Bergen, Norway: Food and Fjords
Gateway to Norway's Fjords and Local Cuisine
Bergen, Norway offers visitors the opportunity to experience Norway's natural beauty and its culinary delights.
Bergen, Norway is a great place for an introduction to Norwegian food and fjords. The Bergen Food Festival, 8-10 September 2006, is a popular tasting ground for Norwegian food produced by small to medium scale farmers from the Hordaland or Sogn og Fjordane regions. There will be 80-100 food stalls selling goat cheeses, fresh sausages, and apple juice from locally grown apples, among other delicacies. Entrance is free. Last year about 70,000 people attended the festival. The Festival is held in Bryggen, the old Hanseatic quarter of town, in front of colorful medieval wooden houses. If your tastes range more toward seafood, check out the Bergen Fish Market (Fisketorget i Bergen in Norwegian), next to Bryggen. The fish market is open six days per week, closed on Sunday.
For those who don't have a lot of time to spend in Norway, Bergen can be your launching point for a day trip into fjord country. The "Norway in a Nutshell" tours, from Oslo or Bergen, takes you by rail, boat, and bus through towering mountain ranges, pristine fjords, next to gushing waterfalls, and over deep gorges. Part of the journey is on the Flom Railway, the steepest railway in Northern Europe, 867 meters above seal level at the highest point. You can spend more time in fjord country by choosing to stop overnight en route in Flam, Gudvangen or Stalheim.
If trying to fit Norway into a nutshell isn't your style, you can still soak up Norwegian's rugged natural beauty by going to Mount Ulriken or Mount Floien, two of Bergen's scenic lookout points. The easiest way to get to the top Mount Ulriken is to take the shuttle bus from the tourist information office to the cable car, and then take the cable car to the top. Or, take the eight minute funicular ride from the Old Town to the top of Mount Floien. Ambitious hikers can see both points by follow the trail from Mount Ulriken to Mount Floien. The hike takes about 4 hours.
