Bergen

After sleeping in and a late breakfast, we checked out and headed to the harbor by tram and by foot. It was the heaviest rain of the day, but we were successful in our baggage drop off at the terminal.

We then headed to nearby Knøsesmauet, known for its colorful houses and steep cobblestones hills:







This small house had big flag energy:



At the bottom of the hill and in between window shopping and actual shopping, Rachel was voluntold to pose with the fountain:



Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city and a gateway to the fjords. Founded in 1070 A.D., it has architecture influenced by the German trading organization, the Hanseatic League. As such, we headed to the world heritage wharfs in the colorful Bryggen district, which has many artisan shops:





We arrived at nearby St Mary’s Church or Mariakirken which was built in the 12th century and one of Bergen’s oldest surviving structures. I thought it was closed, but it was open to those grieving the King. We lit electric candles and were not allowed to take photos inside:



For lunch, we had decided on a hotdog at the popular Trekroneren stand which we passed by on our first night. We ordered traditional reindeer sausages with lingonberry sauce and fried onions:





At this point, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through. So we circled the City Park which is surrounded by museums and other formidable buildings. This is actually where the city center tram stop is located, but we hadn’t ventured in. Here’s the metal statue which depicts the King Olaf Kyrre or Olaf the Peaceful - it’s interpretive:



And the fountain lake is octagonal and apparently turns into an ice rink in the winter:



We headed up the hill and towards the terminal, but took this photo of famous playwright Henrik Ibsen, considered “the father of modern drama” in front of the National Stage theater:



Down below, we could see crowds and we passed the “Lying Poet” statue…



But the crowds were forming as folks were leaving flowers and gifts for the recently deceased King on top of “The Blue Stone”:



We then walked to the terminal and even helped another tourist find the “Queen Mary II” cruise ship which was massive and checked into the Hurtigruten Lounge.

Hurtigruten (which means ‘Fast Route’), and formally known as Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes (“coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes”), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally and regionally, and also cargo between ports north of Tromsø. It travels the old Viking route along the Hjeltefjord and Norway's long, jagged coastline. A route map below:



This was recommended by my “1,000 Places to See Before You Die” book, but also because we couldn’t decide on just Bergen area or the northern Lofoten Islands, we thought this was a great solution. It was also very reasonable and pretty low-key seeming. My Swedish colleague said this is a traditional and well-known ferry.

A photo of our boat below from the terminal lounge and after our safety briefing - we learned we have life onesies in addition to life vests which makes sense due to the arctic waters:



We toured the public decks and ordered “Bubbles of the Sea” sparkling wine and a ginger beer with chili in the Panorama Lounge. The boat feels quite new and clean:



Windows line the floors giving great views:



After checking out the dining deck and gift shop, we headed to our very functional room. We were assigned deck 2 and the rooms were pretty much sold out, so I picked a departure date that at least had a room with a window. I had wanted to take a photo of it being more pristine, but we started unpacking pretty quickly, so we could rest:





We made our way to dinner which was a nice buffet and headed out to the deck to say goodbye to Bergen. At one point, the sun hit the city and the surrounding area magically:







I think this is Askoy Bridge or Askøybrua:



There are multiple saunas, but the 6th floor sauna has a window. At night, it just reflects the inside, but I took a quick snap when it was empty and we alternated with the jacuzzi while getting to know a Minnesota couple celebrating their anniversary.





I’m looking forward to a restful sleep post-sauna on our first night on the Hurtigruten!

Queen of Fjords

Our morning breakfast view:



The farm hotel is on a hill and our room was in this building:



More of our hotel with eggplant colored-benches:



Our hotel shuttle dropped us off back in town and to kick off our second Norway in a Nutshell self-guided tour called Hardangerfjord in a Nutshell. The itinerary below, but we forwent the Bergen to Voss segment as we stayed in Voss last night:



We boarded our 1 hour bus to Ulvik which included passing this waterfall on hairpin turns and overlooking the valley:





Then in front of Ulvikfjord, the flag was flown at half mast due to the passing of the beloved King Harald V. The hotel owner was in tears this morning as he was well-respected for his over 3-decade reign. We saw tributes to him throughout the day:



Then we boarded a boat for 30 minutes to Eidfjord to transfer to a bus for Vøringsfoss, Norway's most famous waterfall in the Måbødalen valley:











A unique stairway bridge allows visitors to cross the canyon which we did after taking pictures from afar. The top part of the waterfall:





And then looking over it:







We returned to our bus, thoroughly sweating from the trek. The day was cloudy and very windy, but the walk to all the platforms was definitely a good workout. After returning to Eidfjord, I enjoyed a curry chicken wrap and an apple cider while Rachel ate a chicken burger.



