Port Stop: (Re)Discovering The Magic of Being a Kid in Bergen, Norway

Travel can be surprising – sometimes it can be disruptive but there are those times when it’s a pleasant revelation like a sleep hit that brought out the kids in most of us. That was part of the fun we had in our fourth country of our 11 Day NCL Prima Northern Europe cruise as we sailed into Bergen, Norway.

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LOGISTICS

MONEY MATTERS

Credit cards were widely accepted (we were able to use American Express, Visa and Mastercard throughout Norway). ATMs are called Minibanks in Norway: we found that other than for tipping in local currency, we didn’t need to carry cash (ie tipping guides for already paid tours). Speaking of which, tipping is not obligatory in Norway as wages are high/workers are paid living wages so there isn’t a need for a tipping culture (vs in the US where workers are reliant upon tips as part of their salary). As such, it is a nice gesture of appreciation to tip if you receive great service.

COMMUNICATION

English was widely spoken.

_{BEAUTIFUL TIP: Reminder that arrival times for port days are estimates for when the ship will be docked and may not be when the port has given approval to the ship to allow passengers to get off. IF the activity start time is close to arrival times, I will always reach out the activity/tour provider and find out exactly what their policy is if I am not able to be there on time. I have found that many operators are flexible especially if the majority/all of the participants are from the cruise ship but some may not be able to accommodate late arrivals with no refund given. Whilst both scenarios are valid business practices, don’t make the mistake of finding out it’s the latter when you aren’t able to join!}

PORT LOGISTICS

Note that there are multiple ports in Bergen! The main cruise berths are Skolten, Festningskaien, Bontelabo which are a short .5 mile (900 meters) walk to the Bryggen wharf area. The Dokken and Jekteviken berths are situated about half-mile west of the fish market but is located in an industrial area so Bergen provides shuttle buses.

(15-20 minutes walk from cruise port even with littles) As we made our way to the funicular, we first stopped at the historic harbor district. Bryggen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Norway’s most famous attractions. This former Hanseatic commercial district features a series of colorful wooden buildings that date back to the 14th century, representing the city’s important role in the medieval trading empire.

Detours

What should have been a 5-10 min walk to the next destination turned into an hour+ adventure but that’s part of embracing travel. We did the usual “check out a grocery store in a foreign country” and then this happened – my 18 year old nephew decided to strike a pose and the other cousins followed…and this was the theme of the day – finding the fun in the ordinary or mundane/allowing yourself to have as much fun as you did when you were a kid.

Mt. Fløyen

One of the seven mountains that surrounds Bergen, Mt. Fløyen is a 20 minute walk from the cruise port. You can walk (approximately 45 -60 minutes) or pay to take a funicular car up to the top: Find all the information on Mt. Fløyen and purchase tickets for the funicular directly on the Fløyen site here. Note that there is special pricing for families on the site so I took advantage of that.

Fløibanen (funicular)

It was very easy to prebook the tickets so we were able to skip the queue to buy tickets which was already sizeable around 10 and head straight up. (I downloaded the PDF for the tickets onto my phone so I had to scan the tickets for all 15 of us – in hindsight, would have divvied this up to make it a little faster/easier) Even with our unfortunate location in the car (we thought we would be loaded in the front and being in the back made it hard for anyone especially the kiddos to see too much), the view and ride were enjoyable.

Viewpoint + Hiking/Walking Trails

Up top you are greeted with 360 degree panoramic views of Bergen and the surrounding landscapes. There’s also hiking and walking trails as well as a restaurant up top and…..

Playgrounds + Troll Garden

There are two very fun playgrounds for the kids (and young at heart) – seriously because of this area for most of us, this was one of it not the highlight from the WHOLE TRIP! You know when you hear people having so much fun that you have to go investigate/join? That was us – talking kids and adults into trying the zip line, climbing the tower and testing balancing skills…while encountering rain and slippery conditions (I kept thinking that my surgeons would be so disappointed if this was how I re-injured my knee!)

Walking Around

Bergen is a very walkable city (but not all of it is flat including heading up to the funicular).

Bergenhus Fortress

The well preserved castle is one of Norway’s oldest fortifications and has served as a royal residence, military seat of power and Bishop’s office. It has a long and rich history spanning all the way from the Middle Ages to the present day, as it is a protected national cultural heritage site. And it’s free to explore!

Fisketorget (Bergen Fish Market)

We ate at the fish market which was fairly pricey: ~$28 for the paella which was just okay. The fish and chips (with fried shrimp) was really good as were the salmon sandwiches (~$13) and also picked up some sushi.

WHAT WE ATE

Norway is expensive: this paella was $28 and some of the most expensive ice cream I have ever had – this triple cone set me back almost $14!

WHAT I SPENT

Again very unlike me (and another way that these NCL port posts are unlike my other posts): I don’t have numbers for a lot of my spending ie the food as my sister brought the pastries and paid for other things

• Activities $15.26 $15.26/160 NOK-adults + $38.16/400 NOK-family packs (2x adults + 2xchildren under 15)
• Food $59.45 Paella lunch $28 + 3x Ice cream cones $31.45

ALTERNATIVE ITINERARIES + OTHER TOP ATTRACTIONS

Walking Tour

Since we were celebrating my parents’ anniversary and they wanted to do all activities together, I was outvoted for my favorite activity: walking tours. I love to start my time in a city with one to orientate myself but also find them to be so informative and interesting: this Past and Present Small Group walking tour would have been up my alley!

Flåm Railway

I had to balance out trying to see as much as we could with the reality that the kids (and some of the adults) couldn’t do so many bus tours, otherwise I would have loved to have done this Guided tour – Viking Village, Nærøyfjord Cruise and Flåm Railway as I love unique experiences as we would have been able to ride one of the world’s steepest normal-gauge railways

It’s going to rain in Bergen so if you want to spend part (or all) of you day inside there’s many options: https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/attractions/museums