A Bonus Day in Bergen

 (A multi-part recap of my early June Scandinavia trip.)

Our Rick Steves Scandinavia tour might've been over, but my friends and I had scheduled two more days in the scenic, but touristy town of Bergen.  There was still a lot to see and do.  As a matter of fact, one of my unfulfilled desires was to take a funicular to the top of nearby Mt. Fløyen.  The morning of our second full day in Bergen, Kim and I did just that.

Fantastic views from atop Mt. Fløyen

One of the city's major attractions, Bergen's funicular railway, called the Fløibanen, took visitors to the top of Mt. Fløyen.  Atop this grand mountain were magnificent views and a nature park with hiking trails.  Some of our tour-mates had visited on the previous day, and boasted of the spectacular vistas.  I was especially jealous of one couple who had witnessed sunset from this lofty perch.

In the funicular on the way up

Debbie and Alicia decided to sleep in that morning.  However in order to beat the crowds, Kim and I rose early.  It paid off.  We didn't stand in any lines, and got right onto the first funicular car.  We traveled uphill 300 meters (or about 1000 feet.)  After a long 15 minute ride, including a siding stop to let the downhill car zip by, we arrived at Mt. Fløyen's summit.

One of the funicular cars

Directly adjacent to the funicular station was a large observation area.  Lucky for Kim and I, it wasn't busy at this early hour.  A handful of people had gathered on the stepped concrete platform and only a few stood at the railing's edge.

The observation area

And yes the views were as magnificent as advertised!  The blue waters of Bergen's harbor and adjacent fjord spread out before us.  I could see buildings hugging the long shorelines and climbing up nearby mountains.  Bergen was much larger than I'd imagined.  It seemed to expand in every direction.

Bergen, spread out around the fjord

We'd lucked out on the weather yet again.  It was the second day of sunny, warm, very un-Bergen-like conditions.  However, I wasn't complaining in the least.  It was such a treat to have optimal conditions to take in these fabulous city views.

Of course, there must be a selfie!

Kim and I soaked in the views and took copious photos.  After about 10 minutes our peaceful morning was interrupted when the next funicular car unloaded a large Asian tour group.  These people quickly swarmed into the viewing area, cameras in hand, jockeying for position at the railing.  Time to move on.

The city of Bergen went on forever

Zooming in on Vågen Harbor

Such blue water!

In addition to the viewing area, the summit of Mt. Fløyen had a cafe, souvenir shop, and a larger restaurant building.  Kim and I noticed a group of girls dressed in band uniforms, all carrying instruments, standing nearby.

A band of girls was getting ready to perform

Drummer girl

We hung around for a few minutes, hoping to hear a bit of music.  But the group eventually marched away towards one of the mountaintop trails.  I was happy to see the band even had one member in a wheelchair taking up the rear.

The band marching through the park

Signpost

Kim noticed a signpost near the observation area that had a dozen localities noted.  We saw that one of the names was Seattle, our PNW neighbor, which was apparently Bergen's sister city.

Kim points to Seattle on the signpost

We had the place to ourselves for a short while

Time to explore this summit area!  Kim and I walked past the large, white restaurant building, that wasn't yet open.  Beyond the restaurant a wide, paved path took visitors past a small wooden shed that housed goats.

Restaurant outdoor seating area

The park management employed ten goats to clear vegetation from the area's trails.  The goats were kind of local celebrities.  These gentle animals didn't seem to mind people and patiently posed for a few of my photos.

There was a herd of resident goats

I had fun following a few of the billies and nannies as they grazed around the path.  A couple of the goats were a lovely mix of brown hues with black accents.

Looking back at the restaurant building

A fluffy, white goat

Since goats like to climb things, the park had provided a rocky area just for them.  I tried to photograph one handsome white goat as he nimbly stepped up the boulders.  The guy finally laid down on a flat spot to take a nap.

The goats were quite used to people

After taking a bit of time to watch and photograph the cute goats, Kim spotted a line of chairs alongside the restaurant's patio area.  It looked like a great place to hang out.  So we rushed over to quick claim a few chairs for ourselves.

