I’ve been recounting my adventures while not on the road. After a memorable hike up to Pulpit Rock our next stop was Bergen and the Norwegian Fjords.
We booked an early express ferry out of Stavanger enroute to Bergen. There is a lot of sea travel in Norway and we wanted to give this form of transportation a try. It was a 5 hour ride on open water so there were some bumps along the way. Overall it was a fun way to see the Norwegian waterways and something I don’t get to do very often back at home in Canada.
Bergen
We arrived in Bergen a shortly after lunch and checked into our Hotel (Thon Hotel Bergen Brygge). We had booked a tour package that checked off the two items we wanted to experience in this area, take a Fjord cruise and ride the Flam Railway. As a bonus for booking the tour we also received a Fjord Pass. The pass is similar to the Copenhagen card we used in Denmark allowing access or discounts to attractions in the area. While we didn’t use the Fjord Pass much for attractions we did use it to book discounted rates at the Hotel we were staying at.
Having settled in we decided to explore Bergen. It was an opportunity to get our bearings and see what this city had to offer. I was pleasantly to find such a nice and comfortable city!
Pingvinen
We had some great weather and really enjoyed spending time in a city with so much character! We found a great little restaurant to have dinner called Pingvinen. I had the Danish Meatballs with Lingonberry sauce and mashed peas and potatoes, while my sister had a grilled Hake with veggies and mashed potatoes.
We returned to our hotel and was looking forward to a slower paced day exploring Bergen.
Bergen Continued
We left this day open to explore the city and rest given we had been going pretty steadily since arriving in Scandinavia. It turns out I really enjoyed this day. We had nowhere to be and we enjoyed exploring and taking turns deciding to turn left, right or keep going straight. Because of our random navigating, we ended up on a hill that overlooked Bergen and I can safely say that we probably would have never discovered this had we not wandered around. But I’m glad we did.
We had some lunch at a small restaurant called Sostrene Hagelin which served only seafood inspired items. We had individual fish soups (curry and regular) along with two fish cakes and it REALLY hit the spot.
After lunch was a lazy afternoon, we found a small coffee shop and relaxed, enjoying the people watching and beautiful Bergen harbour.
Sognefjord
We had a full tour day today. We got up early, picked up some breakfast and made our way to the boat that we would cruise the Sognefjord with today. It turned out to be a medium sized vessel that for all intents and purposes was a very comfortable ferry. We set out for the several hour cruise towards Flam. It was a beautiful trip where we witnessed some amazing natural beauty. We stopped a few times to drop off and pick up passengers at a few small towns.
However, I will note that living in the Pacific North West of North America has spoiled me a bit. I did find that a lot of this beauty is actually similar to the waterways, mountains and greenery that we have at home. In NO WAY am I taking away from the beauty of this place, but I thought it was an interesting detail and made me appreciate just how fortunate I am to live in the place that I do.
Flam Railway
Upon arriving in Flam and disembarking from our boat, the railway station for the Flam Railway is conveniently right there! We simply had to wait (with our tickets) for our train to board and depart. The Flam railway is a scenic 20 km train ride that climbs (or descends) mountainous terrain and offers some amazing views of nature. It’s considered one of the steepest lines in the world with a 5.5% gradient. We boarded our car and settled in for the exciting journey.
The train made a stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall where we got out to take a few photos. Soon after, we arrived in Myrdal where we changed onto the Bergen line to return to Bergen. It was a long day of trains and boats but we enjoyed it all. We were pretty tired near the end. (riding in trains gets VERY comfortable). After returning to Bergen, we passed by a pizza shop on our way back to the hotel. Because we hadn’t seen many on our trip, we picked up a pizza and decided to eat in. It was a great way to end off our evening.