Norway: the final chapter

Easter Sunday marked our last full day in Norway and what better way to relax from our Fjords excursion than to go on a hike!

Bergen city is in a valley between multiple mountain peaks. Mount Floyen was the closest to our hostel and had a cool funicular to ride to the top, so naturally we decided to hike that one. We took the funicular to the top which in itself was an experience, then hiked about at the top of the mountain, finally walking down at the end of the day.

I wasn't up for the mega peak walk so the man and I broke off from the group and relied on my awesome map reading skills. This involved lots of roundabout path walking, chasing waterfalls to find a lake, getting lost in woodland when we had thought the sign pointed that way and finding ourselves in a housing estate half way down the mountain. We started our hiking expedition (this terminology makes it sound grander than it was and I love that) at 11am and didn't return to the hostel until 5pm. That's a whole lot of walking time whilst wearing Toms which have, as I found out, little foot support. There was also the embarrassment of an argument and tears at the top of the mountain which made my trusty partner seem like a horrible boyfriend.

On our final morning we explored the famous Bergen Fish Market which actually turned out to be little more than a market stall just a little bigger than Tesco's fishmongers. We sat by the wharf and enjoyed the sun on our faces one last time before returning to Britain where, surprise, it was grey.

Norway, I loved you for a weekend but I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon. You're too expensive!

Norway Part 2

Saturday we were up early to catch our day tour of the Fjords from the local train station. We went through Norway in a Nutshell and chose the day long Fjord and mountain train tour.

Essentially this was a day of transport with little stops to browse the local area and take photos of the beautiful scenery. We took a local train to somewhere (not sure where) and from there a coach through the winding roads to Voss. At Voss we found our Fjords boat waiting for us. I'll let the photos of the Fjords do the talking because the beauty can't really be described with words.

After the Fjord cruise we went on the Flam Railway Line which is a world heritage mountain railway. Doesn't sound too exciting but the views were fantastic. We went all the way through a mountain range, some of the time on open track and other times through tunnels which were dug with hand picks in the 19th century. The historic line ends high on a mountain range which was deep with snow. 

The final journey, down the mountain and back to Bergen, was long and on a modern train. After all the fresh air and excitement most of us slept through this part of the day! 

Norway Part 1

Last week I went to Bergen Norway for the Easter weekend. Don't ask how a skiing holiday turned into a Norwegian city break because quite a few people already have and to be honest, I haven't a clue. One minute we were planning to ski, the next we were booking flights to Bergen!

Plane selfie: If you try and say "Bergen" when a photo is taken this is how ridiculous you look

We flew Friday afternoon after a delay and an unhealthy holiday snack in McDonalds. There were 9 of us in all from Church and it was great to get to know some people I haven't spent much time with before. Arriving in Bergen in the early evening and catching our transfer to the hostel, we ventured to the historic harbour to find some food.

We found this shop when searching for dinner 

The first thing which struck me was how expensive everything was! We ended up paying about double what we would in England for everything, from bottled drinks to food. The alcohol was astronomical so I didn't drink at all whilst away. Then again, we didn't see any drunk people at all so that was a plus to the expensive prices! I tried some reindeer soup and some chicken soup for dinner the first night and was nonplussed by it.

The Unesco World Heritage street...a.k.a. where we found the best food

Our hostel was Marken Guesthouse and it was genuinely the best hostel I've ever stayed in. The decor was fresh, the rooms, lounge, kitchen, toilets and showers were always clean and well stocked. The price was pretty good too! Definitely recommend to anyone visiting Bergen. We were split between three rooms but thankfully didn't have to share with anyone we didn't know. It was nice to have others to chat to in the lounge area though and we met people from all over the world.

The hostel from the outside. It was on the fourth floor and reachable by lift an ancient lift with a cage door