Itinerary
We had two full days in Bergen. Our itinerary was as follows:
Arrival day: Get acclimated to the lay of the land; drink a few cocktails, and soak up the unusually sunny weather
Full day 1: Hike Mount Ulriken in the morning and explore the old town in the afternoon
Full day 2: No plan; we drove the Aurlandsfjellet Scenic Route, stopping at Flåm and the Stegastein Viewpoint
Accommodation
We stayed at the Thon Hotel Rozenkrantz in a Superior Room for three nights. From the moment we walked through the doors, it was obvious that this was a popular hotel for pre-cruise and coach bus tour guests. I think Peter and I were the only non-retired folks staying at the hotel, which felt a little strange.
The location of the hotel was great. It’s located in Bryggen, the historic harbor district of Bergen. Bryggen is a UNESCO World Heritage Site most known for the historic commercial buildings lining the harbor.
You may have seen them before? They’re pretty famous.
The hotel was located one block behind the historic buildings. This area of Bergen was busy with tourists, but the hotel was quiet, even with the windows open at night.
Our room had a double bed (king-size in the US, super king in the UK), two sitting chairs, a desk, a mini-fridge, and other amenities like an ironing board which was a nice touch.
The biggest downfall to the room was temperature control. There’s no air conditioning in the hotel, and even though the temperature outside was mild, our room was uncomfortably hot at night.
Making matters worse was the heated floor in the bathroom with no way to turn it off. Our options were to keep the bathroom door closed and create a sauna or keep the door open and indirectly heat the rest of the room.
We kept the bathroom door closed and slept with the windows and curtains open to allow for a breeze. This solved the temperature problem but presented another problem – a sunny room.
We were in Bergen during the summer solstice when the city had 19 hours of daylight. The sun rose at 4:10am and set at 11:15pm. Having the sunset after 11pm is a total mind game!
Our hotel stay came with a free breakfast buffet, and it was an extensive buffet. It was almost at the level of what is offered at all-inclusive resorts. The options were endless – hot foods, cold foods, smoothie shots, fresh-squeezed orange juice, bread, pastries, etc. I enjoyed breakfast at this hotel; however, the food could have been hotter.
The Superior room (including breakfast) gets a rating of 6/10.
Driving and parking
The drive from the airport to the hotel was easy and took about 15 minutes. I was a little nervous because I knew the route would take us through busy Bryggen, but the roads in Norway are extremely well-marked, and the drivers are so polite that the drive turned out to be a breeze!
The hotel does not have a private parking garage, but there is a public parking garage directly across from the hotel, and we parked there.
Every parking garage and lot in Norway had its quirks.
The parking garage in Bergen scanned the license plate upon entry. Before exiting, we paid at the pay machine located at the ground level near the exit. The license plate was scanned again upon exiting, and the barrier arm was lifted when the payment was confirmed.
Protip: Take a photo of your license plate number because it needs to be entered when paying.
We paid 930 NOK for parking during our three-night stay in Bergen (620 for the first exit and 310 for the second exit).
Note: The current exchange rate between NOK and USD is about 10:1, so 930 NOK is about USD 93.
Bryggen (old town)
As mentioned above, Bryggen is the historic harbor district in Bergen.
The architecture in Bryggen, especially the buildings lining the harbor, had a fishing village vibe, but as we ventured further inland from the harbor, the vibe changed from a fishing village to quaint and charming. Some areas felt like we were on a movie set.
One common theme throughout our travels in Norway was wooden buildings. Bergen is the wettest place in Europe, with an average of 195 rainy days per year. I thought it was strange that the primary construction material was wood versus something a little more water-resistant, but what do I know?
Wooden buildings are uncommon in Europe, and they make Norway feel unique. It felt like we were in Europe but also felt like we were in Minnesota at times.
Bergen appeared more spread out from the air than I expected, and I think that’s partly due to the landscape.
Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains: Sandviksfjellet, Fløyfjellet (Fløyen), Rundemanen, Ulriken, Løvstakken, Damsgårdsfjellet, and Lyderhorn.
The mountains have steep sides, and Bergen is nestled at the base of the mountains. Bergen city center was hilly except for the area lining the harbor.
