From Tyinkrysset to Bergen: Norway Tunnel Extravaganza
November 1, 2023
We returned to the Hytte in Tyinkrysset, sadly without Anne this time for a quick hit of winter after some business in Oslo. It is always magical to visit the hytte.
We did some day hiking this time, but no major adventures. It was just nice to cook, talk, and drink a negroni or two.
On the first day hike, we went down into the valley (and then back up). We discovered a body in the woods.
But Gøran was not phased.
She was quickly revived.
A second hike the next day was more wintery. What we thought was a light dusting was actually 6 or 7 inches of snow.
I guess that was really an adventure!
After warming back up at the cabin, the boys headed to up the hill.
The hytte can actually be seen in this picture just over the snow bush.
A hike into town yielded a delicious risotto.
And then it was off to Bergen through 51 tunnels (we kept meticulous count).
A ride up to the top at sunset was absolutely magical.
The Rock Band
Back to the Hytte in Tyinkrysset, Norway: Celebrating 20 Years
November 11, 2022
We began in Bergen and made a side trip to Fondsbu on the way to Tyinkrysset. Well maybe we started in Bergen. Nobody seems quite sure.
We’re visiting Norway again (having lost count of our numerous visits) and the swanky new hytte where we spent some restorative time last year. The cabin is a magical domain of peace, conversation and easy access to lots of great hiking and skiing. Gøran and I are lucky to have known eachother for 20 years!
Read more about our side trip to Fondsbu here.
Nova was in the house, and on the trail, and in the car. Superstar!
The back yard where some hiking is as easy as walking out the door. Read more about our back yard hikes here. After the wild night and Fondsbu we stuck mostly to the back yard on the first day. LOL. Recovery mode for the old men.
The torrent (a small fast creek) beside the cabin features the second biggest backwards waterfall in Norway. We’ll tell you more about the biggest one below.
A return trip to catch the full moon over Fondsbu the next evening was not a success—too cloudy. The cold crisp air was beautiful at the top of the range.
The photographer at work.
Some maintenance for the snow plow? That’s what we were told, anyway.
And then a trip to see the backwards waterfall. Even the stuff by the side of the road is remarkable in the Norwegian mountains. We made a short stop on the Kongesvegen to see some old mill houses.
Romey at peak Fall.
It was remarkable how much the colors outside changed with the elevation. Peaking just a few kilometers away and well past peak and into winter at the hytte. One night the water froze.
The backwards waterfall itself was, well, just a backwards waterfall! Much fun was had. Read more about that here.
A herd of reindeer showed us the way.
We determined last year that gøran and I had known each other for 20 years. We celebrated our friendship with some bubbles (anne’s favorite).
The next day we did a more extensive hike on the Kongevegen to the a stave church built in the 1180s. Both the road and the church are incredible. Read more about our kongevegen hike here.
Then some cabin time.
A more extensive back yard exploration is always in order.
The next day we went on a spectacular hike and almost made it to see Vettisfossen. So close! And yet so far. Absolutely stunning scenery.
So with just the right amount of cooking (including the ever popular lunch for breakfast), a nice round number of negronis, a few bottles of bubbly, actual hot showers (well, one anyway), some fun with music, and a bunch of incredible hiking, we were left wanting more. As always.
We left our old well-travelled boots behind with our hearts.
There is nothing better than adventures with dear friends.
Hotel Bergen Børs (Bergen, Norway)
December 2, 2021
What a difference a pandemic makes. Having been to Bergen many many times (13??), NPS was pretty skeptical about the hotel situation. But lo and behold, while we were trapped in the United States, a new hotel opened up and not only is it a good one, but it also houses the first Michelin star restaurant in Bergen. A great combination!
We stayed in room 440 which was a “loft suite.” I think in the future we would choose another type of suite, but we were in the hotel for just a few days before joining our friends at their house for the weekend.
Hotel Bergen Børs from the street
The hotel is situated in an ideal location in town. Close to the touristy old town, a few hundred steps from the funicular, 8 minutes from the train station, and close to the museums.
