We visited Norway in July. After a 2-night stay in London, we flew to Bergen.
Bergen
Our flight to Bergen was delayed by about 20 minutes. After getting our passports stamped, we took the train to the city center. Our hotel, which I thought was right next to the train station, was surprisingly a 15-to-20-minute walk away, much of it over uneven cobblestone roads. This walk will be a frequent one during our stay, whether we are renting a car or taking trains to other cities.
Our hotel room wasn’t ready, so we went for lunch. I looked up the cheapest place nearby which was a gyro house. We walked to the docks, and the gyro house was behind the restaurants we were looking at. We got there through a narrow, barely four-foot-wide alleyway that felt more like a staff-only area or an access point for utility closets rather than a public thoroughfare. The gyros were about $15 each, plus a drink, slightly cheaper than the $18-$25 prices at other dockside restaurants.
We also visited a store called “Normal,” which Christine described as an “IKEA for women.” It felt like it was amusingly reinforcing old-fashioned ideas, displaying house-cleaning products alongside makeup and candy, all while funneling customers through a maze toward the cashier. Next door at a supermarket, the credit card machine was malfunctioning due to a lost internet connection, so we had to leave without our purchases, including two cans of beer.
We then walked to the Bryggen area and took pictures in front of the five famous, iconic Bergen houses by the docks, one with a tent on it. Christine enjoyed the slightly rainy, chilly weather, which was not as cold as I expected. I had over-prepared with thicker clothing, making it too hot while walking.
We searched for cheaper food options because most meals were priced between $18 and $25; we expected to spend over $50 for dinner on “just okay” food. Subway had a six-inch sub for $10 and a footlong for around $18. McDonald’s offered a chicken wrap for $16 and a vegetarian wrap for $10, with the cheapest item around $9 and a Big Mac costing about $20. We wondered if the burgers were as small as those in the US, but we never went in to check.
Finally, we found affordable food at a convenience store called “Daily” around 9 PM, just before closing. They had sandwiches made by employees, which they would microwave for us. These sandwiches were $10 each and they tasted very good. This will likely be our go-to for saving money on food. We also planned to check out a Vietnamese convenience store that might have similar pre-made food.
Hotel Opus XVI
Our hotel in Bergen is the Opus 16, located in the city center. We used 240,000 points and paid for five nights. I decided not to split our stay between Oslo and Bergen to maximize points and avoid losing a day to travel. The hotel staff seemed surprised we were staying five nights.
We were allocated a tiny, 20-square-meter king-size classic room. Christine cleverly used the window ledge for luggage and as a closet. There’s an awkwardly placed TV to the left of the bed, making it hard to watch. We can’t watch anything on it because a previous guest left a misconfigured Chromecast, and my own Chromecast needs an AP access point repeater that I didn’t bring. I also forgot my HDMI cable, so I can’t output video from my laptop. I mean, it’s not like we would want to spend too much time watching TV in beautiful Norway. But I learned some lessons regarding TV setup for our next trip.
The shower is solid. The AC is unusual; it doesn’t set a target temperature but adjusts based on plus or minus degrees Celsius, and we can’t hear any fans. The room felt stuffy after our evening outing, so I opened the window, which is great because they open like normal house windows, unlike many sealed hotel chain windows. The fridge is stocked with drinks for sale, so we moved them aside to store our drinks from the convenience store.
On Tuesday, my morning started early, around 3:30 AM, due to some trouble with my CPAP machine. I drifted in and out of sleep until 7 AM, when Christine woke up and we were both hungry. We headed to breakfast at the hotel and were absolutely blown away by how good it was. After mostly average meals to save money, the hotel breakfast was heavenly. They had a wide variety of foods, including salads, salmon, cheeses, various hot dishes, and even made-to-order items like eggs Benedict. There was also a pianist playing (I initially thought it was a hotel staff member improvising). Most of the guests seemed to be older, and I heard some Spanish being spoken. After breakfast, we took a nap before tackling laundry, which was just a block and a half away. It was quite expensive—$7.50 for washing and $7.50 for drying—the same price we paid in South Africa for a full service that included folding.
Mostraumen Fjord
For lunch, we went to Guangzhou Restaurant and had fried rice noodles and wonton soup. It was just “okay,” but it hit the spot for both of us. While there, I saw a guy trying his best to eat with chopsticks. He held the two chopsticks together like a rectangular spoon and used a fork to brush food onto them before putting them in his mouth. It was certainly original.
During breakfast, I did more research for a fjord cruise. We’re planning to visit the Aurlandsfjord from Flåm, which is considered the most scenic fjord in Norway. Getting there is a bit complicated, with options ranging from guided tours to combinations of trains and buses. After considering timetables and costs, our current plan is to take a direct bus from Bergen Central Station to Flåm around 8:30 AM, which takes about three hours. We’ll arrive in Flåm around noon, have lunch, explore the area, and then at 3 PM, take a two-hour cruise over the Aurlandsfjord, which will drop us off at Gudvangen. From Gudvangen, we’ll take a combination of train and bus back to Bergen—another three-hour journey. Online recommendations suggest purchasing tickets in advance as they can sell out. We’ll likely buy the bus ticket to Flåm beforehand but wait to purchase the return tickets once we’re there in case we want to spend more time. Since the 12 PM cruise for Thursday was sold out, we’ll aim for the 3 PM one. We’ve decided to space out our activities; after today’s busy schedule, we’ll rest tomorrow and do the 12-hour Flåm trip on Thursday, resting again on Friday before heading to Helsinki on Saturday.
