Journey to the Norwegian fjords, starting from Bergen

“What do I put in the suitcase?” This question before A journey into Norwegian fjords and Bergenhas a single answer: something suitable for rain. Those who have been told me, before departure, that it always rains and our guide Martin confirms it: Bergen is the rainiest city in Europe. But as the Scandinavian“There is no bad weather, but only wrong clothing.” So, for a trip to the Norwegian fjordsin any season, what you need are jacket and rain resistant shoes.

I don’t let myself be discouraged. Landing at Bergen airport, which is located on the southwestern coast of the Norwayexcites me: with the thus jagged, so green and with so many islandsthis landscape puts in a good mood. It is the majesty of nature that mostly virgin and intact manages to enter under the skin.

Bergen is the second largest city in Norwayafter Oslo; It is a small town of the sea with a grandiose past, having been during the Middle Ages the most important city of the whole Scandinavia And Important port for the Aseatics League. It remained in the city of the past because a large fire in 1702 destroyed most of the buildings of the center that were built in wood; have survived – and in fact they are UNESCO Heritage – Those on the port. And while maintaining a strong link with his past as a port and commercial city, Bergen has evolved. As many clubs and shops in the center show.

We sleep in the beautiful Bergen Børs Hotel – where he also stayed Johnny Depp – Furnished in Scandinavian style. But it is the room of its Frescohallen restaurant (where breakfast is also made) that looks like one looks like one Modern Gothic Chapel Where the frescoes portray fishing scenes and a mirror counter reflects the light that enters the large windows. This building was the headquarters of the Bergen Values ​​Stock Exchange, which is located a stone’s throw from the new fish market, the port and the railway station.

Bergen is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the West Coast of Norway.Nora Carol Photography

Bergen, the city on the port

In the port is located The oldest area of ​​the cityhis soul. Is called Bryggen And it is the postcard image that we all have in mind thinking about Bergen, with its colorful houses with pitched roofs, which today are more than anything else officers of souvenirs and restaurants. The Bryggeloftet It is the oldest restaurant in the city, open in 1910, where to taste typical dishes of the Norwegian cuisine like fish soupvery different from ours, but exquisite, or the stewed Halibut.

A completely different cuisine is that of Christopher Haatuft which is chef and owner of the only star restaurant in the city, the Lysverketa modern Norwegian restaurant, in the former Bergen Lysverker headquarters. His cuisine is described as Neo-Fjordic And it hasn’t been a long time that I didn’t eat so interesting and perfect dishes. The restaurant offers a single 10 -course menu with Natural attention to local seafoodlike the scallops collected by hand by the diver and a longtime collaborator Knut Magnus Persson. Christopher manages simultaneously the Mattak project Together with the local gardener Sigurd Boasson. Their goal is to spread the knowledge of the cultivation of food and find solutions to problems caused by climate change. The idea is to cultivate food on the roofs of the city to manage the impact of intense rains and, at the same time, provide products of local origin to the restaurants and residents of Bergen. Lysverket uses the vegetables cultivated locally by Mattak, helping to reduce the environmental impact of the restaurant.

What to see in Bergen, between fjords, mountains and panoramas

Bergen visits a couple of days, but before leaving for the fjords, to get an idea of ​​the city – that It is located between two of the most impressive fjords in the country, the Hardangerfjord and the Sognefjord – You have to climb the mountain Monte Fløyen with the Fløibanen funicular. Going up the view, it widens more and more on the port, the city and the nature that seems to enclose and protect it. Obviously the summit, where there is a panoramic platform and a beautiful restaurant (the Fløirestaurantten), can also be reached on foot, with a walk of about an hour.

The top of this mountain is a good one entrance door in the nature of Norway. From here, several paths surrounded by the Boschi of high, green and lush trees. If the fjords have something dramatic, the forests of Norway instead instill peace so as to arouse the desire to prolong this walk indefinitely.

The second day of our trip we dedicate it to the navigation in the fjords. It’s my first time, The sky is gray, but the majesty of the cliffs, waterfalls and forests that in some places seems almost to be able to touch, make the chills come. We embark on the Svein ship, a perfect ship for small groups and with all comforts to make the day unforgettable. There are also those who almost reach the end of the fjord, in country of modives into cold water, under a waterfall. Navigation is slow and in accordance with the climate and landscape. Vertical rock walls dive into crystal clear waters, impetuous waterfalls draw silver veils on the cliffs and small isolated wooden houses seem to wait for someone’s passage. The air is pure, the silence is broken only by the rustle of the water against the hull and from the distant verse of some marine birds. It is the grandeur of nature.

Travel information

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