Mount Fløyen
The bit of the North Sea that Bergen is on looks more like a wide river because of the large islands between Bergen and the open sea. Mountains and hills surround the city on the mainland and the islands. One of those mountains is Mount Fløyen. But first, a musical interlude.
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been hereHere comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun
George Harrison, 1969
And I say it’s all right
This morning, I took a funicular (called the Fløibanen) up roughly 300 metres, about 1,000 feet, to near the summit of Mount Fløyen. By a miracle created by one god or another, there was considerable blue in the sky today, and the sun shone, little darling, something I’ve seen precious little of during this trip since leaving Oslo.
Funicular up Mount Fløyen
The funicular up Mount Fløyen is a single-track line for most of the way, but there’s a short double-track section where the two cars, one going up while the other comes down, can pass each other without stopping.
I experienced a similar track system on a recent visit to Capri, Italy. Being an easily impressed person, I commented on the design in one of my Capri entries in this journal.
The cars of the funicular on Mount Fløyen are pretty snazzy. There are large, tinted windows on the sides, back, and front. And there are slightly arced, tinted glass roofs. Because the funicular travels at a steep angle, some of the best views of down below are through the roof.
The ride up was fast and nonstop. I didn’t time it, but I’m guessing it wasn’t much more than a couple of minutes.
There are at least a couple of ways to go up and down Mount Fløyen. There is, of course, the Fløibanen, but there are also hiking trails. I could have bought a one-way funicular ticket and hiked the mountain in the other direction.
I took the funicular in both directions for a few reasons. A) I have an afternoon activity booked with a fixed start time and I wanted to be sure I made it back in time. B) Each way involves about a three-kilometre hike with 300 metres of elevation change and I’m 71. And, C), and this one’s related to (B), I wanted to maintain a reasonably high probability of living to see another day. Did I mention that I’m 71? I forget.
There is also a road up the mountain. But I don’t know if it’s open to private vehicles and/or public transportation. I saw only a couple of service vehicles up top. Perhaps there’s a parking lot a little below the summit that I didn’t see.
One of my guidebooks recommends buying a funicular ticket online because the line for the onsite ticket purchase window can be long, particularly if there’s a cruise ship in town. I followed the book’s advice. But when I arrived at the lower station, a little before 9:30 in the morning, there were only a few people in line to buy tickets and roughly the same number with tickets waiting for the funicular. We all easily fit on the next one.
Atop Mount Fløyen
Near the top station of the funicular, there are viewing terraces, washrooms, a restaurant, a cafe, and a children’s playground. Beyond that, there are a series of well-signed, interconnected short and long hiking trails around the summit of Mount Fløyen, including the start of the trails heading down the mountain.
I began by taking in the views from the terraces. The vistas are spectacular. They, alone, are worth the journey up Mount Fløyen. You can see all of Bergen down below, the harbour, the channel of the North Sea in front of Bergen, the islands behind that, and a glimpse of the open North Sea beyond that.
Other people were taking in the views when I was there, but there weren’t hordes.
After spending time enjoying the splendour of the panoramas, I took a bit of a hike on some of the trails.
The trails took me through lovely forests and to a small mountaintop lake, Skomakerdiket. It is gorgeous.
It was placid, with a mirror-smooth surface. Water lilies with buds of yellow looking like they were itching to blossom covered a portion of the lake.
I sat on a bench at the other end of the lake from the water lilies and watched some ducks calmly paddle across the lake, creating gentle v-shaped ripples in their wake.
While I sat, a small bird hopped along the ground to me and cheeped loudly when it got close. I imagine people are one of its food sources. I had nothing to give it and it hopped off after half a minute or so. It’s a pity it didn’t stay longer. I would have liked to become better acquainted, but I suppose it makes friends only with people who provide food. How rude!
In addition to sitting and contemplating the beauty of the lake, I also walked around its small circumference
If you’re looking for an enjoyable way to spend a brief period of your retirement, I highly recommend spending a little time at Skomakerdiket.
