The next stop on our whirlwind adventure will be Bergen, Norway. Never heard of it? Neither had I until T-Friend mentioned that she had read about it in a guidebook. I was pretty much just researching major cities (think Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, etc.) and not really thinking about what else might exist beyond the major transportation hubs. Planning a trip with someone else is great - without Tessa's input I would have never even considered heading to Bergen.
Beautiful Bergen.
But I digress.
So in our hunt for our most affordable options, it became obvious that boating it around was actually a great bang for our bucks (kroners in this case). Not only does a ferry/cruise/boat get us from point A to point B, it also provides a place to stay for a night. We really get to kill two birds with one stone by doing the overnight thing - we get where we want to go, and we get to sleep while doing it. No wasted travel day on this leg of the trip!
Kinda like a pseudo cruise.
After our jaunt in Copenhagen we will make our way entirely across Denmark to Hirshals, where the ferry departs. We may make a pit stop on our way to Hirtshals and spend a night in some other cute little Danish town. The entire journey from Copenhagen to Hirtshals will take about 5.5 hours. We will be doing this during the day, so it will be nice to take in the scenery of the entire country.
Upon arrival in Hirtshals, we will board a ferry bound for Bergen. Passengers on the ferry can opt to make the journey in airplane-like seats, or rent a small cabin. We are opting for the latter option so we are refreshed and ready to explore Norway on our arrival. The boat itself is pretty basic, but it does offer a nice dinner buffet with fabulous views of the passing fjords. The last leg of the trip will take us through some pretty spectacular scenery as the sun begins to rise (it doesn't set till SUPER late...think 11pm). Overall ferry travel is a pretty awesome deal - travel, accommodations, AND view of the fjords.
Our home in Bergen will be Marken Gjetehus (MG), another highly recommended hostel. After doing a bit of price comparison, we managed to get a private room at MG for only about $13US more per night than the 6 bed dorm room. Because Bergen isn't a huge place, the accommodation prices are a lot more reasonable than many places in Norway. We are paying about $45 per person per night. It is possible to stay in a large dorm for about $25-30, so this isn't too bad for our own space!
A typical room at MG...again, small but perfect for our needs.
Bergen itself is a quaint little town, and we should have plenty of time to explore it in our short stay there. We are using the town as the jumping off point for our fabulous "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. More on that next time...
And stay tuned for posts about:
- Hostelling
- Eurail passes
- Dining in a foreign country
- Lessons I learned on my Euro2007 trip
ahhh it looks so awesome, I am so exciteddddddd that we are doing this!! :) You forgot to mention the ALL YOU CAN DRINK WINE on our ferry :) delicious.
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