In Bergen, where I only spent one night, I decided that I wanted to use my time to go for a long hike, instead of walking around the city. I got directions at the tourist center and woke up early (but late enough that it was a little light) the next morning and made my way to the closest mountain where a tram takes you to a lookout where most of the trails begin. I found myself alone with the snow, hiking on a newly white trial with only the sounds of nature around me. I had forgotten how much I miss the mountains and hiking in nature, since I have been living in the flat farmland of Southern Sweden for five months now. I felt at home in the mountains even though it was cold and my foot broke through some ice a few times.
I took a wrong trial for a while; I think that I was actually following a streambed for a while instead of the trail, but by the time I figured it out and got back on the main trail a couple had passed me and I was relieved to have footprints to follow from there on. The visibility was fantastic when I started off, and I could look out at all of Bergen and could understand how this place has come to be known as “the gateway to the fjords.” By the time I got to the top of the mountain though, the heavy clouds and snow had engulfed the whole area and I just had to work to keep the tracks in front of me in view. The white serenity was beautiful and I would have stopped to enjoy it if the temperature was a little warmer.
I made it back to a more popular trial and tried to find a cabin to eat my lunch in where I didn’t have to worry about freezing, but instead met a group of old Norwegian men who hike together every Tuesday all year long. They were so impressed that I was hiking alone and told me all about the area as I hiked with them to a cabin of their suggestion. I left them at a fork in the trail with directions to a heated cabin, and was glad to have had some company along the way. The heated cabin was amazing, but there was an even bigger group of older people who also hike together on Tuesdays. It must be a common activity among the retired population, and I’m sure it keeps them all in good health.
My whole hike took about four hours, and I felt so refreshed after spending the morning and early afternoon outside. After walking around the city a little bit when I got back, the chilly winds off of the water started to get to me, so I picked up a ridiculously expensive hot chocolate and headed back to the hostel where I stayed the night before and left my bag. I spend the evening in the hostel’s living room before the night train left back to Oslo on my way back to Lund. The train rides home were so long and I just tried to sleep, so I’m sure I missed out on some fantastic views, but I was so tired from my week-long exploration.
Conclusion: traveling alone is an experience that I would highly recommend, but I cannot say that I will have a strong desire to do it again any time soon.
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