Bye Bye Bergen

I write this post in Helsinki, which, meanwhile I was away, had turned into a hot summer city. Now, as the leafs, rain and dusky evenings remind me of the coming darkness I have time to think about my past trip to Norway.

Leaving Bergen was hard. Much harder than I had thought. During my stay I experienced the whole spectrum of emotions. My stay was work related but eventually it was the “extracurricular” activities that were most memorable. This was partly due to big changes in my work project, which left me with more spare time than I had expected.

Bergen is a charming city with magical mountains surrounding it. There is an air of mystery to this down-to-earth place. It rains a lot so maybe it’s the foggy and gloomy days that give Bergen its feel. In the town’s defense, I didn’t experience much rain during my stay so I guess I was lucky. Enjoying the many summer concerts, open-air football championships broadcast on a big tv-screen, and salsa dancing in the middle of the night. All that made my stay a real treat.

I have always considered myself an introvert but traveling has made me realize that no matter where you go it’s the company of new friends that counts the most. Of course you need to be active to find new friends but usually there are plenty of activities even in a smaller town. I was lucky enough to meet lovely Norwegians, fellow Finns, and many more. In my shared “bofelleskap” I became friends with a good-hearted Dane and shared intellectual conversations with an English flatmate. I got to spend time celebrating the Norwegian Constitution day, May 17th, with the locals and I even climbed the highest mountain in Scandinavia. This climb I couldn’t have done without a group of friends by my side.

It is true, luck does come in the form of people.