We grabbed a seat and enjoyed the view

After so many days of being on a tour schedule, it was relaxing to just sit and enjoy the vistas.  The area was still uncrowded, and the sunny skies made for great viewing conditions.  Kim texted Debbie and Alicia and told them they needed to come up here asap.

Not a bad place to be!

Which is what they did.  Not long after Kim's text, Debbie and Alicia appeared on the patio area.  They approved of our viewing spot - and happily settled in to the chairs next to Kim and I.

Debbie and Alicia soon joined us

The gang's all here!

This occasion called for a few selfies!

Protecting our heads from sunburn

After being told again and again that Bergen was a dreary place, I still couldn't believe we'd scored another sunny day.  It think the temperatures were above 70 degrees, the warmest weather we'd experienced yet in Scandinavia.  As a matter of fact the sun got so intense, Kim and Debbie covered the top of their heads to prevent sunburn.

The goats wandered freely amongst visitors

The day being a Saturday, it didn't take long before crowds of people began gathering on the top of Mt. Fløyen.  From our perch above the trail, it was fun to people (and goat) watch.  We noticed a few bicycle riders and runners huffing up the final incline.  If you didn't want to ride the funicular, there was a paved path that connected downtown with the mountain's summit.  It looked like quite a climb!

Beer time!

After awhile, the restaurant opened for business and Kim discovered the beer stand.  Skol!

This was our view

On a trip to find the restrooms, I caught another band performing in front of the gift shop.

A band playing for the tourists

There was so much happening up on Mt. Fløyen!  My friends and I lingered in our fabulous seating area for quite some time.  But with noon fast approaching, everyone was starting to get hungry.  Nobody was interested in the restaurant's offerings (and besides it was expensive) so we decided it was time to head back downhill and find some lunch.  Besides, the summit area was now literally crawling with people, and I was getting tired of the crowds.

It didn't take long for the place to get crowded

Guess it's time to go

One of our tour-mates told us that we should grab the front row seat of the funicular car for the ride down.  He said that the scenery was amazing from this vantage point.  So my friends and I decided that was exactly what we were gonna do.

Waiting for the funicular ride back down

In order to be first in line, we opted to let the current tram car go and wait for the next one.  It worked like a charm!  

We had first-row seats for the trip down

When the second car arrived, my friends and I quickly piled in and claimed the front row seat for ourselves.

Here we go!

Phone cameras at the ready, my three friends each captured a video of our downhill trip.  But you know me - I like taking photographs, so that's exactly what I did.

Yes, it was that steep

So enjoy the next few images of our quick ride back to the station.

What amazing views!

Still traveling down....

Passing under a bridge

Here comes the other funicular!

We met the car going up

Parts of the track were lined with colorful flowers

Under another street

Past a midway station

Over halfway

Getting closer

The ride down was much faster than our uphill trip had been.  Apparently the downhill car gets priority, because there was no stopping.  And I think we had a bit of help from good ol' gravity, because our funicular car zipped down fast!  It passed by beautiful flowering bushes and wooded green spaces.  And then, in a flash, we were pulling into the station.  I think the entire trip took about 3 minutes tops.

The final tunnel

Now it was time to find some chow.  My friends and I headed back towards the harbor fish market, where we'd seen many restaurant choices.  After much walking and browsing through this busy area, we finally selected a place called "Fish Me," mostly because it offered a few open tables.

The street level entrance

This restaurant was a good find!  The food was delicious and the service excellent.  Kim ordered a salmon sandwich, however they mixed up her order and instead gave her a salmon dinner.  Already hungry, Kim decided to eat the meal she was given and it fortunately turned out to be really good.  (Don't we all love a happy accident?)

Delicious lunch at "Fish Me" restaurant

Yesterday on our morning walking tour, the guide mentioned that Bergen had an "ice bar" - a drinking establishment where everything inside was made of ice.  Kim thought this sounded great and immediately took out her phone to search for the place.  She ended up booking us all for a visit the very next afternoon - which was now today.

Harbor happenings

So after our most excellent lunch at "Fish Me," my friends and I followed the opposite side of Vågen Harbor which would lead us to the ice bar's location.