After leaving Skomakerdiket, I hiked around some of the other trails and came to another little lake, Revurtjernet. It too was peaceful, with a smooth surface. There were no water lilies at this lake, but some grasses growing out of the water lined some of the areas close to the shore.
The path around Revurtjernet was much more rugged than at Skomakerdiket. In some places, the path consisted of rocks occurring naturally, not specifically placed to provide easy walking surfaces. In some places it was mud, but usually, by coincidence, there were enough rocks or tree roots that I was able to pass with minimal mud on my shoes.
On the far side of the lake, there’s a slight hill. Up it, there’s another smaller lake. The land creates a natural dam, keeping the upper lake filled and independent. I didn’t see a name for the upper lake either on a sign or on Google Maps.
There weren’t many sitting places around the lower lake, and none on the upper one. And what there was was occupied when I was there. So, after walking the circumference and spending some time standing and staring at the lake, I moved on, slowly making my way back to the upper funicular station.
Close to the funicular station, I spotted a large troll statue in the woods. I learned later that it’s known as a troll forest, so there must be other troll statues around.
I had planned to have lunch in the restaurant or cafe at the top of Mount Fløyen. But when I got back to the upper funicular station and the nearby facilities, it was jam-packed with people. I decided that trying to eat up there might be a losing experience. Instead, I took the funicular back down to grab a bite in town.
Funicular Down Mount Fløyenn
Much to my surprise, the funicular ride down Mount Fløyen differed from the ride up. On the way up, the trip was non-stop and fast. On the way down, the funicular stopped at two intermediate stations on the slope of Mount Fløyen. Plus, there was one brief stop near the top where there was no station. I imagine that that stop was when the funicular on the way up made a stop at one of the stations. The two funicular cars are connected by cable, so if one stops, the other one has to stop as well.
I hadn’t noticed passing the intermediate stations on the way up. But I didn’t spend much time looking out the side windows then. My focus was primarily on the view out of the glass roof. I must have missed the stations through inattention. I seriously doubt they had enough time to build them while I was atop Mount Fløyen.
When I got to the bottom, I was glad I went up when I did. There was a large, tightly packed line of ticket holders waiting for the funicular and another long line of people waiting to buy tickets. Just eyeballing it, I think that it would take at least two funicular departures to accommodate solely the line of ticket holders.
There was a cruise ship in port today. Maybe that explains the crowds waiting for the funicular.
If you’re ever in Bergen on at least a halfway decent day*, I highly recommend going to the top of Mount Fløyen. It was spectacular.
* I was told by a local that today’s weather was a rare beautiful day. That same person, a tour guide you’ll hear about when I post this afternoon’s entry, said that Bergen averages about 240 days of rain a year.
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Wowie wow wow wow! That was beautiful. And there is nothing I like near as much as a (smallish) boat ride than a funicular. But you know that, don’t you? You wonder whether there are more troll statues in the troll forest to be found, but I wondered if that was the right question. After all it was a ‘troll forest,’ so wouldn’t the more appropriate question be whether it was the trolls who put up the statue or troll-friendly people who put it up for the their enjoyment? Speaking of questions, with an average of 240 days of rain, I am even more baffled about the practicalities of laying down wooden streets in Bergen. Unless the rapid growth of timber fostered by all that rain makes the question of frequent replacement of waterlogged planks a non-issue for the locals.
A timed activity for the afternoon? I am intrigued. I will be tuning in later.
“Wowie wow wow wow!” You can say that again. It was spectacular.
I hadn’t considered the possibility that the trolls put up the one statue and it’s called a troll mountain because of the trolls and not the troll statue. That sounds plausible.
I’ll probably have more to say about the wood in this afternoon’s post, which I’ve only just started to write.
Beautiful pix and exhilarating account of your Mount Floyen excursion. The sight (even digitized) of the mirror-still water has an excellent effect on one’s psyche. Definitely worth it for the travel blogger and blog reader both.
Thank you.
I greatly enjoyed my morning atop the mountain.