Last weekend, I went to the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen – Bergen, I also got stuck on top of a mountain there but we’ll get to that later. I had been planning on visiting Bergen, Norway for 2 years – ever since my friend studied abroad and visited she’d been telling me about how magical the tiny former fishing village was. And then when I came to Copenhagen I was surprised to learn that so many other DIS students had heard of town and were also planning on making the trip up north. And let me tell you – Norway did not disappoint! In fact, I think it was probably my favorite country I’ve visited so far! Bergen is the perfect size city for a weekend trip and the views will absolutely take your breath away!

3 Things You have to do in Bergen, Norway

Mt. Fløyen

On our first morning, we took a cable car up to the top of Mt. Fløyen for some amazing views of the city. With our 48 hr Bergen Cards the round trip cable car ride was free but we also know some other DIS students opted to hike up. Once we reached the top after the 4 minute ascent we were blown away.

Even though it was still early, there were already hundreds of people atop the mountain. But it wasn’t just tourists there were lots of Norweign families preparing for a hike and picnic or young couples going for jogs around the pine forests. After taking in the view, we headed to meet Mt. Fløyen’s most famous residents – goats! 

Just look at this guys face! Fløyen is home to 6 adult billy goats who were very kind to pose for these pictures with me. But watch out b/c they will but you with their horns if you annoy them and they’ll also steal food from your bag if you leave it unattended ( I saw both happen!)

Fjord Tour

This may have been my favorite part of the entire trip. For context, fjords are these long, narrow inlets surrounded by steep cliffs which were carved out by glaciers and Norway is famous for them. Dozens of fjord tours leave every day from Bergen harbor but we chose to do a 3 hour boat tour (surprisingly the shortest option to choose from) but we also know people who came earlier in the season and did overnight camping trips with their fjord tours. Some tips for anybody looking to go on fjord tour – pack lots of snacks , you’re on the water for a while, wear a good hat, coat and gloves!. I’m telling you know – you aren’t ready for level of wind you’re about to experience

We also recommend standing on the top deck or lower outdoor deck during the first hour and a half of the tour! This is when you;ll be able to get the best view and take your best photographs. And if you time it right – you might even be able to be at the very front of the boat and get some shots without any other tourists in them!

Mt. Ulriken

So this is where I tell you how I got trapped on top of a mountain. My friend Lizzie had decided to start our second morning off with a nice aerial tram ride up Mt. Ulriken and somehow the views were even more amazing than the day before.

The best view from Ulriken wasn’t of Bergen (though that view was not too shabby) but rather of the mountain range and forests surrounding the city. The way the sun hit the trees was just breathtaking. I had to just stand and stare for a bit. While taking in the view I was surprised to see how many tiny little Norweign kids were just running across the mountaintop or preparing for an intense hike – they were so young but were clearly in better shape than me!

This is when things went south. When we went back to catch the aerial tram the operator kindly informed us that the bottom station has lost power and so no cable cars would be running until it was fixed. After waiting 45 minutes there was still no updates on when the power would be back on so the operator suggest we just hike down. He told us the hike would take about 30 mins minimum…. It did not. Now I’ll be honest with you – I wasn’t prepared for this hike mentally (I’m scared of heights) or physically ( I was wearing Chelsea boots with a one inch heel). So this hike took a little longer than expected — okay a lot longer. It took 2 hours. While it wasn’t exactly what I had planned to do that afternoon, the views were still pretty awesome. The pain and sore legs came the next morning.
Now even though my trip to Norway took an interesting turn it was still an amazing experience.
And I hope this post inspired you to book your trip to Bergen now! Just remember to pack warm and maybe skip the cable car.