Polar night and polar bear island - a Norwegian winter adventure

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:33:53+1100

Next was the Bryggen area with the historical buildings.
I posted some pics of these yesterday but we went through some alleyways and the history behind them was interesting. Google is your friend.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:37:19+1100

Next we went up to a residential area that was very quaint.
I’m not going to go into all the history stuff because I simply cannot be bothered.
Suffice to say a lot of the places are worth a fortune .

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:39:47+1100

We got to a vantage point.
Again, do this as a first thing you do in Bergen.
After going up the mountain yesterday I had seen it much better there.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:50:52+1100

It was warmer today probably plus 1 or 2 and sunny.
I didn’t take many photos as I felt I had taken plenty of the same spots already.
It was worth it to hear the history behind everything, though and for $37, it was very cheap.
We wandered more and were told about past and modern day history including the many fires that have gutted the town - the 1702 one in particular- and a massive explosion in 1944.
The second pic is an artwork called Resonance. by Magne Furuholmen.
Never heard of him?
Me neither.
Until it was explained that he is the keyboardist from the band A-ha. You know - Take on Me…take on me, take me on, take me on, I’ll be gone, in a day or twwwwwwwwwo.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:53:47+1100

The tour finished and I was hungry so I grabbed a reindeer hotdog from Trekroneren, which is a bit of an institution here.
It cost $14.24 and hit the spot nicely.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T04:59:09+1100

I wasn’t ready to head back to the apartment so I decided to check out the train station for my 8.08am train to Oslo tomorrow.
Just so I knew what to expect etc.
I hate the unknown if I can control it.
And then I walked around some more.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T05:03:50+1100

After I got back to the room I realised I had lost my gloves although they are probably there somewhere
Went out and stumbled across a budget shop and picked what I think is a decent pair for $12.
I’ll need them for Oslo but I also didn’t want to lash out and buy expensive ones.
Then to the pub for two beers and back to the room.
Not sure what will grab for dinner but not overly hungry so it just be something very simple.
The pub I went to last night (and tonight) has really cheap beer by Norwegian standards. A pint of the local Kansa is $14 and it’s very drinkable.
Early morning tomorrow.
I can’t believe I have only four sleeps left until I go home.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T05:10:06+1100

The forecast keeps changing.
I checked a few hours ago and Oslo was meant to be -3 tomorrow (train gets in around 3pm) and then -1 for the last two days of my trip.
Now it’s changed to -6, -4 and -2.
And that’s from the official Norway weather site yr.no/en
My gloves are fleeced lined but I have running gloves that are thin that I can use as an underlayer if needed.
Not looking forward to an early start tomorrow, but very much looking forward to the train trip

Justinf · 2026-02-05T07:15:11+1100

Forgot to post this one.
It’s a statue of Christian Michelsen who was prime minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907.

pks · 2026-02-05T08:25:44+1100

Great TR Justin and brings back good memories of trips to Bergen in 2018 and Svalbard in June 2022 when it was a lot warmer (low single Cs) and 24hr light!

Wello · 2026-02-05T15:06:45+1100

It has been great reading about your adventure as I am going to be in both Tromso and Bergen later this month. Seeing your photos has got me excited to see the sights in person.

Justinf · 2026-02-05T15:55:53+1100

Wello said:
It has been great reading about your adventure as I am going to be in both Tromso and Bergen later this month. Seeing your photos has got me excited to see the sights in person.

I’m excited for you. You’ll love it.

Justinf · 2026-02-06T01:56:39+1100

Was awake very early at around 5am, which gave me enough time to clean the AirB&B to a standard that wasn’t a pig sty. Also had time for coffee.
I left the room just after 7am and it took less than 10 minutes to walk to the station.
A few pods of early morning people going about their day. And of people already queuing up for the train as if they aren’t going to get on with their prepaid selected seats. I’ve never understood that.

Justinf · 2026-02-06T02:02:00+1100

Eventually boarding proceeded and the hoards were moving through.
I just sat there and watched until I could just waltz up and get on.
I was in carriage 1 in comfort-plus in seat 4, right at the back. It looked like I will have a spare seat next to me, which is a huge bonus, but there are a few stops along the way where people will get on.
All you get for the extra money is more room and free tea and coffee.
It was also stifling onboard, so I whipped out my trusty portable fan. I would be lost without it.

Justinf · 2026-02-06T04:34:41+1100

We pulled out at 8.08am on the dot and I reckon for the first hour the left side of the train is prime position.
That’s where you’ll see the fjords and the water as you leave the city.
I was on the right-hand side but got up to take some pics.
Just be warned that a lot of pics I simply had to delete as taking them on my phone just didn’t work. I could not believe they left the carriage internal lights on once it got light. The reflections made it VERY difficult to take pictures.