After disembarking the Hurtigruten at Bergen, we took a taxi to the apartment where we’d spend the next two nights. It was in a quiet neighbourhood and an easy walk to the city centre. We discovered later that day that it was also very close to the University of Bergen.

Bergen is built around a fjord and is surrounded by mountains. Close to the city centre is a large lake that is popular with both residents and tourists. We arrived on a warm and sunny Sunday and every piece of grass was covered with people enjoying the glorious weather. Beds of brightly coloured tulips surround the lake and there are many other flowers blooming throughout the city.  

We dumped our bags and walked back towards the city centre with the intention of exploring Bryggen, the historic harbour district and a UNESCO world heritage site. The old commercial buildings line the main street and are quite unique. Most now house restaurants and bars and the area is very noisy and busy. To escape the noise and chaos, we walked up behind the old commercial buildings, and slowly made our way up the hill along the paths between the houses. It didn’t take us long to get to a good height where we had a great view across the old rooftops. It was a lovely walk and so much nicer than being down on the crowded waterfront.

That evening we went searching for pizza. We eventually arrived at a place near our apartment that we’d spotted earlier. It was very popular with the local students and there was a constant stream of people through the door.  When given a menu, we were surprised to see only seven pizzas, all with unusual toppings such as mushrooms and sesame, chicken thigh and kimchi, bacon and pineapple. We chose the spicy aubergine pizza along with a serve of roasted green peppers and some corn chips. The peppers were served with roasted sesame seeds and a spicy soya sauce.  The pizza was smeared with a thin layer of roasted eggplant and topped with spring onions and chilli flakes. Everything we ate was so very tasty and we declared it one of the best meals we’d had on the trip so far.

The next day was spent exploring and relaxing.  I sat by the lake for a few hours while listening to my audio book and people watching. In the afternoon, I walked around our neighbourhood and discovered a large park on the nearby hill. It was a public holiday and very warm and sunny and the park was packed with locals sunbaking, picnicking, riding bikes and scooters, jogging and walking.

On our second night in Bergen we went back to wharf area to try one of the restaurants in the old fish market. It was a very disappointing meal and we wished we’d gone back to our local pizza restaurant.

Early the next morning we walked to the train station to begin our three-day journey to Oslo, starting with a scenic train ride to Voss.  We then transferred to a bus which took us to our hotel at Stalheim. Built in the late 1800s, the hotel has amazing views across the Naeroy Valley, and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the hotel’s facilities and grounds. In the afternoon I took a short walk and spotted a team of cyclists riding by.  Their support crew was nearby and I later discovered that they were the Norwegian cycling team. I guessed that they were training for an event … perhaps the Olympic Games. 

The bus picked us up the next morning and took us to a large ferry.  For the next two hours we enjoyed an amazing view from the boat as we sailed along the Naeroyfjord to Flam. It was an electric powered ferry which meant that it was totally silent.  Flam is a beautiful village with amazing views across the fjord.  Unfortunately, there was a massive cruise ship docked there when we arrived, dominating the town and the views. It seemed totally out of proportion for the size of the town.  We met friends from home that evening for pizza and beers, served from a food van in the camping ground. This was one of the few places in town still open after the cruise ship departed, but the pizzas were good and the company even better. We had a fabulous night sharing travels stories and chatting.

Our final leg was a one-hour scenic train ride from Flam to Myrdal, followed by a six-hour train journey to Oslo. The views from both trains were amazing … frozen lakes, snow topped mountains and lush green paddocks as we descended … but we were very pleased to finally arrive in Oslo after a long day of travelling.

Our apartment in Oslo was in the Bjorvika neighbourhood which is very close to the city centre but looks entirely new.  Most buildings are five-six level apartment blocks, in many different designs, with some overlooking water. There are many bars, cafes and restaurants and it is a popular area for locals and tourists alike. We were all exhausted from the long train journey so had dinner at a nearby Lebanese restaurant and headed home to bed. 

The next morning, I walked a few kilometres to the nearest post office. It was clear that I wouldn’t be needing my cold weather gear any more so had decided to pack most of it up to send home. I desperately needed to lighten the load of my luggage!  

Although only a few kilometres apart, the two neighbourhoods could not have been more different. There were many migrant families out on the streets near the post office … shopping, working and socialising. There were no obvious tourists and it felt much more real.

On my final day in Oslo, I visited the Munch Museum, located in the large strangely shaped building featured in the photos below.  The Museum has permanent exhibitions of Munch’s work as well as two that are temporary. One of these titled Infinite, showed a selection of his work under the themes of anxiety, death, love and loneliness. I came to realise as I wandered about the two temporary exhibitions that Edvard Munch had created hundreds, if not thousands of art works during his lifetime. I wasn’t sure if his most famous painting, “The Scream” was part of the exhibition. As I made my way around the different sections, I noticed a small dark space in the centre of the room. In it were three small versions of The Scream … a painting, a drawing and a print. As I passed by a little later, I noticed a small crowd facing the other wall, all with iPhones poised to shoot.  The wall soon opened to reveal the original painting.  After a few crazy minutes of snapping, the crowd mostly dispersed. A few remained to take selfies and photos of friends and family members in front the painting. I hung back a bit longer to look at the painting more closely and to take my own photo as a reminder of this very strange experience and my visit to the museum.

While I very much enjoyed viewing Munch’s art works, I also loved reading many of his quotes, with one reminiscent of our train journey across the mountains to Oslo. “The snow melted – the streams gushed – the roofs dripped – sparkling liquid pearls – the Earth softened.” It was exactly how the landscaped had appeared from our train window.

As I made my way to the airport the following morning, I thought about how much of this beautiful country I’d seen … the far north where the sun never sets; the stunning west coast with its many islands, fjords and tiny fishing villages; snow topped mountains and melting lakes; busy and colourful cities … so many wonderful experiences that I’ll never forget.