What’s the longest in advance you’ve made plans, but then cancelled them last minute? Mine is 9 months. Any millennial wish to challenge me? Hold your horses. I didn’t cancel my whole trip to Norway, but I made plans to hike Trolltunga (Trolls Tongue) and I had to cancel that mini adventure. Norway love’s those shady troll creepos.
You may think it’s because I didn’t plan enough – my past camping experiences would agree but neh.
Cancelling due to bad weather. Respectful but neh.
I cancelled because I didn’t think I could make it up the mountain. I didn’t train for it, but I never train for things, I just do them. Everyone’s all naggy like be safe blah blah – I hiked the Inca Trail with an injured tailbone. Relax.
Go figure it would be this 10 hour hike that I thought hmmm maybe it isn’t such a good idea.
My route in Norway – no car, just crying through the public transport headache.
- Fly into Bergen (2 nights)
- Ferry to Rosendal, Bus to Odda (2 nights to hike trolltunga)
- Bus to Voss, bus to Flam (2 nights)
- Bus to Sogndal (1 night)
- Bus to Stryn (1 night)
- Bus to Hellesylt, Ferry to Geiranger (1 night)
- Ferry to Alesund (2 nights)
Personal knowledge: Tolkein invented Norway- he named everything here. I like it back in the day when we had no way to fact-check things so if it sounded reasonable, we would accept it as truth and then live our best lives blissfully unaware, spreading falsities throughout the lands.
Before I booked I found very few blogs about trying to navigate Norway with no car. Possible it seemed, but you have to choose your base towns with care if you want to hike- arranging a bus to a trail head is as complicated as owning a steel pan. Honestly, I thought I was adult enough, but I’m not. I can admit that now.
My route sans car is possible during peak season (after June), but I easily spent 4 days of my life researching routes and booking tickets across 6 platforms (Skyss -app, entur – app, Vy Bus -website, nor-way– website, Rodne Ferry, Visit Geiranger– Hellesylt Geiranger).
Due to the dicey infrequently, I’m glad I booked all my buses ahead of time because some buses don’t stop/ pickup everywhere unless there is a booking. I paid for seat selection twice, which was completely unnecessary. Total waste of money because a few times I was the only one on the bus.
Conclusion: if you want to avoid a menty b- hire a car when in Norway.
bergen?
Right out of the starting gates (at the airport) Bergen questions it’s identity – don’t we all Bergen, don’t we all.
Bergen was dashing- a bit porty for my liking with the cruise ships, but solid Norwegian vibrations.
Here, in Bergen, I had delish meal days:
Daily Pot for dinner my first day.
Then, Trekroneren sausage for lunch, Fjaak caramel brownie and hot chocolate for a little sweet treat. Take away fish soup from Søstrene Hagelin to reheat at my hotel later that evening. Perfection.
For breakfast, Godt Brod (in Norwegian, the letters have some loopies but I forgot and read that as God Bod. Like dad bod but holier. I had a scone for breaky and bought a sandwich that I would later enjoy by a river in Rosendal.
Norli Strandgaten Bergen had English books and some postcards. Whatever you do, don’t buy stamps in Norway. Save the postcards when you return home and then mail them from there. I was clenching everything. My credit card, the receipt, my butt cheeks. Still shocked about the prices.
I arrived during a holiday so the supermarkets were closed (also on Sundays apparently). The odd one (Bunnpris) in Bergen was open and 7-11s were as well.
Kiwi and Rema 1000 are apparently the cheaper of the supermarkets but everything is airport prices in this country. If you want to get your frugal heart pumping try buying hummus. That’s my cardio.
I took the Fløyen Funicular Railway Funiculì-Funicular for a fee of 110 one way. 200 round trip. View from the top was top.
Spoiler alert: what they don’t tell you in the guidebooks (I’ve never read a guidebook on Norway) is at the top THERE ARE FRIENDLY GOATS WHO LOVE A PAT.
- Time spent at the viewpoint: 12 minutes.
- Time spent with goats: 41 minutes.
I’m a simple woman. Fun fact: I’ve actually been told that about my Canadian accent. Still debating on how offended I should be.
For the way back down, I walked down a paved road- bit of residential, bit of cuteness.
The ferry to Rosendal has a big sign at the Strandkaiterminalen ferry dock. Ships zip zang out of there super quickly- we departed on time, but ended up making 4 stops and arrived 15 minutes later than expected in Rosendal. B-e-a-utiful ferry ride. The upper deck gets cold though with that North Sea air so I spent half of the 2 hours inside.
Rosendal is a good rest stop if you’re in a caravan/ camping, but there isnt much of a town. More of a big, industrial, ferry area. Maybe 6 shops and then residential area. My bus stop Rosendal Skålabrua added unnecessary nez to my travels. I could have gotten on at the main stop by the ferry terminal, but instead I went to this practically abandoned one.
