Bergen City Break

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	3
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

Bergen is one of these places that you always see pictures of with gorgeous blue sky and pretty little harbour side houses. We decided to make a Bergen city break our first visit to this Nordic country.

Another first was to fly with Norwegian Air, which was excellent and after a short flight from Gatwick we were in a country very different from the UK.

Bergen

The town is very clean and has so many feel good signs everywhere and positive graffiti it really was lovely. In the evenings the centre was full of people and happiness even though they couldn’t afford to be drunk as alcohol is quite a silly price here!

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We were staying in the Radisson on the waterfront which was a great location. The Bryggen Wharf was a couple of minutes walk away – a restoration of the original Hanseatic wharf. It’s comprised of gorgeous wooden architecture and now a pleasant area of knitwear shops, galleries and cafes.

Hanseatic Wharf

It’s very easy to imagine what it must have looked like and smelt like in its heyday and great to just wander around. From there we ambled down to Starbucks for the obligatory latte (after a sharp intake of breath at the cost, better get used to adding 50% to UK prices!).

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Mount Floyen

The furnicular station to Mount Floyen was nearby so we took that to the top of the mountain which was about £9 return I think. There were impressive views all round but sadly marred by flat and grey skies. The goats seem to be doing a good job of keeping the vegetation down too.

There is a gift shop and cafe on the summit and plenty of marked walking trails but we didn’t indulge in that. After a clean up at the hotel we headed out to an authentic and excellent Norwegian Thai at Siam Ratree to round off our first evening in Bergen.

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Rosenkrantz Tower

The next morning Debbie and Zeynep headed to the gym whilst I wallowed in obesity and sat in bed! After breakfast we walked up to the nearby Rosenkrantz Tower, a medieval fortification that had be rebuilt after a German ammunition ship blew up next to it in 1944. Entry was £12 per adult I think. The route through the tower is well laid out, starting in the basement and heading up to the top floor.

Each room has a description of its function and in some there are exhibits or replica arms and armour to try on. We spent well over an hour here – I loved the panels with stories about the witchcraft trials! There is a cafe that is part of the same complex (with Hakon’s Hall) and does hot drinks and cake at sensible prices. The tower was surprisingly interesting and we spent a good chunk of time there, especially as the children wanted to dress up.

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Mount Ulriken

After more slow walking around the harbour and through the fish market we caught the bus and cable car to Mount Ulriken. We took the bus from near the Tourist Information stand, near the harbour. The cost was about £26 per adult for a return on the bus and cable car. We could have saved some money by getting the public bus but are sadly too lazy. The bus was crowded but otherwise excellent – left on time, was clean and had seatbelts. It only runs every hour though so you do have to plan your trip.

The cable car runs every seven minutes and was excellent, very smooth and almost pleasant! The views from the top were great, it’s a shame there was no blue sky but at least the rain had stopped. It was lovely to see the paragliders – very impressive.

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This evening we went to a 1950’s style American diner that we had seen earlier. We liked the novelty of this and it looked pretty quiet when we passed so we ate dinner in a car! It was quite fun and the menu was good, staff were brilliant (thanks Louise for spending the time to chat with us – good luck with the MA!) and service was quick. The food was nice and it was great to just sit and relax whilst listening to music even older than me!

Bergen at Night

As the evening was so mild and dry we spent an hour or so meandering around the docks and taking some night photos of all the reflections.

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Next morning Deb again braved the gym whilst I slept. After breakfast Zeynep and I took the furnicular to Mount Floyen again and then went for a walk around the nearby lake. Although, again, it was a bit dull, there were still some beautiful reflections.

Mount Floyen

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After heading back to the hotel we picked Deb up for lunch before sorting ourselves out for the evening flight home. As always, it’s great what a few days away on our Bergen city break does for the soul, if not the wallet!

2016