Norway for my 40th, Am I completely barking?
Discussion
After visiting Bergen, Norway around 8 years back I am considering going back for a long weekend for my big 4-0 which is this year.
I loved the place and the people however I remember it was eyewateringly expensive, drinks were over 7 quid a pint (or 0.4litre) or thereabouts and even a sandwich at a Greggs type shop was a fiver.
So I'm considering going and seeing as there will be drink involved i ask am i absolutely barking to consider going here instead of somewhere else.
I've also considered going to Copenhagen and Talinn as an alternative but i have to say i did love Norway and my only regret I didn't see enough of it.
Any pointers or tips appreciated.
Cheers.
I loved the place and the people however I remember it was eyewateringly expensive, drinks were over 7 quid a pint (or 0.4litre) or thereabouts and even a sandwich at a Greggs type shop was a fiver.
So I'm considering going and seeing as there will be drink involved i ask am i absolutely barking to consider going here instead of somewhere else.
I've also considered going to Copenhagen and Talinn as an alternative but i have to say i did love Norway and my only regret I didn't see enough of it.
Any pointers or tips appreciated.
Cheers.
You are barking! 
We are on the last few days in Saariselka in Finnish Lapland having been here since Sunday night and it is eyewateringly beautiful and whilst drinks are not cheap it being in the EU and with 40kgs baggage between the fiancee and I and the shop at Gatwick we were able to bring a bottle of spirits each, one of port and some bubbly for tomorrow night.
We´ve been huskey sledging, x country skiing, skidoos, snowshoeing and loads of walking in the national park.
We thought that the Icelanders were great when we went last year but have been made even more welcome here, if that was possible!
We have a rule to try not to return to the same place twice on holidays(other than LM and N´ring)but are struggling not to make plans to return here next year!
We are on the last few days in Saariselka in Finnish Lapland having been here since Sunday night and it is eyewateringly beautiful and whilst drinks are not cheap it being in the EU and with 40kgs baggage between the fiancee and I and the shop at Gatwick we were able to bring a bottle of spirits each, one of port and some bubbly for tomorrow night.
We´ve been huskey sledging, x country skiing, skidoos, snowshoeing and loads of walking in the national park.
We thought that the Icelanders were great when we went last year but have been made even more welcome here, if that was possible!
We have a rule to try not to return to the same place twice on holidays(other than LM and N´ring)but are struggling not to make plans to return here next year!
I drove here from oslo a few years ago...
http://www.vestlia.no/
Pick your route carefully and its better than any of the ice driving courses you'd pay for!
http://www.vestlia.no/
Pick your route carefully and its better than any of the ice driving courses you'd pay for!
Ok i made Bergen and I loved it.
Ok why Norway for my upcoming 40th?
Almost every person I had told about this trip has asked why?
A few reasons, Firstly I'd been before around 8 years ago, Loved it and have always hankered after returning to Bergen because its picturesque and the Norwegians unlike a lot of countries genuinely love the English, Secondly, I've done the whole Spain malarky and simply didn't want to go somewhere for a weekend break where they're loads of pee'd up Brits on stag do's so that ruled out places like Prague, Amsterdam and some eastern block countries. You tend to find when a place becomes awash with Brits who are only there purely to get drunk and try and pull the local women then the locals tend to despise you, and to be honest that sort of holiday simply does not appeal anymore although I like to sink a few beverages.
We flew into Bergen airport at a quarter past midnight and because we didn't want to pay for another night in a hotel but more to the point we didn't want to pay 70-80 quid in a cab meant we slept in the airport (well I grabbed 40 winks) until the buses started running in the morning
At least at the airport they seem to have a sense of humour with the toilets, I found this quite funny....
So to Bergen.
Bergen is quite a rainly city and is I think Norways second largest city. Norway is an extremely rich country because of its natural oil and gas although what a lot of people dont know I was told the majority of this wealth has been saved for future generations as they know one day this will run out.
