Munkebotsvatnet, Bergen,
Hordaland, Norway

Munkebotsvatnet, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

With only one full day around Bergen, I was torn as to what to do with that time. Oversleeping put paid to any designs on a combined boat and rail trip for taking in more of the fjords than from my train from Oslo the previous day. That left hiking around some of Bergen's nearby hills and I had brought hiking gear with me anyway, another reason why I was so undecided about what I should be doing.

Pottering along the coast road took me beyond Sandviken where I found the steep road up to Munkebotsvatnet. Unfortunately, the pleasing sunshine was losing its battle with cloud cover. That proved less of a disappointment than the numbers of folk coming against me on the track that I followed as far as Storevatnet. Unless they were coming up on the Fløybanen, I struggled to work out what brought them the way they were going. It almost felt like a charity event but might have more got to do with enjoying a dry Sunday.

My yearnings for a little more in the way of solitude took me off that track to follow boggy paths that took me past more lakes before pottering over a few hilltops around Rundemanden. Those were the quieter reaches that I so craved and meeting more folk on the trail down by Blåmanen and Fløyfjellet did not bother me that much. In any case, there was something that I needed to do that evening so that busied my mind. As if to show how well I had done, it rained for a few hours after my walk before cheering up again at sunset.

There are plenty of other trails to explore should I ever return to Bergen and I hope to have some sun while up around those quieter places. The introduction was good and highlighted how little time I had allotted, especially when there is enough around here to occupy a week-long stay. Much like Britain or Ireland, there may be rain but us islanders know how to deal with that. It makes it all the better when the sun gets to shine.

See more photos from this album (Norway)