Bed in the loft
The electricity situation in 440 is confusing (at best) and difficult to use. Took me 2 days to figure it out. This makes waking up to head down the steep stairs to the bathroom a challenge if you don’t want to awaken your partner.
The very steep stairs
Sitting area
The sitting area is interrupted by beams from the ceiling, which is kinda cool and kinda a pain in the ass. Fortunately, we didn’t really spend all that much time in the hotel.
The bathroom is on the small side, but it has a great shower.
Glass, good pressure, and plenty of hot water. Just what NPS ordered.
All in all, the decor and the flooring is on the cheap side (a real problem in Bergen). Still looking for a hotel with well-appointed design executed without a mind to expense. This is not it. I guess, like the stock exchange, it’s all ups and downs.
Breakfast was superb. We enjoyed chatting with Delia each morning. The breakfast area also serves as the Bare restaurant.
A visit to Bare took some doing as they are typically booked out many months. NPS was able to secure a table with some persuasion. The dinner was world class. Read about the meal here.
Dinner at Bare is well worth the expense
We did Norway in a Nutshell on our first day in town. See the entry here. The weather was perfect and so was the timing. Just wow.
Norway in a nutshell
We also visited Kore. See this entry about that.
Munch of course
It is raining in Bergen. This is not at all surprising in any way. pic.twitter.com/j1Nn4kCSuo
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 24, 2021
Make sure to have a coffee and some cake at Det Lille Kaffe Kompaniet. Really great.
Success cake
Since the funicular was closed for renovation, we walked up to the top instead. More about that here. Sadly, No Stress bar is no longer as cool as it once was. But they still serve a mean Negroni.
On the last day in town, we took the new gondola up to the top of the TV mountain. Gorgeous. More about that trip here.
Top @kabaakh pic.twitter.com/kddrzYeu4J
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 27, 2021
Just yesterday pic.twitter.com/RsFprrXwzj
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 28, 2021
All in all, this visit to Bergen was tops. Thanks to our good friends Gøran and Anne for hosting our last couple of nights.
We travelled 3682.867 miles to avoid US dead turkey day and then our good friends made it happen anyway. LOL.
Maybe Antarctica next year. https://t.co/D8wDF7As79 pic.twitter.com/m29x4SdPmW
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 28, 2021
Bergen is wonderful and the Børs hotel (the best yet) earns a high four showerheads.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t bergen?
No longer clear where we are pic.twitter.com/oZHz8NV85o
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 28, 2021
Back to Bergen and the very Basics Klosterhagen Hotell
April 26, 2016
When you start your trip at the Mondrian in London, swing through the Golden Well in Prague, upgrade yourself at the Hotel Teatro Christiana in Oslo, it is not really the right context or set of expectations for arrival at Klosterhagen Hotell. For sure the staff is super friendly and the place is clean and nice, but it is a budget hotel and not really what we’re looking for here at NPS.
Norway in a Nutshell Fjord
On the positive side, we spent a day cram packed with travel on the Norway in a Nutshell tour. We were joined on the second half of the tour by some great friends and spent the entire trip talking and laughing. We were stymied by the fact that beer was not served on the fjord boat until May 1st (a very ridiculous and slightly too Norwegian thing). But we had a great time anyway watching the Japanese tourists feed the flying rats.
After dropping our bags from the Leaf at the hotel, we had a very nice dinner indeed at Bryggeloftet & Stuene Restaurant right on the waterfront and serving dinner since 1910. Excellent Norwegian cuisine.
Akavit from Bergen
Bergen turns out to be a very hard place to find an upscale boutique. We know, because we have been here multiple times, usually landing at the Scandic for some conference or other. So we were up for a change of venue at the Klosterhagen Hotell and it is a good time to experiment we hear because there is some kind of mysterious hotel workers strike escalating in town mostly in the chains like Radisson. That did mean we only got one room instead of two (the town is packed), but really the room was so tiny that adding another body was no big deal. Yes, we’re spoiled and we intend to stay that way.
We were assigned tiny room 209. The room numbering system is inventive and quirky.
