The 8 hour road trip from Oslo to Bergen is far more spectacular than these pictures suggest, and also much more tretcherous. I took the more direct back roads through the fjords and mountains, taking in thick snow, horizontal rain and glorious sunshine in equal measure before getting to the campsite.
The roads were tough on Vanny but he survived the task pretty well going from snow covered peaks to winding valley roads beside lakes and rivers. Every now and again a long tunnel gives you respite from the elements and gives you another wonderful backdrop when you emerge from the other side.
The campsite is small but resonably priced, with a great view, on a clear day, about 5 miles from Bergen. Unfortunately after getting a closer look at the map I realised that the city centre was the other side of a range of steep hills and to get there by bike is closer to 15 miles than 5.
If you are in Bergen at any time, it is a statistical certainty that it is raining. All you can hope for is that you get a lovely day of constant drizzle rather than a day of driving sleet. My first day in Bergen was the latter and despite my best efforts to bike into the city in the morning, I turned around - freezing and soaked through - after a bout 20 minutes. The day was instead spent huddled in a duvet watching the Star Wars trilogy and drinking soup. Why had I driven 7 hours from Oslo in the wrong direction for this?
What is more, I was running off only battery power as the polarity checker in my electrical system was showing both the green and red lights and buzzing wildly. After hours of cursing, checking, cursing, and then rechecking with the multimeter, I could not for the life of me find what the problem was. I really hope it is not broken as finding a replacement UK version in Sweden will be impossible and means I cannot hook up to mains power.
All is well and back to normal at the time of posting this in Stockholm, it must have been dodgy Norweigan electricity at the campsite? - phew!
Take two. The next day I was able to make it into the city centre, a long trip by bike, and it was well worth the wait. It is a great city in stunning surroundings with forests and hills surrounding three sides and the sea to the east. In the centre of town is a big lake and water fountain with the city's four main art museums on one side and various statues around the edges.
Entry for all the art museums is a total of 50Skr (about £7) which is pretty good and features both Renaissance and contemporary work by Norweigian artists like Munch and Dahl as well as a few Picasso's etc. The modern art wing is well worth a look. In the show room gallery, the King and Queen of Norway were opening an exhibition and I managed to sneak past the guard in time to neck a free glass of champaigne. He probably assumed the scruffy kid in a hoodie and trainers was a roadie among the various gentry in fitted tuxedo's.
Elsewhere, the Grieghallen is one of the only modern looking buildings in the centre of the old town, with it's glass walls and odd concrete roof. Other churchs and buildings of interest are pretty grand and similar to those in Oslo. The Johanneskirken is probably the most impressive of the bunch.
At the end of the harbour is the Bergen Aquarium which is expensive (about £22) but well worth a look. They have areas dedicated to Noweigan coastal wildlife as well as various sharks, seals, pengiuns, crocodiles, and monkeys.
The 16th century castle is not very traditional looking, again like Oslo, but good for a look round while the harbour also features a well reknowned fish market and the Bryggen - the site of the original settlement and now a quayside area of local shops. Finally, I took the cable car up to the top of one of the hills to get a view of the city from the top. It is a great view and you can also see right out to the islands off the coast and a long way inland too.
In the end, it was definitely worth taking the time to visit Bergen despite the 8 hour drive west to the campsite and the 90 minute cycle journey from there. Now it is time for the 8 hour drive east to Lillehammer, my stopover point before heading to Stockholm.
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