8 June 2018, Friday
After yesterday’s momentous hike to Trolltunga, it was time to move on from the small town of Odda to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. I woke up at about 7am, had my breakfast, checked out of Trolltunga Hotel and took bus 984 (fare: 37 Kr / S$6.32) to go to the Odda town centre. One of my fellow Trolltunga adventurers, a young American lady named Abby, was my roommate at Trolltunga Hotel and she was also heading to Bergen today, so we left together. We arrived at Odda Busstasjon at about 9:10am and waited for the next bus 760 to take us to Bergen.
While we were at Odda Busstasjon, we met another traveller, James, who was from Canada. He was also heading to Bergen. However, he had exhausted his Norwegian Krones currency and only had Euros with him. He approached me for help and asked if I could exchange some Krones with him. I didn’t have much Krones left, so I suggested asking the bus driver if he could accept Euros.
Soon after, Skyss bus 760 arrived. Abby boarded first. She was a university student so she paid the student fare of 290 Kr (S$49.56). However, she was short of 11 Kr so I helped her top up the deficit. She didn’t want to withdraw too much cash because it was her last day in Norway and she was going to Bergen to catch her flight home today. I then boarded after Abby. Before I could say anything, the driver punched me a ticket for 290 Kr, as he assumed that I was travelling with Abby and that I was also a student. I told him that I was not a student, but he still went ahead and charged me 290 Kr because he had already punched the ticket. As a result, I saved 44 Kr (S$7.52) for this ride.
James boarded after me and explained his situation. Unfortunately, the bus driver could not accept Euros, only Krones. However, the bus driver told him to just get on the bus. But James felt that it wasn’t right, so he asked me for help again. I then exchanged some Krones for his Euros so that he could pay the fare. As a result, I was only left with 250 Kr cash for my next two days in Norway. But I took it as paying it forward, especially since I had saved 44 Kr from the kind-hearted bus driver already. Fellow travellers help each other in need!
We left Odda at 9:40am. The bus ride was very scenic as expected, and we passed by several waterfalls that were right beside the road. The journey was also made more enjoyable because I made a new friend today and the three of us had a good chat along the way.
At 10:20am, we arrived Årsnes kai where we alighted and transferred to another Skyss bus 761 for the onward journey to Bergen. From Årsnes kai, the bus went up a catamaran ferry for the 20-minute sea crossing to Gjermundshamn. So we got a free cruise ride thrown in, not bad!
That is the reason why the bus ticket from Odda to Bergen is so expensive – because it involves ferry crossings. Two ferry crossings, in fact. I was asleep during the second ferry crossing so I wasn’t even aware of it until my companions told me afterwards.
At 1:13pm, we finally arrived at Bergen. I bade farewell to my new friends and we went our separate ways. From Bergen Busstasjon, I walked for 10 minutes and reached Marken Gjestehus (Marken Guesthouse), my accommodation for two nights.
Marken Gjestehus
Address: Kong Oscarsgt. 45, 5017, Bergen (entrance at Tverrgaten 12)
Price: 576 Kr (S$101.98) for 2 nights
Room type: 8-bed male dorm room
Website: https://www.marken-gjestehus.com/en-gb
After checking in, I lazed around for a while before heading out for lunch at about 2:45pm. Bearing in mind my shortage of cash, I found a Chinese restaurant nearby called Guangdong House where the prices were as reasonable as you could get in Norway. I ordered a plate of beef chop suey for 85 Kr (S$14.53) and it was delicious.
I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Bergen city centre. I first came across a CD shop called Rocade. It was an old-school music shop with CDs strewn all over the place in a haphazard manner. The owner himself admitted that it was messy because he was not good at organising. But I could see that he was a real music fan, as what his shop’s slogan says – We know music by heart. I love that.
I asked him if he had any Michael Jackson or Jackson 5 stuff and he showed me some titles, but I already had those. Based on my musical preferences, he recommended an album by a Norwegian artist called Ole Børud titled Keep Movin. He played the album for me and it sounded real funky and groovy. I wasn’t planning to buy any more CDs because of space constraints in my backpack but I decided to buy it because I wanted to support him. This was one of the few traditional, mom-and-pop record stores left and it would be a pity to see it close down. The album cost 179 Kr (S$30.59) and I paid for it by credit card. I was trying to refrain from using my credit card but I decided there was no point exchanging additional Krones currency for my last two days in Norway.
After that, I walked to the harbour, where the main action was at. Everyone told me that the fish market at the harbour was a tourist trap and I should not eat there, so I just went to soak up the atmosphere.
On one side flanking the harbour is Bryggen, the historic old wharf of Bergen that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bryggen is one of North Europe’s oldest centres of trade, established around the 12th century. According to its UNESCO inscription, Bryggen is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. The Hanseatic League is an organisation founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests.
Bryggen was ravaged by fires several times in its history and only 62 of the original buildings remain today, a quarter of the original from 1702. Some were also demolished. The long, narrow buildings facing the harbour were very pretty and charming. It was a very hot day yet many people were dining al fresco and “enjoying” the sun.
Having just come from the quiet small town of Odda, I felt a bit overwhelmed by Bergen, which was much more crowded and bustling with activities. There was just so many people and so much going on here. I felt strangely disconnected and wished I was still surrounded by the peace and quiet of the mountains, fjords and rivers.
For today, I just walked around the city centre and tried to get my bearings. I wasn’t interested in doing too much as I was also feeling quite tired from yesterday’s Trolltunga trek. I bought some postcards and stamps (64 Kr / S$10.94) and went to the REMA 100 supermarket to buy some food supplies (93 Kr / S$15.90) before heading back to the hostel around 6:10pm.
Since food was so expensive in Norway, I decided to cook my second last packet of Maggi instant curry noodles together with some vegetables I had just bought. It was a simple dinner but it did the job. I then paid 60 Kr (S$10.25) to use the washing machine and dryer because I was running out of clean clothes to wear. Just the typical life of a backpacker.
It was quite an uneventful day, but when you’ve been travelling for 39 days, not every day will be an action-packed one. It is important to have sufficient rest for your mind and body (and wallet!) to recover so you can enjoy the rest of the journey. Rest more today so that I can go all out again tomorrow!