I've been in Bergen five days now, and things are starting to get better, finally.
My current worries are about money because I know for sure how much rent is but not electricity which is annoying as I can't budget specifically yet, so hopefully will find out a rough price of how much my living is going to cost by the end of this month.
I know I do have enough money for my rent, food and social activities for Bergen, but I desperately want to see more of Norway and Scandinavia while I'm here too. Last time I was in the UK when I was 18, I had all the plans to find work, get some money behind me and go travelling to the other places in Europe I didn't get a chance to see while on the Europe Contiki tour, but it never happened. I sort of got stuck in a rut of just living in the town I guess. I don't want that to happen again, in fact I'm going to make sure that I won't let it happen again.
I'm not going to say the places I'm hoping to visit because I don't want to jinx myself, so you'll just have to wait and see with my blog post ;)
I've met more of my housemates, and the ones I have so far met have been incredibly friendly and helpful which makes me feel a lot better. One of the girls here, Sida Chanette, who is from Oslo, came here last year and didn't know anyone so she understands how I must be feeling , and she has offered to show me around later this week which is great :) Things are starting to look better and on the up.
Speaking of upwards, there are so many hills here! I don't need to worry about going to the gym or putting on weight here because there is so much walking and many hills! My legs have been getting so tired, but the pain is getting less by the day, so I guess they are getting used to it - mind you it would be nice to have a bath with muscle relaxing salts though! Just have to push through the pain. However I love the fact that everything is walking distance here, sure it takes a little time - well maybe not for Norwegians, they walk so fast! I blame my little legs - but it's free transport and great for my health. I am getting used to the rain too. The guidebooks didn't lie, it does rain here CONSTANTLY. It has been raining everyday since I have arrived here, except for the very first day, but it does stop every now and again. I hate getting wet, especially my feet, but I am getting used to it, however I am dreading to think what it's going to be like come the winter season if this is their summer! Plus in the UK, contrary to what everyone assumes, it doesn't rain all the time, in fact every time I have been the weather has been lovely, especially in winter, I have found it dry but very cold, which I would actually prefer than to the rain! Still I won't let it get me down, and I refuse to become a new member of the SAD group (seasonal affect disorder). It definitely rains more here, which I had expected, but a part of me was hoping it wasn't as much as everyone had said.
Anyways, I have done more tourist stuff and explored more of the town. I absolutely love the Torget Fish Market and Bryggen, they are my favourite places in Bergen so far. I love Torget because it's nice seeing all the different stalls they have to offer, not just of seafood but also the moose sausage, proper Norwegian knitwear, troll and viking ornaments - it's really cool but very wet and I'm sure if you stayed there long enough you would start to smell fishy! The reason I love Bryggen is probably because it is the prettiest part of town, I think when the books say that Bergen is supposedly the prettiest place in Norway it is because of this area. It just looks so inviting and homely, and again they have some really unique shops there too. I haven't yet brought any souvenirs, I will save those purchases until towards the end of my stay.
I visited the Bergen Maritime Museum, which was interesting in regards to immigration, it had a huge exhibition on the Norwegian-America line and I found out about how many Norwegians were emigrating to New York prior to the 60s (as Norway was among the poorest countries in Europe until they found oil in the 1960s). New York has loads of Irish decent, but has loads of Norwegian decent too - I didn't realise until now how much of a connection Norway had with America due to the immigration. They didn't have too much stuff on Vikings, apparently the Cultural History Museum does so will have to check that one out.
BUT! In regards to Vikings, I did get to see more history about it at the Bryggen Museum - I saw some of the different boats that were made, and then they also had lots on the medieval era so I found out more about their lifestyle. They used to eat porridge for breakfast! I thought that was pretty cool, it never occurred to me how long people have been eating porridge for throughout history. While also at the Bryggen Museum they had a massive exhibition on shoes! How weird? In fact it was really interesting because back in the day Bergen used to be a huge producer for shoes, and they had original shoes from the medieval period which were made from leather - I had no idea they had such class back then! They had style too - it showed how the style of the shoes changed from closed shoes to sandals when they were still made out of leather. Unfortunately, Bergen no longer produces shoes for the world market or for themselves really. However there is a designer who is still making old-style boots, but sadly they are made out of seal fur! I definitely couldn't walk around in seal fur boots :( Seals are like dogs of the sea, and I love dogs.
