Bergen and Flåm

As I previously mentioned, Bergen is the rainiest city in Europe — it averages 2.25 metres of rain and 275 days of rain each year! The wettest day on record was October 27 1995 when 104mm of rain fell, and the rainiest year in recent history was 1992 when an astounding 3.02 metres fell from the skies! As a result, one of the most common sights in Bergen is broken, discarded umbrellas — indeed, the majority of umbrellas that I saw wielded on the street were broken.

Bergen is also surrounded by seven mountains, the tallest of which is Ulriken, standing 642 metres high with picturesque views of both the town itself and the islands that shelter it from the North Sea. When I arrived in Bergen the weather was a complete surprise — still, warm and sunny! Taking advantage of this stroke of luck, I beat a very indirect and free-roaming trail to the summit of Ulriken and enjoyed the spectacular panorama. As I followed a much more direct (and incredibly steep) path back into town, I was astonished to see a number of “youth-challenged” people jog directly up the mountain, reach the summit and power back down past me! The Norwegians are a crazy and incredibly fit people.

The town itself is home to a charming line of rustic wooden buildings at the old wharf Bryggen. Originally constructed in the 1300s, when Bergen became an important Hanseatic trading centre, the houses are on the UNESCO World Heritage List and were rebuilt after burning down in 1702 (only to sustain fire damage again in 1955). Between the houses are long, narrow alleyways lined by multiple levels of small and twisting balconies, which house numerous architectural offices and other businesses, and were very interesting to explore.

Only a short stroll from the ancient houses of Bryggen is Torget, an open plaza attached to the harbour, which is home to a famous open-air seafood market. The range of fresh seafood was extensive and the market appeared to be extremely popular with locals and tourists alike. Norway is indeed an expensive country to visit, but for AU$12 I was able to sit at the harbour and enjoy a most delicious lunch of freshly-cooked prawns (about 250g) accompanied by a good beer.

The rest of the town was nice, but I was more interested in seeing Norway’s natural beauty than another modern city centre. With this in mind I set off on the extremely popular “Norway in a Nutshell” tour, to explore the fjords and mountains of the west Norwegian coast. The cold and cloudy weather lent the tall mountain a mysterious air, with scattered peaks occasionally emerging above the low-set clouds. The narrow fjords and steeply-walled valleys were breathtaking to behold (unfortunately it is impossible to capture the sheer scale or perspective with a mere photo), and a scenic voyage via train, bus and boat delivered myself and several fellow travellers to the foot of the Flåm valley.

From Flåm, the tour continues by train — the famous and amazingly scenic Flåm Railway — to the summit town of Myrdal, and then by regional trains back to Bergen or Oslo. To the dismay of everybody on the tour, the Flåm Railway was not operating due to a landslide across the tracks. To our further chagrin the only route available was to take a taxi essentially along the path we had come, completely missing out on the beauty of both the Flåm Railway and the train ride across the mountain range. Luckily, I had booked to stay one night in Flåm so that I could hike along the valley, and I was able to enjoy some of the scenery. A short hike in the late afternoon took me to the Brekkefossen waterfall and the old Flåm church (about 1.5km up the valley).

The following day I hiked much deeper into the valley and scaled a very steep path to Holo Farm, perched high up on the side of the valley (about 450 metres above sea level) with spectacular views over the valley floor. The landslide still lay across the tracks of the Flåm Railway, and so I returned to Bergen quite disappointed, but also pleased that I had been able to hike along the Flåm valley. I caught a night-train back to Oslo, awaking around 2am to see a beautiful snow-covered village glowing in the bright moonlight. I was fortunate enough to dine with Maximin and Martin, two great guys whom I had met in Stockholm, before saying farewell to Norway.

I hope this finds you well!