Solo trip: Fjords and the most scenic train journey in Norway

I started 2023 with a solo trip to Norway. I’d been watching Travel Man and saw they went to Bergen, it looked so nice that it just stuck with me and I’d wanted to go ever since. In the new year, I decided to make it my first solo trip of the year and booked flights for April.

Bergen has one of the scenic train journeys in Europe, between Bergen and Oslo. It’s over 7 hours long and it goes all the way through the mountains, quite high up at times, and it also slows down during the most scenic parts so you can make the most of being in the mountains. I flew to Oslo and went straight for dinner before going to my hotel for the night.

The next morning, I headed off to the train station. Directly opposite the main station is the Oslo Opera House, I’d left my hotel early so I had enough time to go and explore it, you can walk up to the top of the roof.

After this, it was time for the train! This was what I was most looking forward to after seeing so much about it online. I had my seat reservation ready to guarantee my window seat for the journey.

It’s a very long train but luckily the seats are very spacious and there’s a shop that sells lots of hot and cold food. It’s not one of the regular trains, it’s a specific train that only goes to and from Bergen, so it’s fully set up to make it as comfortable as possible.

The views were absolutely incredible, it was the highlight of the whole trip! I’ve never seen snow like that before, you need sunglasses at times because when the sun comes out, the snow is so bright you can barely look out the window. It was really nice when the sun came out though because it was so warm on the train and you’re just looking out at lots of snow and mountains, it made it feel so cosy.

I made it to Bergen at 7pm after being on the train all day. My first stop was to my hotel, it was called Hotel Magic. My room was up on the roof patio, with nice views of the mountains and the town on the other side. The room looked like the inside of a spaceship aswell.

I set up camp in hotel and then went straight out for some food. It was already getting dark but luckily there were quite a few restaurants within a couple minutes walk from my hotel so I didn’t have to go far. Bergen itself is actually quite a small town so you don’t really need to use maps to find anything, it’s all very contained.

I couldn’t decide between rice or noodles so I got both!

The other main thing to do in Bergen is ride the funicular. It takes you to the top of one of the mountains and you can see the whole town and the lakes, it’s absolutely beautiful! There’s also some really nice walking routes once you get to the top aswell.

It was snowing by the time I got to the top, so it was fun but absolutely freezing! Luckily they have a shop at the top aswell incase you need to buy any gloves (which I did). After a while though, the sun came out and cleared the fog and the view was amazing!

There’s so much to see up there and there’s also hiking trails, troll spotting sites, and a nice cafe so you can go and warm up afterwards. I could of spent the whole day up there!

After the funicular, I spent the rest of the day exploring town. There’s a fish market on the docks so I had a look around, got myself some sushi and sat outside in the sun by the lake.

The town of Bergen is so colourful, all the wooden buildings are really nice to walk through and there’s lots of really cute little side streets.

In the evening I went to an ice bar, I’d seen pictures from them online before and always wanted to go, I found one in Bergen so I had to! It was still early in the evening so I ended up having the place to myself.

I had one more day in Bergen and the only thing left on my list was a fjord cruise! I booked it the day before and went straight down to the docks in the morning. If you’re going to Norway, it’s an absolute must! Like the train, the views are absolutely amazing. The fjords are huge, there’s lots of waterfalls and there’s a tour guide to point out all the specific sights and give you lots of information so you don’t miss anything. I stood outside on the boat because I wanted to get the most out of the experience, however it was absolutely freezing! Even with jumpers, a hat and coat, gloves.. that arctic wind is something else! The cruise was 4 hours long so I stayed outside for the first half, and then during the second half as we made our way back, I split the time between being outside and going inside the boat for a cup of tea (and cinnamon rolls).

You don’t have to stay outside for the whole time if you don’t want to, there’s plenty of seats inside and there’s window’s all around. I’d recommend getting to the boat earlier before it leaves if you want to get a really good seat. Although I didn’t have too much trouble finding a decent seat because everyone’s moving around once the journey starts anyway. Despite being the coldest I’ve ever been in my life, it’s absolutely worth it! It was even quite fun being outside and experiencing how crazy it was.

But I was definitely grateful for the hot drinks they had inside.

I spent one more night in Bergen before heading back to Oslo for one more day. I had to fly back to Oslo because the train line going back was closed to have some work on it.

I’d also seen on Travel Man, they go to this statue park called Vigeland Park. It’s up at the top of a hill and you get really nice views around it and the park is absolutely huge to walk through, so I made it the last event of my trip.

I spent the rest of my final day walking around town and finding nice outdoor bars and cafe’s, I was lucky that the weather got a lot warmer than it had been so I got myself some ice cream and then a glass of wine to celebrate the end of my 3rd solo trip!

Hotel Magic: website

Oslo - Bergen train: website

Bergen Funicular: website

Magic Ice Bar: website

Vigeland Park: information