Labor Day Weekend in Bergen

This past weekend we traveled to Bergen, which is on the west coast of Norway. The train ride from Oslo took about 8 hours, with quick stops along the way and one longer (45 minutes) stop around half way. The length of the trip hardly mattered as every bit of the scenery along the way was spectacular. And Samuel was a very cooperative little boy (not so much on the way back to Oslo).

Below is just your average view out the window of the train as it sped through the Hardangervidda, which is Northern Europe's biggest high-mountain plateau (from the tourist literature: "it covers an area of 7500 square kilometers and its highest peak is 1933 meters). Note the cabins scattered about. For this stretch of our trip the train track cuts through the national park, away from any roads. However, there are at least three or four train stops along the way and I believe folks can actually take the train to the closest stop and make their way to their cabin by foot, bike or off road vehicle. In Norway, we were told yesterday, it isn't a matter of if someone has a cabin but, rather, where that cabin is located.

Here is the Hardangerjokulen Glacier, which sits at an altitude (I believe) of 1877 meters.

And a picture of our train during our 45 minute stop at Myrdal (nothing more than a train station really).
Again, Samuel was a good traveller - occupied, in turns, by his magic box of very small toys and looking out the window while making the sign for train.

And then we arrived in Bergen - which is just lovely. Here is the street we stayed on in the Nordnes neighborhood, which is essentially car free as the houses are built so closely together and on steep slopes that the alleys providing access are really pedestrian and bike only.

The Nordnes area is also incredibly child friendly as many families live there, and of course we found our local playground just up the hill from us. And what a playground it was -- check out this view! The play equipment was great, too.

On Day 1 in Bergen we visited the primary attraction that the city has to offer - Bryggen. The buildings you see here date from just after one of the five fires (1702) that have laid waste to this section of town over the years. This stretch of town has served as the wharf and center of commerce for Bergen since the early 14th century, when the city rose to prominence as a commercial center of Northern Europe (a spot it kept for centuries).

The buildings are very densely built making them seem almost to be one large building when in fact there are 52 distinct buildings that make up Bryggen today - approximately 25% of its original number. This area of Bergen is named on the Unesco World Heritage List.

After Bryggen, we made our way to the other "must do" in Bergen - the Torget Fish Market - where we lunched on this plate of fish. Starting at 6:00 with the scoop of macaroni salad, moving clockwise, we have shrimp, king crab claw, pickled salmon (SO GOOD), smoked salmon (lox), smoked whale, king crab leg, with a piece of smoked salmon (dry) in the middle. And yes, I did say whale. Norway is one of only three countries (Japan and Iceland are the others) that allows whaling. Whaling for minke whales was resumed in 1993 after the 1986 international moratorium on whaling put a temporary hold on the practice. The government tightly controls the harvest and, again, only on the minke whale which they say has a very healthy population. Got to say - wasn't a big fan of the whale. Jack says that whale that hasn't been smoked is much tastier.

Day 2 in Bergen took us up the Floibanen funicular (which, according to Jack, isn't a funicular at all but instead a counter balance). Just like in Oslo, you can take this train out of the city center and start hiking right away. Its amazing up there. Here is the view down on to Bergen and the fjord.

It turned out that we chose national "Get Out Day" (Kom Deg Ut Dagen) to make our trip to Floibanen. This is the day that the Norwegian Trekking Association (Den Norske Turistforening) plans activities around the country to encourage Norwegians to bring their families out to the wilderness. It was fantastic. On the short hike we did from the top of the counter balance, we found this little lake that was a hive of activity - kids exploring, families learning together. Totally awesome. Below was the "try a kayak for the first time" station. I didn't see one waiver signed. Can you believe that? Certainly wouldn't happen like this in the States.

And here was the "check out the sun spots on this killer telescope" station. Also recorded (but not shared here) were the "have some pancakes made on a grill over an open fire" station and the "water bottle rocket" station. We'll have to come back when Samuel is a bit older.

From the busy lake, we hiked a short way in to the woods to a lean-to structure for lunch...where Samuel conquered the rocky terrain.

From there we hiked down the steep hill back in to town - and as we descended we passed fit, blond Norwegian after fit, blond Norwegian hiking up the path - just out for a Sunday stroll. All and all, a very nice stay in Bergen. Here are a few random shots to show that we were having fun.

Norway is full of trolls and Samuel gave this guy's nose a honk.

Apple cake and cherry pie with coffee. Better apple cake, in my opinion, than that enjoyed at the top of the mountain outside Oslo.

A totem pole given to the city of Bergen by the city of Seattle back in the 1980s. There is actually a plaque in Ballard, in Seattle, that names Bergen as a sister city to Seattle.

And yet another family photo - almost worse than the last we shared. It was VERY sunny. And clearly, Samuel and I couldn't quite handle it.

So, it was one day to get to Bergen, two days in Bergen and then a day to get back to Oslo...only we chose the adventurous way to get home. We took a train, and then a bus, and then a boat and then another train and finally one last train. It was "Norway in a Nutshell" and it was pretty great (until we were on the last train and we really, really, really wanted Samuel to fall asleep and he just wasn't having any of it).

First leg was just the train from Bergen to Voss (yes, where the fancy water comes from). But we'd covered that ground before on our way over on Friday.

The second leg was a bus ride (full sized bus mind you) from Voss down a very steep valley to Gudvangen, a small village of around 120 at the head of the Naeroyfjord. In particular there is a 1.5 km stretch of road (the Stalheimskleiva) that is both spectacular and terrifying. It reaches a 20% grade at one point...and we were headed down. The pitch does offer some nice views, however. Here is the shot out the bus looking down the valley.

And here is one of the 13 hair pin turns on that 1.5 km stretch of road. Again - a FULL SIZED BUS.

And finally, on the valley floor.
The third leg of the journey was from Gudvangen to Flam on this boat...

...along this fjord. Yeah - pretty sweet!

I believe this is the village of Bakka, which is home (today) to about 10 people (according to the literature, most of them are involved in goat farming).

The fourth leg of the journey was to ride the Flam Railway from Flam (2 meters above sea level) to Myrdal (866 meters above sea level), where we caught the final train back to Oslo (the fifth and final leg of our journey). The Flam Railway is said to be the steepest normal gauge railway line in Northern Europe (1 in 18 on average). The 20 kilometer train ride took us about an hour and offered some stunning views...

...which I enjoyed in peace and quiet. :)

Now we're back in Oslo with less than a week before we head home. We've relocated within the city to a deluxe apartment (wanted to go out with a bang) just off St. Hanshaugen Park. We'll share more at a later date.