The bed in 209 with inches to spare on either side
A nice non-plastic shower
The rest of the tiny bathroom
Spartan breakfast room
Things to fix:
cold eggs in the morning
super flaky net that requires re-authentication way too often
very thin towels that add to two and not three
thin veneer of flooring in rooms and common areas
an espresso machine that has seen better days
that mysterious plastic thing in the shower
What IS this thing?
Checkin desk
Things to keep as they are
super friendly Bergen people
color scheme
location
very nice shower (needs a bigger bathroom to live in)
To add to the fun, Tuesday is garbage day, and that starts around 7am. Yays.
Anyway three showerheads for the Klosterhagen Hotell which is very nice, but not in the big leagues.
No Stress: Carousing in Bergen
March 15, 2014
carouse |kəˈrouz|
verb [ no obj. ]
drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way: they danced and caroused until the drink ran out | (as noun carousing) : a night of carousing.
No Stress staff in action on a stressful Friday
Yes, even the Norwegians like to carouse. The best place to do it in Bergen is the No Stress bar (mentioned in a previous post). Once you find a place like that, you must return—even if it is Friday night.
The bar was way more crowded and raucous, and I am not sure that the people behind it were not stressed. But boy was it fun.
They are almost out of Pappy van Winkle 20. Alas.
Gøran watches the watcher
We also had a Pisco Sour, a Last Word, and some fernet branca—all classics. Video and pictures through google glass.
Isaac Staflin created a challenge cocktail we’ll call the First Time (since it has cherry and is Gøran’s first cocktail):
2 cl Heering
2 cl Gin (try swapping in Genever for more complexity)
2 dashes simple syrup
2 cl lemon juice
Rinse the glass with a smokey whiskey and angostura bitters. Shake and serve up. Flame a lemon peel and drop in. (Could also use a real luxardo cherry in the bottom.)
Scandic City Hotel Bergen, Norway
March 12, 2014
Bergen is a beautiful city of 250,000 surrounded by mountains and water. It’s a fantastic place to visit.
Bergen in the morning
Unlike Bergen, the Scandic hotel in the city (there is one at the airport too) is a bit generic for our tastes on this blog. I suppose Scandic is the Marriott of Scandenavia. Marriotts are something we avoid.
The bed has strange Norwegian bed fittings. Fun.
I am in 757, which according to the map on the door seems to be a representative room. The room is clean and nice, but worn. Think beautiful lines with pockmarks and cracks. There are some nice features, including free decent wifi and power by the bed. But there are things that need repair and/or replacement. For example there is a broken tile in the bathroom on the tub and a lingering mildew smell in the air.
Work pod with plenty of power.
A candy welcome amenity falls squarely in the Marriott category. It’s nice that they stopped by 7-11 so you don’t have to. But candy bar? OK.
Amentity?
Euro-shower = non-plastic. The most interesting feature is the security disaster that is generic shared soap dispensers. Nair? Poison? Ink? Norwegians just don’t think that way.
However, such a trusting nature does lead to real hangers (of which we approve).
The hangers trust you.
All in all a very low four showerheads for the Scandic. I’ve been here before mostly because it is a conference hotel in the city. There have got to be better places to stay in Bergen though.
Then again, the barman at the Scandic introduced us to Tesseron Extreme Cognac, a pricey but delicious elixer whose oldest components hail from 1906–>1858 range.
A late dinner at Sumo was workaday. Fine sushi, but nothing to write home about.
We will throw in an absolute gem in Bergen to round things out and end on a high note. The No Stress bar is super fantastic. Expert bartender Tessa Ostervold caused us to have a delightful evening after the noisy conference dinner. Thanks Tessa. Among other shenanigans, we concocted the OK Glass Cocktail as follows:
5 cl Blanton’s bourbon
2 cl Dolin’s red
1 sugarcube soaked in Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters
2 t of fernet branca
Shake. Serve up. Garnish with an orange peel expressed.
Tessa
There was pappy 20.
Pappy van Winkle 20 bourbon
Did I say super fantastic? I’ll be back. (And rumor has it that Tessa may open her own place in Bergen one day.)
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