bright & beautiful bergen

from stormy stavanger we headed up to bright, beautiful bergen!
(clearly i’m feeling the alliterations today :)
we came arrived from stavanger by bus/ ferry.
(prettiest bus ride you’ll ever take)
this city on norway’s west coast is pretty hard not to love.
it’s colorful, friendly, by the sea, and it draws you right in.bryggen, the colorful wharf, is the touristy but must- visit area.
a complete separate post is coming on this area!
it is also norway’s rainiest city since it’s on the west coast,
but we caught it in all different lights – and loved them all!
we stayed at basic hotel bergen, a small european style hotel
which is basic in the best way possible! it’s simple, inexpensive,
and really central. we were welcomed in from the rain and given
all we needed to explore the city. my favorite touch was the reminders
on the door as you leave – don’t forget keys, wallet, phone, and a smile! :)

another touch i loved was that since this hotel is smaller, they offer
vouchers to try some of the best breakfast spots & bakeries in town.
nothing can beat european hot chocolate – literally
just chocolate bars melted into steamed milk ^^
pretty, colorful buildings at every turn. i love how they go into the hillside.
in bergen the fløibanen funicular to mt. fløyen is an absolute must.
the view from the top is one of the best and gives such a sense of
bergen. you can also hike up, but it’s not expensive and an experience
to ride the funicular! it goes surprisingly fast! be sure to sit by a window.
the bergen card gave us half off our tickets, so it was a no brainer ^^
and up we go! ^^
views from the top – we timed this right in between rain showers!
we met the cutest dog at the top and hung out with him and his
norwegian owner for a good 20 minutes. he was feeding the dog
waffles after their daily 3 hour hike! he was the best trained dog
and would NOT take the waffle until his owner gave him the signal.
you can see more of it in the vlog, haha SO CUTE! i think this blog
is just turning into pictures of the cute dogs of europe..whoops!
and down we go, just in time for it to start raining again!
getting my norwegian treats! ^^
we ventured to the famed fish market of course. there is incredible
fresh fish, but be warned – it is CRAZY expensive to eat here! the
average was €40 for a paper plate of fish. we knew norway was
expensive, but i’ve never seen street food that highly priced!
we sampled fish but went for hot dogs for lunch instead (wayyy cheaper :)
chase was brave and got a REINDEER hot dog. i told him he’s definitely
going on santa’s naughty list this year, right? a reindeer?! so sad!
when in norway, you have to try the solo – the soda invented here.
it used to sell more than coke in norway, and you can see what chase
thinks it tastes like here. it wasn’t my favorite, but had to try!
norway has the best style & shopping.
can you guess who bought something new of the two of us?
(again, answer is in the vlog at the end – haa!)
cutest decorations in each store ^^
since we had a bit more time in bergen, we enjoyed the scenery
on a run one morning as well. it doesn’t get much better! ^^

clearly we had a big crush on bergen.

i still have a post about their bryygen wharf coming,
(don’t even get me started on the christmas shop…)
and our most memorable norwegian meal – in a CAVE!

and now, the vlog to compliment this post:

xo