As i've said Norway is very very expensive, A drink is between 70-100Kr - 100Kr is 11 quid, In fact my pal bought a round in one bar and it was 38 quid for 3 drinks, Although on our last night (Sunday) we found a club that sold every drink for 33Kr - so needless to say we took full advantage of that.
You get 7 Eleven's all over where you can get cheaper stuff to eat but even so a panini is 4 quid.
Eating at places like Burger King its still 11 quid for a whopper meal.
A couple of things I discovered about the locals, They love a drink and they love to smoke - because cigs are over 11 quid a pack a high proportion of Norwegians chew tobacco pouches which I simply find disgusting, A really pretty young girl we got speaking to offered one to my friend when in a bar and ok each to their own but that is a habit I simply cant understand.
Our hotel (Augustin) was towards the budget end of the hotel chainm still expensive compared to blighty but considering it was meant to be a budget hotel the rooms were clean, comfortable and the lounge was a nice place to sit about and grab a coffee.
Breakfast was included but if you expected a fry up think again, It was cold meat and fish including salmon and pickled herring...
Ok so whats it like for a night out?
Restaurants are very expensive, a 3 course meal is 40-50 quid and you're lucky to get change out of 25 quid for a main course but we did find a place that did an all you can eat pizza for about 15 quid and it was very nice.
Beer like I said earlier is ridiculous, The first night we was there I went through 110 quid, Plus they normally sell beer by 0.4 litre and not always a pint (alhough some places sell this as 0.6 litre but again its more expensive)
The first night we went around the harbour and it was good but a little rowdy and had a few tourist including some noisy Americans, It was a good night but not a great night, we got drunk to compensate. My pals got chatting to a couple of women but thats as far as they got, I stood by the bar and smiled.
Its nice not being single and not having any pressure to 'pull'
The next day it lashed it down and I mean lashed it down to the degree where the street was almost like a river, This wasn't too bad as we were a complete waste of space for most of the day and we realised we're not 18 anymore.
Later on we spoke to the girl behind the counter of the hotel who was really nice and we got chatting about stuff, my kid and her life in Norway with her BF who was from Peru and I got loads of info about Norway and how they live etc. I asked about a good night out and she advised us to stay away from the harbour as it was expensive, full of tourists and in her words 'had a strange crowd' so she advised us to head into the centre.
We hit this bar and I felt as ease straight away plus for a round of 3 drinks it was over 10 quid cheaper than the place the night before. We went to the bar next door (Calibar) which had a dancefloor downstairs and I couldn't believe what I saw....
Seriously I have never in all my life witnessed a collection of good looking people like this, I'd say 50% were simply stunning and you could tell decended from the viking bloodline. A girl picked up on my mates English accent in the queue and struck up a converstaion, She could have been on the catwalk.
Being English makes you stand out and girls want to find out more about you.
I was simply astounded at how good looking this race of people was - I joked to my mates saying 'could you imagine transporting this lot into our local'
I'd heard all about the blondes and the viking jokes but seriously they are by far in a different league to people over here.
Anyway enough of that the next day we went up the Fløibanen (I copied that bit) which is a tram that goes up to mount Fløyen http://www.floibanen.com/
This costs just under a tenner, but is well worth it for the view. We got to the top and took some pictures but my pal decided that we were gonna walk right to the very top, To say I was knackered was and undertatement but it was worth it for the views.
A great trip and I did it on a relative budget for less than £600 all in.
Very expensive for the little time we were there but worth every penny.
Recommended.
Ok why Norway for my upcoming 40th?
Almost every person I had told about this trip has asked why?
A few reasons, Firstly I'd been before around 8 years ago, Loved it and have always hankered after returning to Bergen because its picturesque and the Norwegians unlike a lot of countries genuinely love the English, Secondly, I've done the whole Spain malarky and simply didn't want to go somewhere for a weekend break where they're loads of pee'd up Brits on stag do's so that ruled out places like Prague, Amsterdam and some eastern block countries. You tend to find when a place becomes awash with Brits who are only there purely to get drunk and try and pull the local women then the locals tend to despise you, and to be honest that sort of holiday simply does not appeal anymore although I like to sink a few beverages.
