Traveling somewhere in Norway or in Europe in general?
Most people would probably use and prefer an airplane as their first choice of transportation. But did you know that you can also travel at ease with a train?
(DISCLAIMER: This is not a paid advertisement, just my honest reviews)
I wondered the same. I have been living here in Norway since 2011 but have neither tried a regional train nor visited Bergen. So that's what I did. Let me share to you how the trip went...
Norges Statsbaner AS, trading as NSB AS and known in English as the Norwegian State Railways, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services in Norway.
NSB operates the following routes:
Bergen-Oslo (Bergen Line)
Trondheim–Bodø (Norway-North-Line)
Fauske- Narvik (NSB-Bus)- Stockholm (Train) (Sweden)
Narvik-Tromsø (NSB-Bus)
Trondheim–Östersund (Sweden) (Meråker Line)
Trondheim–Røros (Røros Line)
Trondheim–Oslo (Dovre Line)
Røros–Hamar (Røros Line)
Dombås–Åndalsnes (Rauma Line
Miss K had an appointment and agreed to meet her in Bergen. Although trains usually takes longer time to travel, I was excited to experience it and see the autumn vibes in West Norway this year.
I live in Hokksund which by the way, has a direct train to Bergen. Awesome, right?
NSB Trains in Norway has it's own free Mobile App for passengers where you can see the train schedules and buy tickets directly. They have 3 Classes to choose from; NSB Comfort, NSB Family and NSB Ordinary. They also have a place where you can sleep if it's overnight but I didn't tried that.
The tickets are insanely cheap!! Mind you. One way from my place to Bergen is only 249.-kr/30 USD if you book it early. The price hikes up under 2 weeks bracket upon departure.
I ordered my tickets, packed my bag and I'm off to Bergen in a 6 hours train ride.
You also need to pick your seat through the app. I chose a window seat of-course but... (DRAMA BEGINS) someone else was already seated on my reserved place. She was seating so comfortably there so I just sat next to her.
Unfortunately, I didn't had the guts to say "Uhm, excuse me, you are seated on my seat". She was almost asleep that time and I felt kind-of rude to ask her to leave, so I just let it be.
I battled with, "I really want to seat next to the window and I don't have the guts to ask her to go". I comforted myself with the thought that she MIGHT be going off soon but, she didn't! HAHA she was also bound to BERGEN!
Well, I just charged it to the experience and learned from that.
Aside from that drama, the travel was, overall, good. Plenty of leg space and the regional trains also has this cute cafeteria where you can buy your coffee and food. They also have FREE WIFI which makes the ride enjoyable if you prefer to watch something online than the scenery - I did both.
Touchdown, Bergen
We stayed at Magic Hotel Solheimsviken, which we also recommend if you plan to go there.
We came across this restaurant PINK FISH right in the heart of Bergen
The food was excellent, affordable and nutritious. I can't wait to be back! I still dream of that soup.
Overall, my experience with the train and being in Bergen was a blast. We took the chance to celebrate the first month of K-Opencloset Blog.
It started as a dream for Miss K and a vision for me and I can say that, we are proud of her and what we have accomplished together so far. Thank you for the support, guys!
XO,
Miss K & Miss M