We visited Bergen (pic. 1) and Oslo (pic 2) in Spring as the sun was starting to thaw the snow on the ground and the sky (in Bergen at least) was a deep cobalt blue. The capital city and the second largest city in Norway were full of life as it was just before the Easter break and there was a holiday atmosphere.
Quick summary of Bergen and Oslo:
Norway’s two biggest cities house a third to half of the population – so you get a good taste of Norwegian city life visiting these two eclectic cities: We visited these cities after a week on the Hurtigruten in some very remote reaches of Norway so our experience was a bit like coming out of a deep freeze into colour, light and life. It was certainly a change from what we’d experienced in the remote coastal towns in our brief visits off the Hurtigruten.
We started with three days in Bergen which blessed us with beautiful weather (despite warnings that it was the wettest city in Norway) so we are probably a little biased towards this town as being prettier, more navigable, and chilled whereas Oslo was the first big serious city on our travels and snowy-wet-cold so it was harder for us to see its beauty from behind our raincoat hoods.
Both cities were not at all ‘big’ and both were easy to walk with good signposting and Oslo had a really cool colour coded map that helped you see what area you were in according to the colours used on the map (The govt. specifies the colour palette each suburb/area is allowed to use to paint the buildings.)
Out and about in Oslo
We landed in Oslo in a massive snowstorm-ravaged airport (pic 1 below) and what a sight to see. There must have been over 100 snow ploughs racing around the runways clearing the snow. We were one of the first planes to land and it was a bit rough, but the pilot did a good job. We stayed at the CityBox hotels (in Bergen as well) a similar style to the Moxy chain in UK except it is all self check in, self service vending machines, shared spaces & recycling (see 3rd pic) These hotels are quirky & sustainable a little like Norway itself (see 2nd pic. sign).
Here’s what we loved about Oslo:
Recycle-Haven: There are so many up cycle, re-cycle, vintage clothing and wares stores it feels like a trip back to the 70’s (minus the acid – but still with the marijuana!). Oslo is a big student city and Norway is a sustainable country so the two go hand in hand to produce a rustic, earthy marketplace. The mecca of recycle shops and grungy cafes is the Grünerløkka district which was a straight shot on the tram line (which we walked) along about 1.5km from our hotel. Oslo people all ride bikes, walk or tram it everywhere – we barely saw a car during our time there.In contrast to the Grünerløkka district is the Bjørvika district behind the Opera house where there’s some very striking modern buildings emerging.
Hike-it-up: We acted like a local and found ourselves a mountain to climb in Oslo – the Ekeberg Park on a cloudy but clear day in Oslo. Ekeberg park sits in the south-west corner of Oslo facing the water and near the medieval park which is under construction to rebuild. We took the rather long road up to the lookout that apparently inspired Edmund Munch to paint The Scream then walked around the edges of the mountain reading the signs indicating where the water used to sit in pre-ice-age times – to the Ekerbergparken – a sculpture park – before winding down the stairs and streets back to the waterfront and Opera House. A fantastic walk with stupendous views of the city and apparently spectacular at sunset. It was wintry cold and a tad bare when we walked through so save this one for Spring-Summer.
The Munch Museum – this is a must when in Oslo as the famous artist imbues the Norwegian landscape and character. It’s right next door to the Opera house so you can knock off a visit to both in one shot.
The Norwegian ballet and opera house – this is so Norwegian! Big, sloping, stark, open and free. Apparently super clean loos too – we didn’t try. You can climb the steps or wheel up the long ramp to the top and gawk at the crazy locals (and tourists) emerging from their little sauna shacks in Sorenga across the water and plunging, screaming, into the North sea (see 2nd pic below).
The Royal Palace – hike up to the Royal palace up on the hill and watch the changing of the guars in close quarters. No fences or gates here, just wander up and park near the front steps and admire how accessible the roayls are here compared to other places. Then take a walk around Frogner – just west of the Royal Palace this classy up market suburb was no doubt built upon the riches and association with the Royal Palace. Lots of embassies, big ornate homes in pastel and cream and clean wide streets. The Palace is a great open space to visit as well and you can see the changing of the guard and even chat to the guards – quite unlike the seriousness of Buckingham Palace!
In contrast to Frogner and on the opposite side of the city is the cutesy area called Kampen – this little district has an array of little colourful wooden houses that are pretty to look at as you walk the curvy, slopping streets. And in another contrast yet again, is the old Akershus fortress up on the hill which is very worn down but still heavily guarded – it offers great views!
Then there’s Sonder Gate on the Akeselva canal where you can find a great line up of delicious restaurants along the little canal area. We dined at Le Benjamin – a French restaurant (see pic 3 below) with delectable food and outstanding service.Finally, a visit to Oslo wouldn’t be complete without seeing the magnificent buildings in Eidsvolls plass.
Three super sunny fun days in Bergen, Norway
Bergen blessed us with beautiful weather, so we are probably a little biased towards this as being the prettiest town in Norway. Bergen is small and navigable (Population of about 290,000) with lots of electric trams and easy walking paths.
We arrived by ship (Hurtigruten) but departed by plane (to Oslo) and there’s an easy light rail out to the airport from town. Bergen ‘enjoys’ 239 rainy days of the 365 days of the year. I say ‘enjoys’ as Bergen’s love and embrace their rain and say there is no such thing as bad weather in Bergen just bad clothing! All of the shops sell the most marvellous styles of raincoats, ponchos, jackets in all sorts of fashionable colours and patterns. They are very proud of the fact that they top the data table for being both the city with the highest average rain days per month (12.7) as well as the highest average daily rainfall (8.8mm), and that Bergen is the outright rainiest city in Europe. It only rained on the day we arrived, so we were very lucky to see Bergen aglow in sunshine!
Mt. Fløyen: We enjoyed a hike up to Mt Fløyen – it is only 320m high – we could see it from our bedroom window, but the walking path zig-zags through tiered townhouses then beautiful mossy green trees and hillsides for about 3km to reach the top. You can also take a funicular up – but the walk is really beautiful. We were amazed by how busy it was at the top – as it was Sunday when we walked up and everything in town was shut (it’s illegal to open your store on Sunday unless you are a tourist restaurant). The top was littered with families (the Easter school holidays had started) and people soaking up the sun at the restaurant/café up top and enjoying the big kids playground and troll village. Trolls play a big part of children’s stories and folklore here and the book series I loved as a kid – The Moomintrolls by Tove Jansson, a Swedish-speaking Finn, has been embraced by the Norwegians and there’s shops selling Moomin wares everywhere.
The historical Bryggen wharf is another great place to visit in the beautiful winter sunshine. Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as a trading centre since the 12th century. We wandered in and out of the old timber buildings, many being propped up from below as they are sinking into the ground and read about how life was hundreds of years ago when this was an important trading wharf.
Nordnes park is a great westerly pint to watch the sunset and it’s about a 2-3km walk around the older abandoned wharves and up through the Bergen university district to get to the point. There’s plenty of elevated seating areas to watch the sun go down and picnic tables for enjoying aperos as the sun sets over the North Atlantic Ocean.