Speaking of Odda.
odda
I can count the number of accommodations here on my one hand. The camping location is unreal, but you need a tent or trailer to stay since they don’t have any small cabins.
Instead, I picked Hardanger Hotel. Staff was lovely and I got a free breaky but I’ve never spent so much money on such a meh to neh room. It looked like a forgotten dormitory. When I first opened walked in the room, I thought there was an external bathroom so I went down the hall looking for one only to realise there was one in the room, it just blended into the wall.
The place to be in Odda is by the potato food truck by the waterfront. Mostly because nothing else is open on a Sunday. I had the Norwegian cowboy – the cheese wasn’t melted, bacon was a shock to my cold tooth sensitivity.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. People, please disperse sauces evenly- in layers- throughout a layered dish. I shouldn’t be drowning in sogginess at the top only to be gasping at the dryness at the bottom of a dish.
Also, the potato must have been harvested in miniature world before being dragged to the bottom of my bowl because the ratios of toppings were. all. off. 159 Norwegian monies to boot.
Don’t expect good, cheap eats (what I always search in Google) in Odda – there is a Thai/ Sushi/ Norwegian combo restaurant that I just don’t even want to get into right now.
And look at this (I think you’ll need a microscope because the average human eye can’t detect the fillings, most only see bread) from the supermarket bakery for 75 monies:
I like to go for half day trips to the supermarket when I’m in a new country. Judging the aisles, seeing what chip varieties they have.
At Rema 1000 Odda I went on a Saturday at 18:30. I like me some cider and Hardanger is apparently the cider/sider region. Like champagne is to France reads one blog.
I found a grand total of 1 cider from the region under the premixed, imported vodka drink. I add it to my cart with non-perishables items (supermarkets are closed Sunday and didn’t have a fridge in my dorm room) and go to pay. The cashier says something to me then repeats it in English “you can’t buy alcohol after 18:00”
Oh says my brain. 1 cider. 4.6% alcohol. Not allowed?
Yeah so make sure you purchase your bevvys earlier in the day.
I didn’t go to any Hardanger cider farms- they are dotted along the highway and without a car they were a pain to get to. They also were closed on Sundays/ holidays it seemed.
The tourist info center is a riot (think granny knitting at a rock concert). Two approachable young adults were manning the desks when I walked in wearing my intense hiker attire. I’m talking Merrell shoes, wool socks, fleece outer layer with an Osprey day pack.
Other than Trolltunga, there are places to hike around Odda- Lilletopp (Hardanger) required a bus to the town Tyssendal, but it looked good. The young adults recommended one (I asked around 3 hours return) called Freimslia.
You can start from Odda center, but the trailhead is about 20 minutes walk through residential paved road.
The thing about me, is that I may dress like I’m an avid hiker but in reality, I’m an avid snacker. I spend most of the hike plopping down to grab a little nibble. I don’t even think I enjoy hiking.
Someone once told me they don’t know how to hike. They have never gone hiking before. That’s like saying you don’t know how to run. Just walk quicker. That’s running.
Hiking is walking on an upward angle.
Anywho I didn’t make it to the top of the trail because blah de blah blah but when I came down from the halfway point I ran into people and sure enough through my hikers nod and being dressed appropriately, they assumed I made it to the top. And that’s all that matters – impressing strangers.
The walk to the lake in Odda along the rushing river is aces. It’s pretty much flat so I called it a walk.
The bus from Odda to Voss was gorgeous. Look at dem public transport views.
I had booked a connecting bus from Voss to Flam, bam thank you mam. Instead, my first bus out of Odda stopped about 5 minutes into the drive due to construction. We waited for 29 minutes before we started driving again. This caused me to miss my connecting bus. So while I was on my way to the Voss bus station, I paid a change fee and had to see my seat selection fee drown in the depths of Hades (it wouldn’t get reimbursed). When I arrived in Voss I asked the tourist info attached the bus station if the bus to Flam already left. She said yes. So I had 3.5 hours to wait until the next bus came.
Turns out, while I put on another layer in the cozy bus station and debated if I needed to go 1 euro worth to the toilet. I walked back out to see a bus to Flam about to pull away. I rushed over and explained to the driver what happened. I was delayed so I rebooked, but I would like to be on the earlier, my original bus. He said sure, hop on.
flam
Flam should be called Odd(a) because it’s a bit odd. Tolkein should have named things better.
I stayed at Flåm Camping og Vandrarheim.
There is a gorg fjorn view from the Brekkefossen viewpoint (steps all the way up) and a waterfall to boot but the town itself is just a cruise ship port/ quay. There are food trucks, a coop supermarket, a bakery (good, but a 25 minute line up in the morning if the cruise ship is docked), some restaurants and that’s about it. Other than a sauna.
