With around 300,000 citizens, Bergen isn’t Europe’s most populous city, but it’s still plenty lively with a lot to see around the city! Some of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most about living in Bergen are its frequent festivals and many museums.

After hiking Sandviksfjellet Mountain in early September, my roommates and I descended the mountain back into the city center where the Bergen Matfestival (food festival) was taking place. It was a rare sunny day in Bergen, and the whole city center was bustling with people and activity. The festival was like a giant version of Columbia’s own Saturday Farmers Market but with tons of local Norwegian produce and foods and educational exhibits. Stands were selling everything from local honey to fjord-grown strawberries to reindeer hotdogs. Meanwhile, there were educational areas with chefs demonstrating how to prepare Norwegian dishes, fishermen showing off a massive bluefin tuna head, and a food bank teaching kids how to turn potential food waste into delicious banana pancakes.

A few weeks later, I volunteered at the weekend-long Bergen Ølfestival (beer festival) where breweries across Norway came to compete for the spot of “best beer” and where thousands of locals came to sample their hard work. I worked with a few friends and roommates, and we spent one day signing people into the festival, chatting with attendees, and generally acting as a bulwark against those who had indulged a little too much. The next day, we had the opportunity ourselves to try the drinks and food for free, courtesy of the Ølfestival for our work the previous day.

Both of these festivals were really exciting and gave me more of a sense for Bergen’s local community and culture. The excitement and energy of the two events were amazing, but I also found a lot to enjoy in the more serene parts of Bergen.

At the start of autumn, I visited Edvard Grieg’s historical home and museum in the southern part of Bergen. Grieg was a famous Norwegian pianist and composer from Bergen in the 1800s. His statues can be found around the city, and many places like Bergen’s Grieg Concert Hall are named after him. His home was an incredibly peaceful place tucked away on an isolated road within an actual modern neighborhood. The house is built on a hill near a lake, and I was also able to visit Grieg’s composer hut down by the water where he wrote famous works like Morning Mood. On the other side of the hill was a beautiful rocky natural harbor along with Edvard and Nina Grieg’s resting places built into the hill itself.

Another peaceful place was the Gamle Bergen Museum, essentially an open-air museum of old historical buildings. The buildings and land were privately owned by a local family through the 1800s and was all converted to a museum in the mid-1900s. The area showed off old cobbled streets, a harbor area, a family manor, and a small town with a bakery, candy shop, dentist, etc.

For those thinking about coming to Bergen, I’d highly recommend getting involved in the community by volunteering or even just by going to one of its many festivals. At the time of writing, today is the start of the nine day long International Film Festival of Bergen, the largest film event in Norway, which I’m planning to go to with a few friends. I would also suggest getting to know Bergen’s historical sites, like Grieg’s home, Gamle Museum, Bryggen, or one of the many old churches and fortresses scattered around the city. These experiences are all great for learning more about the city, its culture and rich history, and its people.

---

Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: University of Bergen