We flew into Bergen airport at a quarter past midnight and because we didn't want to pay for another night in a hotel but more to the point we didn't want to pay 70-80 quid in a cab meant we slept in the airport (well I grabbed 40 winks) until the buses started running in the morning
At least at the airport they seem to have a sense of humour with the toilets, I found this quite funny....
So to Bergen.
Bergen is quite a rainly city and is I think Norways second largest city. Norway is an extremely rich country because of its natural oil and gas although what a lot of people dont know I was told the majority of this wealth has been saved for future generations as they know one day this will run out.
As i've said Norway is very very expensive, A drink is between 70-100Kr - 100Kr is 11 quid, In fact my pal bought a round in one bar and it was 38 quid for 3 drinks, Although on our last night (Sunday) we found a club that sold every drink for 33Kr - so needless to say we took full advantage of that.
You get 7 Eleven's all over where you can get cheaper stuff to eat but even so a panini is 4 quid.
Eating at places like Burger King its still 11 quid for a whopper meal.
A couple of things I discovered about the locals, They love a drink and they love to smoke - because cigs are over 11 quid a pack a high proportion of Norwegians chew tobacco pouches which I simply find disgusting, A really pretty young girl we got speaking to offered one to my friend when in a bar and ok each to their own but that is a habit I simply cant understand.
Our hotel (Augustin) was towards the budget end of the hotel chainm still expensive compared to blighty but considering it was meant to be a budget hotel the rooms were clean, comfortable and the lounge was a nice place to sit about and grab a coffee.
Breakfast was included but if you expected a fry up think again, It was cold meat and fish including salmon and pickled herring...
Ok so whats it like for a night out?
Restaurants are very expensive, a 3 course meal is 40-50 quid and you're lucky to get change out of 25 quid for a main course but we did find a place that did an all you can eat pizza for about 15 quid and it was very nice.
Beer like I said earlier is ridiculous, The first night we was there I went through 110 quid, Plus they normally sell beer by 0.4 litre and not always a pint (alhough some places sell this as 0.6 litre but again its more expensive)
The first night we went around the harbour and it was good but a little rowdy and had a few tourist including some noisy Americans, It was a good night but not a great night, we got drunk to compensate. My pals got chatting to a couple of women but thats as far as they got, I stood by the bar and smiled.
Its nice not being single and not having any pressure to 'pull'
The next day it lashed it down and I mean lashed it down to the degree where the street was almost like a river, This wasn't too bad as we were a complete waste of space for most of the day and we realised we're not 18 anymore.
Later on we spoke to the girl behind the counter of the hotel who was really nice and we got chatting about stuff, my kid and her life in Norway with her BF who was from Peru and I got loads of info about Norway and how they live etc. I asked about a good night out and she advised us to stay away from the harbour as it was expensive, full of tourists and in her words 'had a strange crowd' so she advised us to head into the centre.
We hit this bar and I felt as ease straight away plus for a round of 3 drinks it was over 10 quid cheaper than the place the night before. We went to the bar next door (Calibar) which had a dancefloor downstairs and I couldn't believe what I saw....
Seriously I have never in all my life witnessed a collection of good looking people like this, I'd say 50% were simply stunning and you could tell decended from the viking bloodline. A girl picked up on my mates English accent in the queue and struck up a converstaion, She could have been on the catwalk.
Being English makes you stand out and girls want to find out more about you.
I was simply astounded at how good looking this race of people was - I joked to my mates saying 'could you imagine transporting this lot into our local'
I'd heard all about the blondes and the viking jokes but seriously they are by far in a different league to people over here.
Anyway enough of that the next day we went up the Fløibanen (I copied that bit) which is a tram that goes up to mount Fløyen http://www.floibanen.com/
This costs just under a tenner, but is well worth it for the view. We got to the top and took some pictures but my pal decided that we were gonna walk right to the very top, To say I was knackered was and undertatement but it was worth it for the views.
A great trip and I did it on a relative budget for less than £600 all in.
Very expensive for the little time we were there but worth every penny.
Recommended.
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