My Bergen experience

When I first stepped off the sleek orange Bybanen (city tram) into the city center I was greeted by a charming European city surrounded by beautiful mountains. The sun was shining and the flowers were in bloom—I knew I made the right decision. Even though I thrive on travel and new experiences, I was anxious about meeting people and making friends. However, living at Fantoft made it easy to meet tons of students from all over the world—and now I am happy to call some of them lifelong friends. During UiB’s welcome week, I was placed with an extremely welcoming and fun group of Norwegian students who helped make my first week a blast.

Norwegian universities structure their workload differently than I was used to. At UiB there is plenty of assigned reading, but only one exam or essay at the end of the semester that determines your grade. This made for a mostly stress-free semester—with only one high-stakes exam week. I enjoyed all my classes at UiB. One of my favorites was Climate Policy. This class helped me to understand the structure of different international climate agreements like the Paris Accords and reinvigorated my desire for an internationally focused career. I also particularly enjoyed my Intro to Norwegian language class, and I can confidently say it helped me pass as a Norwegian ~30% of the time at the grocery store (there is no better feeling).

My favorite part of my Norway experience was the time I spent in nature. Nature in Norway is extremely accessible. The train and bus systems make it easy to explore remote/rural parts of Norway and the Norwegian trekking association, DNT, has an incredible network of trails and cabins all over the country. Nearly all my weekends were spent exploring breathtaking fjords, climbing jagged peaks, or enjoying views of Bergen from the tops of the city mountains. One of my favorite memories was a five-day trek (with good friends) through Norway’s stunning Jotunheim National Park. Over the course of this adventure, we walked over 100 kilometers and experienced rain, snow, sleet, sun, rainbows, fjords, reindeer, and lots of funny moments. There are so many incredibly epic outdoor adventures right in Bergen or a short train ride away. Also, if you get the opportunity to go up to the north of Norway—take it! Still, when I picture Lofoten I can’t understand how it is real—breathtaking mountains with dizzying exposure popping straight out of the sea.

One of the struggles of living in Bergen—and I think this goes for any Scandinavian country—is the darkness that creeps in, in late autumn/early winter. In Bergen this darkness combines with rain and so some days never really get completely light! I went from having incredibly long days to sunset at 3pm and sunrise at nearly 10am. In order to combat the fatigue of early sunset, I spent a lot of my time doing some sort of physical activity. Particularly, I loved to climb with friends at the Fantoft gym and all the fun climbing gyms in the city center and surrounding areas. Also, the darkness set in right when it made sense to start studying for exams, which led me to spend many afternoons studying in coffee shops!

I could not have asked for a better place to spend half-a-year, and I will deeply miss having mountains a ten-minute walk from the city center, all the incredible classes and student convenience that UiB offered, and of course the incredible friends I made along the way. I am forever grateful for this experience and hope to be back in this magical country one day.

My advice to anyone considering studying in Bergen is simple: don’t let the rain stop you.