A Half Pike Across the Pond: Nordic Novembers

We loved out trip to Iceland so much last year, we wanted to keep the tradition alive and planned a trip to Bergen, Norway. Bergen is a little off the beaten path... but it is the 2nd largest city in Norway and also holds the title of the most expensive cities we have visited before! We were very lucky to have friends join us though... so it made every pence spent well worth it :) Cheers to good times with Laura, Will and Esteban! It was a short weekend trip but we certainly made the most of our time.

After settling into the AirBnB flat, we venture out to get some food.

Our host recommended a pizza place around the corner... so decided to give it a go.

Cheers to the first pint in Norway and some classic American Pizza haha

After pizza we found a cozy little wine bar to relax a bit

and put the work week behind us!

And relax we did and we even turned into silly mood!
Everyone in Norway was really nice and super friendly

Our building was built in 1927ish... aka American Old per Jeffrey, but it had an elevator! (Bonus points since the flat was on the 6th floor)

This was the view across the bay from our flat -

We couldn't have ask for anything better!

We found a true gem for breakfast... the perfect cup of joe and some sweets!

This place smelled like heaven when we walked in... we got there right when it opened, so everything was nice and warm : )

There was an interesting wooden structure that went over the water.

We eventually went up it... I think the boys loved it and the girls were holding on for dear life. I personally was not a fan of the wooden structure! haha

Bergen is a world heritage site. This specific area is called Bryggen and is composed of 61 wooden houses. Bergen was established in 1070 AD and developed into an important trading center. These wharfs were what developed over time and currently resemble the style from the 1700s.

We were able to take a wonder around in and around the houses. There were some cute stores that were very tempting for a bit of shopping :)

After wandering the houses...... we got the crazy idea to hike the side of the mountain!

The 1st stop along the way up!

There were great views every step of the way -

and it was worth every one of those steps!

or at least they were after eating dessert for breakfast :)

Group photos!

Needless to say, we took the easy route down with the funicular..... it was for the great views of course :)

The rest of the day/evening was pretty chill with us hopping around and trying out the local cuisine and brews. The conclusion was reached pretty quickly that the food was not nearly as good as what we were expected and the warnings about the expensive pints were 100% true :( It was nearly 10 pounds (~$15) for a pint of beer or glass of wine. But we still managed to have a good evening and even kicked up the heels for a bit of dancing at the end of the evening!

It was an early rise and shine the next morning though.....

we had a chartered cruise to catch at 10am!

It was so peaceful in the morning..... the water was smooth as glass

And the beautiful sightseeing begins before we even left the bay

and ventured out to see the Fjords! Per the tourist website for Norway: "Fjords were formed by ancient, slow moving glaciers carving into rock as they moved towards the sea, fjords are very steep, long valleys and have become synonymous with Norway." I would tend to agree after this trip.....

I think we got one of the happiest captains possible...she was smiling ear to ear the whole trip! She went further than normal on the boat route and 3 people on board got to dress up and catch some water under the fall. Unfortunately it was only 1 person from each group... but I think karma worked well here since Will had to push back his flight until Saturday due to work... it was only fitting he got to 'catch' the water.

The water was so clean we got to drink it afterwards

There was some commentary on the boat too..... we learned this bridge has 2 types of support... suspension and floating.The suspension on the right and is the 2nd largest in Norway. The floating part of the bridge on the left is the longest in the world! The channel was too deep to drill, so they made it float