Then we boarded a 3-hour boat that journeys across Hardangerfjord, which is part of the national park and considered the “Queen of Fjords”. The boat captain pointed out this waterfall:



He also advised we could possibly see seals, but we did not. We went under Hardanger Bridge - one of the world’s longest suspension bridges:





We arrived in Norheimsund and popped into a pub where I enjoyed cider and a fish soup and Rachel ordered a beer while we waited for our bus back to Bergen…



In about 80 minutes, we were back in Bergen and said goodbye to the elderly couple we kept running into. So many folks do versions of the Nutshell tours which were really easy and accessible. My ears have thoroughly popped from the elevation climbs and descents through these beautiful valleys.

At the bus station, we boarded the tram back to our hotel and retrieved our luggage from self-storage and checked back into the Moxy Bergen. We celebrated the successful two days with welcome (back) drinks and a taco flatbread pizza. As Rachel said, we did a lot in just two days in Norway! Indeed, we celebrated the king by being on the king and queen of fjords…

King of Fjords

Early morning outside our hotel - other locals even took photos of the cool-looking mist:



After storing our luggage at our hotel and with overnight bags in tow, we headed into Bergen city center. Tourists commonly use the “Norway in a Nutshell” travel agency that provides packaged train / bus / boat tickets for customizable itineraries in southern and western Norway.

I had booked the Sognefjord in a Nutshell pictured below:



The first leg was about 5 hours through the inlets and fjords of Norway’s longest and deepest fjord called Sognefjord and nicknamed the “King of Fjords”. Our daily selfie on the express ferry:



The region where the Sognefjord meets the glaciers and Norway's highest peaks is considered one of the world's most beautiful travel destinations. We headed to the ferry deck to enjoy the vistas, wind, and meeting other tourists…









There were quaint villages and stops along the way where locals and tourists disembarked…



We then entered Nærøyfjord which is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a beautiful waterfall. The ferry crewman didn’t seem as excited to see it - so I asked him how many times he had seen it and he replied “many”, but when I asked him the name, he didn’t know. We think it’s Lægdafossen…





More steep cliffs as we entered Aurlandsfjord:









At the end of Aurlandsfjord is the city of Flåm where I ate a Jarlsberg cheese (originally Norwegian which I didn’t realize) and ham sandwich and shared with Rachel their famous "kanelbolle" or cinnamon roll:



We looped the town and the factory store that invented the penny loafer and then boarded the Flåm Railway or Flåmsbana. Apparently, it’s one of the world’s most famous railway journeys that took over 20 years to build, has 20 tunnels and is 20 kilometers long. Shockingly, 18 of the 20 tunnels were built by hand and it’s Northern Europe's steepest railway looking over Flåm valley…









We chatted with some folks from Philadelphia and we were a little bewildered by this performance as we disembarked for 5 minutes at Kjosfossen where folks dressed in red dresses essentially were raving - they were like sirens called huldras - famous in Scandinavian folklore, but the effect was a little lost as the waterfall was basically a drizzle in this warm season…





We finally arrived at Myrdal where we transferred to the train back to Bergen. You could see a glacier from the station and as we watched the train link up with more cars:





The train was quite empty and didn’t always open the doors for all the stops to the dismay of a few tourists. But we enjoyed more valley views:





In lieu of returning all the way to Bergen, I opted to book us for an overnight in Voss as we would come back through for our Norway in a Nutshell package tomorrow. Voss has a lovely lake where we enjoyed soft serve and iced coffee:





Instead of staying at one of the large lake resorts, I had booked us at Store Ringheim Hotel & Restaurant, a farm on the hilltop with farm-to-table cuisine. A shuttle can be called to bring you up the hillside from the train / bus station…



For dinner, we sat next to a window with a horse statue and I ordered a local cider (which the area is known for) while Rachel enjoyed some sparkling cava:





The food was clean and tasty as we shared local cheeses, trout, and vegetables and both started with pumpkin soup. The dessert was a light cheesecake:



We walked around after dinner and enjoyed the grounds and vistas:





Today, I continued to listen to Dolly Parton’s music as she was truly a national treasure. Coincidentally, I also had bought tickets to her new musical a few weeks ago which will open in January. Being in rural Norway isn’t quite Tennessee, but found listening to her music relaxing while taking in all the scenery of the mountains, glacial lakes, and fjords…