After lunch and another nap , we walked to Bryggen and boarded a boat for the Mostraumen Fjord cruise. The check-in was simple; I bought the tickets on Viator and the ticketing guy just looked at our ticket and let us in, no ID checking. The boat sailed from Bryggen along the coast for a two-hour journey.
The scenery was impressive right from the start, with rocky hills covered in trees and houses. There were houses in random, seemingly impossible places. It was crazy to see electric wires stretching across the valleys to these remote houses. As we continued, the rocks became sharper, and numerous waterfalls appeared, cascading from the rocks. I wondered where all the water came from, and at one point, I even saw a metal pipe near a waterfall. I came up with the crackpot theory that maybe some waterfalls might be augmented to appear more impressive, especially when it’s not raining.
Initially, we were a little underwhelmed by the boat itself, as it resembled the one we took to cross the bay in Oakland. However, once we went up to the second floor and outside, the experience felt much more lively. The cold wind helped keep me awake, as I was feeling sleepy earlier. At one point, the boat got incredibly close to two waterfalls.
The boat was quite empty, with only about 30 people for 100 seats. There were some amusing passengers, including a Chinese mother and daughter. The daughter was filming with a GoPro, and when the mother dropped it, a piece became dislocated. I watched her repeatedly crawling under chairs trying to find it. Behind us was a Spanish-speaking family with a child who had a very strong personality, constantly asking questions like, “Is this thing going to sink or no?” and making funny faces for pictures. There was also a toddler on the deck, squatting in a corner, intently staring at the floor and smiling, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Fløyen
On the way back, we slept. We checked out a restaurant called Tracteursted but decided the dinner prices were too expensive at about $50 for a main dish. We plan to go back for lunch, which is half price. We did try the hyped “Trickronen” hot dogs, which were nice. They had a unique flavor with lingonberry jam, mustard, and crunchy onions.
Next, we took the funicular up the Fløyen mountain, which offered amazing views of the city. There were also multiple hiking paths and playgrounds. We spent about two hours walking around, nearly zip-lining, and walking over playground structures similar to one where my brother broke his leg. We walked over swamps and took photos next to troll wood carvings, where signs advised not to feed the trolls.
We also bought postcards, which were expensive at nine Krone (about $1) each. International stamps were $4 each, so buying 10 postcards and stamps cost us $50. We enjoyed walking around the mountain, seeing close-ups of the stone cutouts and how moss and trees grow over the rocks, forming a sort of soil that keeps them stuck. It was truly beautiful.
We came down and had a “second dinner” with the cheapest baguette sandwich we could find. I tried to buy cider at the grocery store but learned you can’t buy alcohol after 8 PM. We brought our food back to the hotel and ate in the lobby, enjoying the milk we bought yesterday. I’m already dreaming about tomorrow’s fancy breakfast! The buffet had fresh food, though the scrambled eggs looked unappetizing and the crème brûlée was runny, so I had fried eggs instead. The tomato, basil, and fennel salad was delicious, and I had five helpings. I also really enjoyed the roasted potatoes. We’re very happy that this will be our daily breakfast in Bergen.
We also discovered an exhibit in the hotel’s basement. After some Googling, we learned the hotel used to be a bank and was converted into a hotel in the mid-1800s. It’s named Opus 16 in honor of a music piece by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. The basement exhibit features Edvard Grieg and some Baroque paintings. The rooms are motion-activated, and a sign warns not to touch the paintings, as an alarm will sound.
During breakfast on Wednesday, I checked and realized that the Nærøyfjord 3 PM slot for Thursday was fully booked. Instead, I planned to move our fjord cruise to Wednesday at 5 PM.
Costs
The trip cost us $4,300 and we used 555k points that covered flights and hotels that would have cost $15,000. Because both the LAX-LHR and HEL-LAX flight were delayed, we received a UK261/EU261 compensation of $2,300 and our final out-of-pocket spend ended up being $2,000.
- $500 + 95k Virgin miles, LAX-London Virgin in Business
- $380 London-Bergen Norwegian Air in Economy
- $70 + 36k Avios, Bergen-Helsinki Finnair in Business
- $380 + 125k Avios, HEL-LAX Finnair in Business
- -$2,300 Delay Compensation
- $700 Virgin Airlines UK261 compensation (3.9 hour delay)
- $1,350 Finnair compensation (Cancelled and moved to a day later)
- $250 Finnair compensation for one day’s expenses (Hotel, food, bus, scooter)
- $570 2 nights in London Hilton Doubletree Victoria Station
- -$300 Hilton Credit Card Statement Credits
- $0 + 240k Hilton points, 5 nights in Bergen Opus XVI
- $170 + 1k Avios, 2 nights in Scandic Helsinki Hub
- $1,000 Food
- -$140 Hilton Statement Credit toward dinner in hotel
- $460 Fjord Tours
- $230 Expenses
- $200 LAX Airport Taxi
- $220 Public Transit
- $400 Credit Card Fees
