May 19, 2026
It was our first night waking up and not having to leave to travel to somewhere new. We had a relaxing morning and headed out around 830 to Klee Kafe to grab breakfast. For a coffee shop the hot breakfast was surprisingly delicious- Evan had a traditional mushroom hashbrown and I had a slice of quiche. Both were very fresh and the perfect start to our day.
Then we took the Fløibanen funicular (which has been operating since 1918!) to the top of Mt. Floyen. The trip to the top takes only about six minutes (the walk down takes much longer!)
The views of the city below are breathtaking and it was an absolutely gorgeous day so Evan and I spent some time taking in the views before wandering through the troll park, and trying the monkey bars to see if we can still do them. Spoiler alert- they're harder than we remember, but we both did them.
We walked down the mountain, which took us about 45 minutes. There were many downed trees and it was amazing to see the sheer size of the roots pulled straight out of the ground.
When we got to the bottom we wandered through the wharf town of Bryggen (a UNESCO world heritage site). It's really cute with rainbow row houses (that actually used to be medieval trading posts), a crooked street like San Fran, and a lots of tiny shops along cobblestone alleys. We wandered into an antique shop that was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. IT WAS SO CROWDED!!
The fish market was highly recommended so we walked through there and saw vendors with HUGE catches of the day- tanks with crabs bigger than our heads, fish longer than my armspan with their mouths pried open, spiny sea urchin and massive shrimp with eyes. We ate lunch in one of the tents facing the water. We tried whale tatake (which is basically raw whale), Norwegian oysters (which I loved!) and a smoked meat plate- it included smoked whale (this tasted like roasted beef), salmon with a Mexican-ish seasoning, salmon with a dry rub and plain salmon. I also tried a special beer that was brewed specifically for the fish market. The alcohol laws in the fish market are really strict so this was a low alcohol content (2%) ale. It was actually really tasty. Something to note- Norway is one of the few countries that still allows whaling- it's considered part of their cultural heritage and a staple of their way of life. While Norway sells many different dried whale options, some neighboring countries don't let you fly in with it so we couldn't bring any home for our loved ones to try.
We walked to a coffee shop after lunch so Evan could have a coffee but the line was quite long so we ended up abandoning it and heading to the dock for the boat. Little did we know that "arrive 30 minutes early" didnt actually mean to arrive 30 minutes early. It was just a buffer for the late comers. We did not board the boat until 215 which would have given us plenty of time for coffee. Oh well. Hindsight.
It was a cold, rainy blustery day so Evan and I chose to sit inside the boat. We sat right next to a window on the starboard side so we could see out perfectly. While we enjoyed the cruise through the fjords, 3.5 hours was a bit long for us. I discovered on the trip that I didn't really have a full understanding of what a fjord was-- I thought we would be going through caves or coves along the waterways. Nope. Fjords are just the type of waterway. We learned many things on the boat, including about these little towns along the water that couldn't be farther apart than one day's sailing from one another so that fisherman had places to stop when they were on long journeys. We saw a tiny little school that was in operation from 1903-1973 that had a dock off the back because many students traveled to school by boat. There was also a very talkative guide on our boat who came to our table and told us about Norwegian culture. She specifically recommended fish soup- she said it's a dish every family makes and every family says theirs is the best. She also said that at the end of a meal, when Norwegians are feeling very content, you'll see them sip a shot of aquavit, a local liquor made from potatoes.
When we got off the boat we watched a person run through the docks- we thought they were trying to catch a bus or boat- and then the police came running after. Next thing we knew a police van pulled up and three officers jumped out running. The van drove to the end of the street to block it off. The police ended up catching the runner and were going through the bag they confiscated. It was a wild scene to watch.
Next, Evan and I did some window shopping along the water, stopping in outerwear and jacket shops, trinkets shops (they love trolls here!), and fur shops. Did you know you can buy a reindeer fur as a throw blanket?
We went to Bryggeloftet and Steune- the oldest run family restaurant in Bergen- operating since 1910 but there was no space because of the service industry strike that was currently happening. We pivoted and went to Bryggen Tractursted, which was established in 1708 and is one of the oldest wooden houses in Bryggen. The interior and exterior were so charming and there were animal furs on every seat. They brewed many of their own beers and Evan found a raspberry ginger beer of theirs he really liked. The restaurant is known for making traditional dishes with a twist. They were hosting a party that night so couldn't seat us right away but Evan and I played dice and enjoyed a beer while waiting.
We started with reindeer tartare (I had been wanting to try reindeer the whole trip and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT) and the fish soup- it's cream based and it reminded us of the coconut milk based soup from Thailand. We both loved it! Then we had the baccala which neither of us preferred. I've had this fish in Italy and liked it MUCH better there. It was odd because this restaurant said they are only 1 of 2 restaurants in all of Norway allowed to serve the baccala, a traditional Italian dish. Maybe Italy hasn't audited them in awhile? We also tried spiced pickled herring that was wrapped in a crepe with mashed potatoes and red onion- this had such a great combination of flavors because of the warm cinnamon and clove from the spice and the acidity from the pickling. We also tried a stockfish dip with onions and bacon because this restaurant is one of the only ones in town that always has stockfish (a very traditional Norwegian food) on the menu. We didn't love the dip, but we were glad to have tried the stockfish. Then we had a brown cheese tart for dessert, because we kept seeing this type of cheese everywhere and were intrigued by it. Our server told us it is very popular in desserts because it has a carmel-y flavor. We really liked it and were glad we can say we've tried it.
And finally, because we were content, we ordered a flight of Aquavit- 4 modern flavors to sip. One was salted popcorn, one was herbal, one was dill and one was Christmas spice. Evan and I looked like we were sipping alcohol for the first time in our lives when we tried them! While we appreciate the tradition, after we each sampled a sip of each aquavit, we shot the rest quickly to finish them off. Cross your fingers no one saw.
One of the other servers came to our table to ask how we liked the aquavit- he was maybe 19? He told us all about how the traditional flavors are all basically made the same way, they're just aged for different amounts of time. He said the modern ones are newer (shocker). When I asked if each family had their own recipe, much like the raki makers in Albania, he said no. It's illegal to make your own alcohol in Norway and making the aquavit is a really difficult process. He also told us that once you graduate high school it's tradition to pimp out a bus with all of your friends and decorate it, add speakers and alcohol and then throw a week long party. The buses used to move from place to place over the week but now the buses stay in one spot for safety. Then the kids leave for university and try to sell the bus to the group of kids one year below them. What an interesting tradition.
After leaving the restaurant we came across a pub with a guitarist/singer so we listened to some live music (one of my most favorite things to do!) before heading home for the evening.
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