Harbor group selfie

From across the water, we had some great views of the Byrggen Fish Market District and it's colorful, historic buildings.

The Bryggen District from across the water

We had an overall stellar view of Bergen's entire downtown tourist area.

More scenic buildings

Bryggen close-up

Lots of fancy boats tied up

The Bergen music festival was in full swing that day, and judging by the large amount of private yachts tied up across the harbor, it looked like many of the festival-goers had arrived by boat.

Houses climbing uphill

With the help of Google maps, my friends and I navigated our way to the ice bar.  Having never been to a place like this, I was excited to go inside and see what it was all about.

Time to visit an ice bar

Once we'd checked in, the nice young ladies who ran the place outfitted each of us with a heavy, insulated poncho with a furry hood.

Getting outfitted with insulated ponchos

Debbie gets her poncho

Aren't they cute?

Ok, everyone ready to go in?

Group photo with our cold weather gear on.  Aren't we just the cutest?

Our cheerful bartender

The staff then led my friends and I into the bar area.  Oh it was definitely cold in there!  I could see my breath, so I'm sure the temp was well below freezing.  I was certainly glad for my heavy poncho now.

Alicia gets her drink

Everything inside here had been carved from ice.  The shelves behind the bar, the tables and seats, even the bar itself.  There were several large sculptures that also had been created from ice.

Belly up to the bar

For some strange reason, my friends and I were the only patrons - on a Saturday mid-afternoon!  (We assumed it might've been due to the big music festival in town.)  But that was quite alright - we had the run of the place, and our choice of seats.

Group photo

One complimentary drink was included with the price of admission.  Our drinks were served in glasses made of - you guessed it - ice.  

Sitting on the ice throne

My friends and I had such fun, checking out all the fancy sculptures, and taking tons of photos.

Kim and I are having fun

Another round?

They even had "the Scream" sculpted in ice

We were amused to find one of the sculptures featured our new favorite Norwegian painting, "The Scream."

Our best "Scream" impressions

So of course this called for a "Scream" selfie.  I think this was one of my favorite shots of the trip.

Alicia gets in the painting

After about 20 minutes or so, the cold started getting to everyone.  No second round for us, it was time to warm up!  Alicia was the first to leave, then the rest of the us followed about 5 minutes later.

We got too cold and had to retreat to the lobby

Cold or not, visiting the ice bar was a fun experience.  Thanks Kim for booking us all!

Walking through a local shopping area

When my friends and I left the ice bar, we walked down a main street that took us through a shopping area that appeared to be populated by the local crowd.  It was nice to get away from the touristy part of town.

We found a chocolate shop!

Someone spotted a chocolate shop and of course we had to go check it out!

Kim ordered an expresso martini

Not only chocolate, the place also offered drinks - expresso and alcoholic varieties.  Kim combined the two with an expresso martini.

I tried a moo-ka!

I just had to try a mocha - and wasn't disappointed.  It was huge and had a goodly amount of chocolate drizzled down the side of the glass.

We noticed this wedding reception

We took seats at an outside table and watched the local people going about their business.  At one point a bride and groom walked by and we noticed them turn down the next street.  I got up and caught their entrance to the wedding reception, just a block away.

Sitting outside enjoying our goodies

After enjoying a bit of chocolate everything, my friends and I needed to walk off some of the extra calories we'd consumed.  So we continued our exploration in this area of town.

Super-steep street in Bergen

Bergen is a city built on steep hills.  So I shouldn't have been surprised to come across a super-steep switchback-y street looking quite similar to San Francisco's famous Lombard Street.  The pavement zig-zagged downhill between a row of homes on either side.

It reminded me of San Francisco's Lombard St.

Of course I had to walk all the way uphill to photograph the street from above.  Meanwhile, my friends remained on the lower portion, and posed for a few pics.

Happy travelers

Another amazing sunny day

It had been a fun spending a bit of bonus time in Bergen, checking out some places we hadn't visited on our tour.  Tomorrow was the last day in this city before flying home.  Although I'd been enjoying myself immensely, after more than two weeks of traveling I was ready to sleep in my own bed.

Join me for one more final wrap-up post from Scandinavia!