A Weekend in Bergen

On another cheap (65 złotys return) plane trip, I set off for Norway, to Bergen. A city that is called the gateway to the fjords, a city where it rains on most days of the year.

The words that can describe Norway are: expensive and gorgeous! The first great impression is made by the wonderful landscapes, the enormous mountains and the fjords. The second shock comes when you look at the prices in the shops. They are huge! Especially when it comes to food, cigarettes or alcohol. For example, a beer in a pub can cost between 40 and 65 NOK (20 to 32 PLN).

Bryggen (Norwegian for "the Wharf") is a place in Bergen that you simply have to visit. A row of Hanseatic buildings houses souvenir shops, restaurants, pubs and museums. The wooden houses sag with age.

During the day you can buy fresh fish there, just brought in by the local fishermen on their cutters. I managed to taste fresh salmon and smoked whale. At the market you could easily chat with the fishermen in English. With one of them I was able to exchange a few words in Polish, as he came from Lithuania.

All of Bryggen, though, looks loveliest at night. So does Bergen. Climbing some peak or hill, you can look out over the illuminated valley among the mountains. A truly fairy-tale land! And it doesn't matter whether it's day or night, weekend or not — the roads are always cleared of snow!

In the city itself, I managed to meet a lot of Poles. Most of them had flown here for work — mainly to work in the shipyards.