From Bryggen I then got to meet real-life seals at the Bergen Aquarium. The seals and penguins were my favourite part of the aquarium, they are just so entertaining. The seals were really talented, but they were actually Californian seals and trained for the aquarium, but they were still awesome to watch nonetheless. They had some cool stuff in the aquarium though, for example they had a tropical exhibit which had loads of snakes and lizards, they also had a spider exhibit (they were MASSIVE! If I saw them I would actually be so scared, even though I have gotten over my fear of spiders, I think seeing these would bring that fear back), and they had monkeys! I don't know what type of monkeys but they must live near the water because they were put with the turtles. They seemed really freaked out though, they were looking every where with shocked eyes... or maybe that's just how their eyes looked.
That's it so far for now. I still have another two more free days before I start my orientation for university on Thursday, I'm really excited for that to start, I absolutely can't wait to meet more of the international students. I'm not forgetting about the Norwegians though! I've actually signed up for a program called "BergenBuddies" which doesn't start until 26th August I think, and basically they sign you up with a local Norwegian student who has similar interests to you and they are 'forced' to be your friend for 6 weeks and show you around (they actually aren't forced, they are all volunteers who do it, so they must want international friends). I'm looking forward to that too :)
I think I'll do some more tourist stuff tomorrow, like visiting the top of Mount Fløyen and Mount Ulriken, and definitely think if I go past the Torget Fish market again (which we know I probably will), I might treat myself to some of the seafood they have to offer. I haven't tried any of their local fish yet, but I can't wait to taste it! (And I think I need it too because I've been eating quite poorly my first week here, haven't yet organised myself properly in regards to what meals to have for dinner that provide all the right nutrients - I have been lacking in protein at the moment :| ).
Thanks to everyone who has been reading my adventures so far, hope you're enjoying them!
My current worries are about money because I know for sure how much rent is but not electricity which is annoying as I can't budget specifically yet, so hopefully will find out a rough price of how much my living is going to cost by the end of this month.
I know I do have enough money for my rent, food and social activities for Bergen, but I desperately want to see more of Norway and Scandinavia while I'm here too. Last time I was in the UK when I was 18, I had all the plans to find work, get some money behind me and go travelling to the other places in Europe I didn't get a chance to see while on the Europe Contiki tour, but it never happened. I sort of got stuck in a rut of just living in the town I guess. I don't want that to happen again, in fact I'm going to make sure that I won't let it happen again.
I'm not going to say the places I'm hoping to visit because I don't want to jinx myself, so you'll just have to wait and see with my blog post ;)
I've met more of my housemates, and the ones I have so far met have been incredibly friendly and helpful which makes me feel a lot better. One of the girls here, Sida Chanette, who is from Oslo, came here last year and didn't know anyone so she understands how I must be feeling , and she has offered to show me around later this week which is great :) Things are starting to look better and on the up.
Speaking of upwards, there are so many hills here! I don't need to worry about going to the gym or putting on weight here because there is so much walking and many hills! My legs have been getting so tired, but the pain is getting less by the day, so I guess they are getting used to it - mind you it would be nice to have a bath with muscle relaxing salts though! Just have to push through the pain. However I love the fact that everything is walking distance here, sure it takes a little time - well maybe not for Norwegians, they walk so fast! I blame my little legs - but it's free transport and great for my health. I am getting used to the rain too. The guidebooks didn't lie, it does rain here CONSTANTLY. It has been raining everyday since I have arrived here, except for the very first day, but it does stop every now and again. I hate getting wet, especially my feet, but I am getting used to it, however I am dreading to think what it's going to be like come the winter season if this is their summer! Plus in the UK, contrary to what everyone assumes, it doesn't rain all the time, in fact every time I have been the weather has been lovely, especially in winter, I have found it dry but very cold, which I would actually prefer than to the rain! Still I won't let it get me down, and I refuse to become a new member of the SAD group (seasonal affect disorder). It definitely rains more here, which I had expected, but a part of me was hoping it wasn't as much as everyone had said.
