Norway - Land of the Vikings

We arrived in Bergen Norway, the land of the Vikings at 12:00 midday. It really feels like our trip has begun!

Surprisingly we had had a good nights sleep. We were expecting seats, that's what we'd paid for, but were delighted to find that the “couchettes” we had booked are in fact small rooms with three sets of bunk beds in each. Bliss!

We arrived to indecisive weather, again. It didn't matter, the beauty of the Norwegian coastline simply took our breath away. The knot of growing excitement building in our stomachs was distraction enough, but landing in Norway, our first Scandinavian country was special for us.

We stood on ferry deck and ignored the drizzle as we watched people on shore go about their business. Everywhere we looked brightly painted and perfectly formed buildings nestled into the mountains on each side of us, revealing themselves as we rounded each new cove and waterway. Each shore house had its own quay and well presented rowboat.

The Norwegian coastline is rugged and impressive with rocky cliff faces which plummet steeply into the millpond like water lapping gently below.

Off the ferry the centre of Bergen is ¾ of a mile away. It’s looks like a nice City. Worn original, wonky wooden buildings intermingle with the newer stone ones easily. Parking was a cinch and we chained the bikes up on the pavement before heading off into the markets for coffee.

A few calls to family later and we were off again to find somewhere to set up camp.

15km’s up the E39 heading north from Bergen is the astutely named “North Bergen Camp site”. At 100 Kroner (approximately £10) per night and 10 Kroner for the shower it was about average. We’d been warned Norway wasn’t going to be cheap. It isn’t.