Bergen, Norway

The fjords of Norway was a recent addition to my bucket list. I could lie and say that I was inspired by a painting I saw, or a book I read, or even hearing about another person’s trip to Norway.

But I’m going to be honest. I was inspired by my obsessions with “Frozen” and Thor.

Before I saw these movies, I hadn’t really had much exposure to Norway. My only experience with Norway was through the pavilion in Epcot in Disney World, and so the only things I knew about this country were that they had polar bears, Vikings, trolls, and delicious pastries. I had thought about going there just to go there while I was studying in Denmark, but never made the trek.

And so, when I realized that real Norway looked pretty similar to Arendelle (minus the talking snowman and ice palace) and that Norse mythology was really interesting, Norway was tacked onto my bucket list.

Norway is a massive country and has so much to offer. For my first venture into the land of the midnight sun, I decided to focus on seeing the fjords.

I started my journey in Bergen, the country’s second largest city and the “Gateway to the Fjords”. After a long travel day, I arrived at my hotel around 3:00pm, took a quick rest, and spent the late afternoon and evening exploring the city in the pouring rain.

I hadn’t done much research on the city of Bergen, as I wasn’t sure how much time I would actually have in the city, so I started with the famous Bryggen, or the Hanseatic houses along the wharf. Not sure what I’m talking about? Google “Bergen” and they’ll be the first image you see. The houses were so pretty and so bright, despite the clouds and rain. Most of them are now shops and restaurants, which provided a welcome respite from the rain.

The rain started to die down, so I spent the rest of the evening wandering down backstreets and alleys, enjoying the sights, the scenery, and the sounds of this city. This is one of my favorite things to do in a new place, because you never quite know what you’ll see. In this case, I ran into a marching band, practicing and marching throughout the streets of the city. It was so cool, and unexpected.

I spent the next three days of my trip exploring the fjords (more to come on this…) and ended my trip back in Bergen before flying off to my next destination. On my last day in the city, I was a tad luckier: I had a full morning of sunshine! I decided to take the funicular up to the top of Mount Fløyen. The view at the top was incredible. You could see the entirety of the city, as well as all the fjords around it (there was also a lot of dogs and a group of people doing yoga – not as exciting, but still interesting.)

But the rain couldn’t hold off forever (it rains an average of 231 days in Bergen, so this isn’t entirely unexpected), and I quickly made my way back down the mountain for a quick seafood lunch and some souvenir shopping before heading back to the airport.

Overall, I enjoyed my time in Bergen. Did it rain a lot? Yes. Was it still really pretty? Absolutely. The city has so much to offer, and I could have easily spent more time exploring. However, I’m not usually a city gal (despite the fact that I work in a city) and so, for me, two days was plenty.

The fjords were the true standout of this vacation – so stay tuned for more details!