Hiking and day trips to “fjordland” are the most common activities in Bergen. Two popular hikes from the city center are Mount Ulriken and Mount Fløyen. Alternatively, visitors can take the cable car up Mount Ulriken and a funicular up Mount Fløyen.
Hiking Mount Ulriken takes a little bit more effort because it requires a bus journey to get to the trailhead, whereas the trail to Mount Fløyen begins in Bryggen.
Overall, Bergen met my expectations; however, one thing I did not expect to see was homeless people. They kept to themselves but occasionally approached tables or sifted through the rubbish bins.
We also saw two drug deals take place between buildings in Bryggen. There was little attempt to hide what they were doing. I’m not new to witnessing drug deals or drug use – my eyes saw plenty of these things in Seattle, but I never expected to see it in a country with a solid social safety net.
Mount Ulriken
Our original plan for Bergen was to hike up Mount Ulriken and then hike from Mount Ulriken to Mount Fløyen across Vidden, then take the funicular down to Bryggen.
Protip: This hike can be done in either direction; however, Mount Ulriken is higher than Mount Fløyen, so hiking from Ulriken to Fløyen will give more of a downhill hike than hiking in the other direction.
After researching the hike further, it came to light that I’d misunderstood the estimated hike duration. I thought the estimated hike duration was five hours from start to finish.
In real life, the five-hour estimate was for the Mount Ulriken to Mount Fløyen (across Vidden) section only. It did not include the time it would take to hike up Mount Ulriken or down Mount Fløyen (if we decided to hike down versus take the funicular).
Adding in the estimated time to hike up Mount Ulriken and down Mount Fløyen, we decided that a 7-8 hour hike was too much of a commitment for us on our first full day, and we decided to hike up Mount Ulriken. Depending on how we felt once we reached the top, we’d hike or take the cable car down Ulriken and catch the bus back to Bryggen.
Our Mount Ulriken adventure began in Bryggen when we walked by a kiosk for the Ulriken Express. I was intrigued by the word ‘express’ because the alternative was to take the city bus, which is usually the opposite of ‘express.’
The Ulriken Express bus runs from Bryggen to the Mount Ulriken cable car station. The Express bus runs every 30 minutes, with the first and last departures from Bryggen at 9am and 6:30pm.
The last Express bus departing the cable car station is at 6:15pm.
Pricing was as follows (in NOK):
| Ticket | Adult | Child | Family* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulriken Express roundtrip | 100 | 50 | – |
| Ulriken Express one-way | 50 | 25 | – |
| Mount Ulriken cable car roundtrip | 345 | 145 | 790 |
| Mount Ulriken cable car one-way | 195 | 95 | 445 |
| Ulriken Express & cable car combi ticket (roundtrip only) | 445 | 195 | – |
| *Includes 2 adults and up to 3 children | – | – | – |
The Ulriken Express bus pricing was fair. On the other hand, the Mount Ulriken cable car pricing was OUTRAGEOUS. It cost us 40 USD to take the cable car down the mountain, a five-minute journey!
As mentioned above, there are two public transport options to get to Mount Ulriken: a city bus or the Ulriken Express bus.
If taking the city bus, the trail If taking a city bus, then you’ll want to alight at a bus stop near the trailhead at Montana Hostel.
If taking the Ulriken Express bus, the trail begins behind the cable car station. Online estimates say that hiking from the cable car station adds 30 minutes to the hike, but it only added 10 minutes for us.
Whether you start at the cable car station or the Montana hostel, the trails join to form one steep trail with 1,332 stone steps. The steps range in height from 6-18 inches, and the last kilometer of the trail is a 20% grade. It was no joke.
We hiked on a perfect weather day, and it seemed like there were as many locals on the trail as there were tourists. We saw people of all ages, from little kids to seniors. We were passed by a man hiking barefoot, and there was a school field trip having a picnic at the top. Two things I did not expect to see.
It took us 54 minutes to hike from the cable car station to the top. We stopped two or three times to catch our breath. It was a breathy one!
At some point, I started counting my steps which was a mistake. Forty steps felt like 80, which was not good for my exhausted body and brain, so a word of caution, don’t count the steps.
Another drain on my mental capacity was the false summit. False summits sometimes happen, and they happened to us on this hike.
