Bergen
Sep 18–21, 2025 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
When I was asked to speak at a conference in Oslo I immediately wondered if I could turn it into a work/holiday trip. There is only a direct flight to Oslo on specific days in September so I thought well rather than having a stopover in London why not stop somewhere else in Norway. Wideroe fly directly from Dublin to Bergen on the west coast of Norway.
Bergen is well known as the starting port for Scandinavian cruises and as the wettest city in Europe. It rains two thirds of the year in Bergen. When I arrived into Bergen it was well and truly raining. I arrived at my hotel Citybox Denmarkplass and had some dinner in their restaurant Jaja. I went for a walk to the local park but it was lashing rain. So much so there were more ducks wandering around the park in comparison to people.
On my first full day to Bergen I started the morning with a coffee and a Norwegian cinnamon bun.
I joined a walking tour with Jeff explaining about the past and present of Bergen. We learned that Bergen was the largest city in Scandinavia during the middle age but unfortunately 70% of the population died during the Black plague leading to the deterioration in the city's global power. Norway was also ruled by both the Danish and Swedish for decades until 1905 when they voted for independence. During this vote the Norwegians also voted to reintroduce their royal family however as there was no royal blood left so they asked the King of Denmark to allow his second oldest grandson to be the King of Norway. It was agreed and the prince became King Haakon VII of Norway before his Dad or brother became Kings of Denmark.
We walked through an area by the port called Bryggen learning about their famous wooden buildings. These wooden buildings are statement architecture of Norway although they can't build a fully wooden house now due to fire risk. We continued walking around Bergen through the narrow alleyways and streets getting some views over the city.
After lunch and a rain break I decided to hike up Floyen mountain as the rain had died down. Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains and Floyen is the most famous as there is a funicular cable car that goes up to the top. I decided to hike up through the trails and at the start it was lovely however very quickly the misty rain returned making visibility difficult. The hike is 3km and took about 40 minutes but as visibility was poor at the top I didn't realise that I had reached the viewpoint until I was 10 minutes past it. I decided to get the funicular back down the mountain to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. I got a glimpse of the view of Bergen while coming back down the mountain before the rain started again.
On my final day in Bergen I was able to get out for a short hike in between showers. I walked along a trail called Løvstien which had a wooden bridge that ran along the mountains while also giving a good view of Bergen and Floyen mountains. It was really nice getting out into nature and being able to appreciate Bergen's nature when the rain wasn't falling. Bergen was a lovely area to visit and there are plenty of hiking spots and cruises to explore in the area although you'd have to be prepared to get wet.Read more
Flåm and Nærøyfjorden fjord
September 20, 2025 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
One of the top things to do while in Norway is a cruise through the fjords and one of the most recommended places for this cruise is Flåm which is 3 hours from Bergen. I got a day tour from Bergen with Fjordrive starting at 7:45. We drove an hour from Bergen to Dale for our first coffee stop/toilet break. Our driver Stig informed us that a tunnel on our journey was closed so we would have to take a detour using smaller roads to get to our next stop. We drove up a mountain on a road that was only suitable for one vehicle although somehow it was a two way road. When we met another vehicle it was a tight squeeze as the other vehicle passed without falling down the cliff edge. I am normally not affected by these roads but my head did not like the winding roads as we swayed from side to side avoiding other cars and potholes.
Finally we arrived in Voss and we drove to the local waterfall Tvindefossen. We had 20 minutes to walk around and admire the great big waterfall and listen to the relaxing sound of the water crashing down the cliff edge. Next we took a short drive to Gudvangen which was the start of our cruise through the Nærøyfjorden. The cruise ship took two hours to go from Gudvangen to Flåm. I met a Scottish couple who were on my walking tour but we're on a different tour today. We admired the scenic fjord and waterfalls flowing into the fjord. We spotted little houses at the edge of the fjord wondering how people reached their homes.
The cruise ended in a small little village called Flåm and we had time to have a coffee break before returning to our bus again. Once in the bus we drove to the Stegastein viewpoint which is a viewing platform that sits 650m above the fjord below. We got really lucky with the weather as when we arrived the sun came out and gave us a beautiful view of the fjord and the mountains surrounding it.
Then we made the journey back to Bergen including driving in the winding local road again and arrived after 7pm. It was a long day but the highlight was definitely the cruise through the fjord. Well worth the dodgy bus journey.Read more
Oslo
Sep 22–24, 2025 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
When I was researching how to get to Oslo from Bergen, I was suggested two options, to fly or get the train. After doing a little bit of research I decided that traveling by train was my preference. The train departed at 6:21 and took nearly 7 hours but it was very scenic. We passed through tunnels, villages, over big rivers and along the edge of fjords. There was even some snow on some of the mountains when we got inland. I was glad to take the train journey as it was definitely much more exciting than flying.
When I arrived in Oslo the sun was shining. It was nice to be able to walk around without needing all the rain gear. After a quick lunch I walked around the city of Oslo and saw the Opera house, the Royal palace and the port. Once I checked into the hotel I decided to go for a swim in their rooftop swimming pool followed by heated sauna. As the sun was shining there was a beautiful view over the city.
That evening I met the organisers from Specsavers. They showed me the room I would be presenting in and the set up. All the speakers had some dinner that evening in the hotel. It was nice learning about Norwegian Optometry systems and having friendly conversations.
The following morning was the clinical conference, after a short gym session and some breakfast I was ready to go. I had two sessions repeating my presentation twice explaining the Optometrist's role in pre-op and post-op cataract patient's journey. It was really well and I even started to enjoy it in the second session. Thankfully I arrived in Oslo early as Brendan Cummings was delayed as his flight got redirected to another Norwegian city as Oslo airport was closed due to drones around the airport. He was very rushed once he arrived and had to leave early to catch his flight home again.
I am glad that I was asked to do the presentation and delighted it went well. It was nice being able to enjoy travelling around the Norwegian country while also combining work opportunities. Hopefully I will be able to do this again soon.Read more