I booked FjordSauna FLÅM sauna for the 18:30-20:00 slot online- it was expensive af- I think 450 Krone. The capacity is 12 people and it was full- you need to get cozy. Make sure to book when there isn’t a massive cruise ship in your view. The ship had just left by the time 18:30 hit.
I jumped into the 10 degree fjord twice. Chilly willy.
I did an easy paved walk to Flåm kyrkje along the way stopping to see Steinshølen river bridges. You can’t go on them and I didn’t read the sign or I would have known what they were even for (so I still don’t).
From Flam I took a bus to Sogndal. Mostly long, through the mountain tunnels.
sogndal
I stayed at Kjørnes Camping, which is outside of Sogndal about 45 minute walk along the highway, but there is a foot path. Luckily the bus driver dropped me off at the Kjørnes Camping bus stop instead of the one it was supposed to since it saved me 15 minutes walking.
It’s a beautiful campground, a little trail along the water and the cabin I stayed in had an unreal view of the fjord. There was no food to purchase (other than 2 tomato soup packets and 1 package of candy, which I bought so there are probably only the 2 soups left now) so make sure you bring groceries because it’s trek (even with the bus) to Sogndal.
Sogndal isn’t great- it’s too populated for the quiet Norwegian fjord vibe. I did hear the hikes around this area (when you have a car) are pretty stellar though.
I walked to the bus station, stopping at the Rema 1000 for groceries so I wouldn’t have to eat a pack of candy for dinner again.
stryn
Eat at O L Brekke AS when you’re in Stryn. It’s a fish delicatessen type thing. When I walked in I didn’t see the ready-made food so I showed them a picture to confirm the shop was the right one. The food is there. Very obviously. Just look with your eyes.
It’s warmed and you can dine there- there is also free water with glasses so you don’t need to use your hands for cups.
I stayed at Stryn Kaffebar & Vertshus, which had good food as well. Breakfast was included and it was off their regular menu. So that made my heart flutter. I had their fish soup for dinner.
There is a picture of the windy river from a drone which looks unreal. Because it kinda is. You can’t get that view without a drone.
I followed a path along the river, but it was meh since you weren’t actually next to the river for most of it.
I took a bus to Hellesylt (there is not much here at all so I wouldn’t personally stay here). I saw a motorbike behind glass and thought that’s stupid. Apparently it’s the one Tom Cruise broke during a Mission Impossible stunt. Man’s ego on display.
The cruise to Geiranger was stunning- how many waterfalls are too many?
geiranger
Another cruise-port town but this one was much, much bigger than Flam. I stayed in the basement of the posh Grande Fjord Hotel because again, not much accommodation to choose from if you’re not camping.
I had the potato thing and the wrap thing from Fiskekaka Geiranger and it was decent. They take a little bit to make the fish cakes, especially if there is a lineup so if you need to catch a ferry at 14:05. I don’t recommend ordering at 13:50.
I managed to hike here since a bunch of trails leave from the center:
Flydalsjuvet (tourist bus viewpoint), Vesteråsfjellet VIEWPOINT (unreal views, ANIMALS, need to walk so no one was there when I went) and Storsæterfossen (you can walk behind the waterfall. All steps, somewhat busy).
After all that hiking I ate a take away chicken burger from Berserk Bar & Grill (yum) and got a local brew from Geiranger Brygge (on the water, sublime). The other brewery listed on Google is non-accessible to the public.
Ferry to Alesund (a = o like in Oslo).
alesund
I arrived right in the center of Alesund (Fjordcruise Alesund Geiranger – Geiranger Fjordservice). I stayed in a rubbish studio via booking.com. I say rubbish because before I left, they asked that I do a washing load of the bedding in the morning of checkout which was at 10am. Check it was at 5pm. EYE ROLL.
Storhaugen View, Apotekergata, Brosundet view point, Notenesgata, St. Olavs plass, Løvenvoldgata, Kongens gate, Tollbugata, Aksla Viewpoint- all goodies.
I avoided the rain by having a scone and tea at Racoon Coffee- YUM. Apparently the sushi at Zuuma is good. I saved going for the last day only for it to be open at 14:00 when I had to catch a bus to the airport at 14:15. I ate sushi from a foodtruck at Kiperviktorget instead, which was basically just spoonful’s of rice.
Not sure why everyone was eating ice cream like it wasn’t a windy 15 degrees and raining outside, but apparently Storfjord Iskrem is good.
Other apparent things: apparently, there is a book town in Norway, but I didn’t know about it until after I was back. Trollstigen road is closed, but the viewpoint is apparently open.