When I thought I was near the summit, I started hiking faster. When I reached the “summit,” I saw a shit load of stairs ahead of me. I felt defeated, but in the wise words of Peter, there was only one way to get through it: to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
I was dripping in sweat when I reached the top. It was a level of sweat and a red face that was actually embarrassing.
I sat on the large boulder ledge, took a sip of water, and decided that since my legs were on fire, I’d take the cable car down (wasn’t thinking too much about Peter n that moment).
Except for hiking Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh a month prior, this was my first major hike in many years. It reminded me how much I don’t like hiking. And as my heart rate slowed, I still couldn’t fathom continuing the hike from Mount Ulriken to Mount Fløyen as we had originally planned.
As I sat there waiting for my face to change from beet red to its normal color, I overheard a hiker tell his friend that the real summit of Mount Ulriken was “over there” and not where we were sitting. I guess that meant there were two false summits of Mount Ulriken.
We rested on the boulder ledge for 20 minutes and then walked to the restaurant to see what they had on offer.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much on offer during our visit. Mainly snacks and drinks. We were interested in sipping a beer on the deck, but for as large as the deck was, the seating was limited.
It’s picnic table-style seating which is OK when both ends of the benches are accessible, but one end of the benches butted up to the railing, so if you were seated at the railing end, everyone on your bench had to slide out to let you out.
This seating style doesn’t make sharing a table with random people viable, and the end result was two or three people sitting at picnic tables could accommodate eight people.
If you can snag a seat, it’s a perfect place to enjoy a beer after that monster hike. And on a random note, it would also be an amazing wedding venue.
If I were to hike Mount Ulriken again, I would:
- wear shorts and a tank top versus hiking pants and a long-sleeve top
- fill my water bladder versus a water bottle
- use hiking poles (big proponent of hiking poles)
Flåm village
On our second full day in Bergen, we woke up to soggy weather and a forecast that would not be in our favor. Hence, we decided to head northeast and drive the Aurlandsfjellet Scenic Route, stopping at the village of Flåm and the Stegastein viewpoint.
The drive from Bergen to Flåm was about two and half hours, and then it was another 30 minutes from Flåm to Stegastein. In total, about six hours of driving for the day.
We stopped in Flåm for a toilet break and lunch. The taco truck had run out of food for the day, so we chose to eat at the village cafeteria. We shared a pizza. A Norwegian-style pizza (Maybe? Is this a thing?).
I regret not taking a photo of the pizza.
Sometime in my life, I had eaten this type of pizza before, but I cannot place where I’ve had it. The crust was thick, like a deep-dish pizza, but it was airy and crunchy.
The pizza was served on a “wicker pizza plate” (Etsy lingo). It was unusual because pizza is typically greasy, so the plate it’s served on should probably be a solid material, not a material more suitable for potpourri.
Anyway.
We didn’t love the pizza but didn’t hate it either. It was one of those foodstuffs that, given enough time, we’d come to love. Maybe? My feelings about that style of pizza are confusing.
Similarly confusing to bread and butter pickles. Do I hate them? Do I like them? I just don’t know!
We hoped to have another taster of “Norwegian pizza” before leaving Norway. Still, we failed, and we’re forever left wondering if we liked or disliked Norwegian pizza, which isn’t even a thing in Norwegian life. It’s just pizza.
After lunch, we strolled around Flåm for a bit, long enough for us to need to pee one more time before heading to Stegastein.
Flåm seemed to be a hub for hikers and visitors wanting to explore the fjords in that region (Aurlandsfjord and Sognefjord). For me, I couldn’t imagine staying in the fjords and not having a car, but there were a lot of people arriving who did not have cars.
While we were in Flåm, a train and a passenger ferry arrived, dumping loads of visitors into the tiny village. As soon as they appeared, they disappeared.
I wondered where they went because I didn’t see many places for accommodation. Maybe they were there for the outlet mall?
In summary, Flåm was a mysterious place that served pizza on re-purposed potpourri plates, sold outdoor clothing at deep discounts, and had a brewery that was only open in the evenings on specific days of the week.
Stegastein Viewpoint
From Flåm, we drove to Stegastein viewpoint. I’d read that the road leading up to the viewpoint was full of hairpin turns, and I prepped by taking Dramamine so that my driving would not make me motion sick. (I learned that lesson the hard way in Crete last summer).