Anyways, I have done more tourist stuff and explored more of the town. I absolutely love the Torget Fish Market and Bryggen, they are my favourite places in Bergen so far. I love Torget because it's nice seeing all the different stalls they have to offer, not just of seafood but also the moose sausage, proper Norwegian knitwear, troll and viking ornaments - it's really cool but very wet and I'm sure if you stayed there long enough you would start to smell fishy! The reason I love Bryggen is probably because it is the prettiest part of town, I think when the books say that Bergen is supposedly the prettiest place in Norway it is because of this area. It just looks so inviting and homely, and again they have some really unique shops there too. I haven't yet brought any souvenirs, I will save those purchases until towards the end of my stay.
I visited the Bergen Maritime Museum, which was interesting in regards to immigration, it had a huge exhibition on the Norwegian-America line and I found out about how many Norwegians were emigrating to New York prior to the 60s (as Norway was among the poorest countries in Europe until they found oil in the 1960s). New York has loads of Irish decent, but has loads of Norwegian decent too - I didn't realise until now how much of a connection Norway had with America due to the immigration. They didn't have too much stuff on Vikings, apparently the Cultural History Museum does so will have to check that one out.
BUT! In regards to Vikings, I did get to see more history about it at the Bryggen Museum - I saw some of the different boats that were made, and then they also had lots on the medieval era so I found out more about their lifestyle. They used to eat porridge for breakfast! I thought that was pretty cool, it never occurred to me how long people have been eating porridge for throughout history. While also at the Bryggen Museum they had a massive exhibition on shoes! How weird? In fact it was really interesting because back in the day Bergen used to be a huge producer for shoes, and they had original shoes from the medieval period which were made from leather - I had no idea they had such class back then! They had style too - it showed how the style of the shoes changed from closed shoes to sandals when they were still made out of leather. Unfortunately, Bergen no longer produces shoes for the world market or for themselves really. However there is a designer who is still making old-style boots, but sadly they are made out of seal fur! I definitely couldn't walk around in seal fur boots :( Seals are like dogs of the sea, and I love dogs.
From Bryggen I then got to meet real-life seals at the Bergen Aquarium. The seals and penguins were my favourite part of the aquarium, they are just so entertaining. The seals were really talented, but they were actually Californian seals and trained for the aquarium, but they were still awesome to watch nonetheless. They had some cool stuff in the aquarium though, for example they had a tropical exhibit which had loads of snakes and lizards, they also had a spider exhibit (they were MASSIVE! If I saw them I would actually be so scared, even though I have gotten over my fear of spiders, I think seeing these would bring that fear back), and they had monkeys! I don't know what type of monkeys but they must live near the water because they were put with the turtles. They seemed really freaked out though, they were looking every where with shocked eyes... or maybe that's just how their eyes looked.
That's it so far for now. I still have another two more free days before I start my orientation for university on Thursday, I'm really excited for that to start, I absolutely can't wait to meet more of the international students. I'm not forgetting about the Norwegians though! I've actually signed up for a program called "BergenBuddies" which doesn't start until 26th August I think, and basically they sign you up with a local Norwegian student who has similar interests to you and they are 'forced' to be your friend for 6 weeks and show you around (they actually aren't forced, they are all volunteers who do it, so they must want international friends). I'm looking forward to that too :)
I think I'll do some more tourist stuff tomorrow, like visiting the top of Mount Fløyen and Mount Ulriken, and definitely think if I go past the Torget Fish market again (which we know I probably will), I might treat myself to some of the seafood they have to offer. I haven't tried any of their local fish yet, but I can't wait to taste it! (And I think I need it too because I've been eating quite poorly my first week here, haven't yet organised myself properly in regards to what meals to have for dinner that provide all the right nutrients - I have been lacking in protein at the moment :| ).
Thanks to everyone who has been reading my adventures so far, hope you're enjoying them!
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