my feet don't want to go to sleep

Oslo to Bergen – Traveling in Norway is really special. They have trains that connect the cities and bring you through the most beautiful mountain side. Getting from A to B is not only easy but it is part of the journey. The tour aptly titled “Norway In A Nutshell” has options to travel along the railway west. You can make it take days or hours with little stops in towns along the way. The informational material you get when you book is gorgeous, full of pictures, maps, and exact directions on departures. I was impressed and hadn’t even started yet.

1. Train from Oslo to Myrdal
2. Flam railway
3. Ferry to Gudvangen
4. Bus to Voss
5. Train to Bergen

Through the mountains, tunnels, across valleys, on cold fjords, this journey was stunningly beautiful in winter. The only let down was the Flam railway was closed due to track maintenance. But the bus replacement took us through windy roads covered with snow with black rocks peaking out. The views from beginning to the sunset in Voss were incredible. The highlight was the quiet cruise through the fjords during blue hour. Instead of golden hour, Norway has blue hour. The sunsets, the clouds roll in, the dark mountains met the dark calm waters and all filters into shades of deep blue.

It was all so easy when I arrived at the train station in Bergen I forgot I was technically traveling. It was an easy walk to the hostel I booked for the week.

To Stay

City Hostel Bergen AS is center, affordable, clean, quiet, and has strong wifi. The price was right. I am never bothered with a public shower or bathroom either. With a little desk to work in, a warm bed, and a location that let me pop out for quiet night strolls was all I ask for.

To Eat

• Fjåk chocolate shop & café – afternoon treats
• Bryggeloftet Restaurant – reindeer and traditional fare
• Fishmarket in Bergen – fresh fish 100 ways
• Daily pot – the most delicious warm meal
• Vågal – local amazing food, coffee, and wine shop
• Godt Brød Marken – daily bakery and coffee
• Restaurant Amateur – local fish soup

To Explore

• Håkonshallen – Bymuseet i Bergen – castle hall made of stone on a hill
• Bryggens Museum – Bymuseet i Bergen – local artifacts from hundreds of years ago
• Bryggen, Fløibanen – the waterside stacked wooden storefronts hidden down alleyways
• Revurtjernet utsikt – scenic overlook
• Heit Bergen Sauna – sauna on the fjord
• Bergen Kunsthall – museums by the lake
• Rasmus Meyer, Kode – museums
• Kode Art Museum – Lysverket – museums

Itinerary

I spent a week in Bergen mostly due to the fact I was working. On the train ride over I noticed the service in these remote mountain valleys and tunnels is bad. Definitely not a good idea to try and work on this train. When I have to stick to traveling on the weekends it gives me a nice long week to slowly explore the town during the mornings and leaves the evenings for work and nice dinners.

Day 1

Having done exactly no research on this town my first morning was a real wander. I found the waterfront and walked around it taking in the gorgeous seaside town. I stumbled on the cable car and took it up to the panorama overview. Heading away from the overlook, there were paths through the forrest with trees that looked like trolls. The paths are well marked and the cold November air felt good in the peaceful forrest. I took the cable car down and found a little cafe for a fish soup.

Day 2

There are many museums to visit. I visited Bergen Kunsthall and enjoyed slow afternoons in cafes journaling. I had a friend join me last minute pausing my solo travels.

Day 3

The main thing to do as often as you can in Norway is the sauna. Here on the fjord in Bergen sat a gorgeous sauna. Heit Bergen Sauna is a good price for a couple hours. There is a wood fire sauna lit by a local and the whole open fjord to use as a cold plunge. We met a couple women there who suggested delicious restaurants. The intensity in the sauna to the frozen shock of the open water is a feeling hard to explain. Forget your cold plunge in your expensive gym. Go to Norway and do it in a fjord. After the sauna we headed straight to the recommended restaurant. We ordered reindeer and it was so delicious.

Day 4

My friend left and I jumped back into the museums. The viking history here is the king. The museums have artwork, writings, and instruments that were used to show the change of seasons. Bergen is a special port city that hosted vikings, who at the time were the original colonizers. From there came the immigrants like Germans. They built the city out time and time again after fires destroyed the tightly packed wooden homes. These castles and homes turned museums show the architecture and hint how the rich lived.

I had a red eye train that night. When my hostel couldn’t hold my luggage anymore I dragged it along the cobble stone streets. I found a restaurant with wifi and tucked in for a couple hours to work. I had calls with Cartier over glasses of wine and pasta. I took my last call around 10pm from the train station. I boarded my 11pm train and then spent the next 6 hours fighting food poisoning. Every couple hours I found the bathroom, the rocking of the train trying to offer a lullaby by body would not accept.

Oslo to New York – When the train rolled into Oslo early that morning I was a wreck. Every 20 minutes I found a bathroom and no relief. From the train station, to the airport, through security, to the gate. When I finally go into my seat I sipped water hopping the worst was behind me. My seat mate tried to chat but I had literally nothing left in me. When I landed in Newark and cabbed to my sister’s house I was counting the seconds. I found the bathroom immediately upon entry. My body raged with fever sweats and chills for the night. The next morning I woke up the conquerer. Living the nomad life fills my days with experiences I could barely dream of they are not always sunshine and rainbows.