Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and it is located on the Southwest side of Norway. Bergen is famous for Bryggen, which is a UNESCO heritage site. Bergen also has a large pier for vacation cruise and to held large boat related festivals. As we travel to Norway for vacation, Bergen is definitely the top spot to visit.
As we landed at Bergen airport, we could tell it is a large city. The airport is very modern and new. We went to AVIS and got a European brand car, Skoda. We were worried that it would be different than American and Japanese car, but we were wrong. The handle of the car was very good and the car has a lot of sensors to provide alerts.
We stayed at Scandic Ornen hotel at Bergen, which is right beside the central station. It was convenient because we could simply park the car at the central station parking lot. Scandic Ornen hotel can also stamp the parking ticket to provide discount.
After checking in, we were excited to visit Bergen. We headed towards Bryggen first of course. It was only 15 minutes walk away from the hotel. The scenery at Bryggen was very cute. The houses there were kept as it was in a wooden shape. There were restaurants, shops, and museum along the street. Right beside the book store, there was a path that led further into Bryggen. There was a lot more history in there. We could see how this fishing village was like before and all the houses were kept intact without being damaged.
We then also went to Floyen mountain. The mountain is on the hill side of Bergen and it has a perfect view of entire Bergen from the top. To get to the top of Floyen mountain, we could either take the tram or hike up there. We took the tram up after lining up for about 30 minutes. The tram was quite small and crowded, but the good thing was that the ride was quite short.
From the top, we could see the entire Bergen and it was beautiful. We could also see the cruise on the far side. We then had a little hike at the top of the mountain. We found mountain goats there and they were just lying there and sleeping. People could touch the goat and they did not even bother to look at you.
While we were at Bergen, we were lucky that it was also during the Tall Ship Festival. Almost all of the world's existing large sail boats gather here at Bergen's pier. It was very interesting to see all the different boats. As the boat sails into the pier, it would also fire the canon 2 times. Bergen has held this event 5 years straight, so we wouldn't be surprised that this becomes a tradition at Bergen.
We were very impressed with the city of Bergen. We had more fun here than Oslo. The city of Bergen seems to be more lively with a lot more energy. We definitely recommend Bergen over Oslo if time is limited.
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