The road leading to the viewpoint was not only full of hairpin turns but was also one lane precariously cut into the side of the mountain. Peter fears heights and later told me that he had to look at his phone the whole time to keep his mind off us potentially falling off the mountain.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most dangerous, I’d say the road was a 6. In peak season or on a sunny day with loads of traffic, it’d be an 8.
At the top of the turns were the viewpoint, a tiny parking lot (free), and toilets. The parking lot could accommodate ~15 cars, and then there was another ~5 spaces on the side of the road near the parking lot.
There were two spaces available when we arrived and a queue of cars waiting for a space when we left.
Stegastein viewpoint sits 650 meters (2,132 ft) above Aurlandsfjord. This was our introduction to the fjords, and it did not disappoint.
The easiest way to describe the scale of the fjords is with photos. They’re really, really big.
As an example, there are two boats in the photo below.
The viewpoint extends 30 meters (164 ft) over the fjord. Standing on the viewpoint feels like it is cantilevered, but it is actually secured to the mountain.
The viewpoint was neat and worth the drive if you’ve got the time. That said, it was a long day with six hours of driving plus another 1.5 hours for our stops in Flåm, Vinje Church, and Trollafossen waterfall.
I don’t know if it would have been as worth it if we had taken a tour (on a bus) from Bergen to the viewpoint. I reckon that would have been a long and uncomfortable day.
Vinje Church and Trollafossen waterfall
On the drive back to Bergen, we made two pitstops.
We stopped at Vinje Church for a quick photo op. We actually drove by the church, and I thought I’d regret not stopping to take a photo of it. I u-turned at the next roundabout, took a few photos, and resumed driving to Bergen with no regrets.
Our second stop was at Trollafossen Waterfall, a couple hundred meters off E16. We saw this waterfall on our way to Stegastein and made a note to stop at it on the drive back to Bergen. You can’t miss it. It’s enormous.
There are a lot of waterfalls in Norway. There were periods of driving where we’d see one every five minutes. The amount of melted snow coming off the mountains 24/7 is mind-boggling. I kept saying, “There’s so much water!”
We spent 10 minutes at Trollafossen. There’s a small shop near the waterfall that sells snacks and gifts. Toilets are available for a fee.
I have one regret about our visit to Trollafossen. I should have bought an ice cream sandwich.
Unlike Norwegian pizza and bread and butter pickles, my feelings about ice cream sandwiches are firm. I love them. And so does Norway. I know this because they are sold everywhere, and people eat them all day.
Two hours later, we arrived in Bergen just in time for cocktails and dinner. Later that evening, we packed up our things and prepared for the next segment of our vacation, the Hardangerfjord region.
What we’d do differently
What would we do differently if we were to stay in Bergen again?
We added a buffer day to every vacation segment, primarily for inclement weather and flexibility if we found additional things we wanted to do or see.
Our buffer day in Bergen was a soggy one, so we used the day to drive the Aurlandsfjellet Scenic Route. If we had not had a buffer day, we would have driven this route on our transfer day to Norheimsund in Hardangerfjord. It would have been a long day but would have been achievable.
As for our multi-day itinerary, we would not do anything differently with our stay in Bergen.
However, if we were doing Bergen as a city break over a weekend without any day trips, we would reduce our stay from three to two nights.
We’d take an early morning flight to arrive in Bergen as early as possible and then take a later flight on our departure day to allow enough time to complete the following:
- Explore Bryggen
- Hike Mount Ulriken
- Hike Mount Fløyen
Resources
Below is a list of resources I used to prep for our vacation in Norway.
Eat and drink recommendations
Here are a few recommendations for Bergen.
| Business name | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Det Lille Kaffe Kompaniet | Coffee | |
| Savannah Restaurant | Restaurant | Reservations recommended |
| No Stress | Cocktail bar | |
| Vinyl | Cocktail/beer bar | Extensive selection of beers; cocktails are mostly whiskey-based. Try the cold Irish Coffee. |
Next: the beginning of our adventures in “fjordland”.
Yawning gets you everywhere 
0 comments on “Bergen, Norway”