also a 1:20 boat
Arrive Gudvangen -5:20
Bus from Gudvangen - 5:45 ... there is an earlier bus
Arrive Voss - 7:00
Train from Voss - 7:20 ... there is also a 5:53 train
Arrive in Bergen - 8:45
You could easily spend 2-3 hours in Flam walking around and shopping. The Voss train station is within walking distance to the city center and a beautiful lake, so you could also spend an hour or so there (just not on Sunday).
Flam has some really cute shops. There is an 'outlet' on the 2nd floor of one of the shops that has very nice and very reasonably priced Norwegian sweaters (about $125-150). I couldn't make up my mind and didn't buy one....and kept saying, I should have bought one in Flam. In the end, I bought a Fosse sweater in Bergen, for the low price of $200.
A few pictures from our tour on Norway in a Nutshell...
The pictures don't do the Norwegian landscape justice. The surroundings were absolutely breathtaking, serene, and tranquil.
It is amazing how the doldrums of life get in the way of the adventures of travel. Living in Europe afforded us the opportunity to hop in the car and explore a new city on any given weekend. After moving back to the Midwest, most, if not all traveling involves an airplane...and the lovely Ryanair is nowhere to be found! Needless to say, our travels have slowed a bit, but I'm sure they will pick up again!
We've been on the road, in the air, on the rails, and on the water for the past two weeks, so I have some catching up to do.
