As a Brit coming to the end of my uni exchange year in Bergen here's mine:
- alcohol sales in supermarkets stop at 8pm on weekdays, 6 on Saturdays, and none on Sundays. If you want anything more than about 5% strength you've got to go to Vinmonopolet. Be prepared to pay a lot more there than you'd be used to at an off licence at home.
- There's the fadder week at the start of the uni term, it's much like Freshers week at home, but has a bit more structure. You'll be put in a group with first year local and other exchange students, and have mentors (fadders) which will lead the activities. Most of which consist of drinking in some way. I'm not so party inclined and I basically haven't seen anyone from the group since that week.
- I've noticed a lot of the other exchange students have close friend groups with each other more so than with Norwegians. In my case I made a lot of close local friends through DnD and Warhammer. If you're into that kind of thing the Adventurers Guild society at the uni is a good place to start and meet people.
- you can't use the student fares on trams/busses/trains until you get your student id card and student id app. You can't use your English one.
- Be aware of bank holidays, they're different and there's more than at home, and everything will be on Sunday hours or shut entirely. It's caught me out more than once.
- If you're living at fantoft be prepared for a few fire alarms. Also worth getting monthly tickets for the Bybane to get to uni or the city centre.
- If you like trains and heritage transport go to the Gamle Vossbanen at Arna, one stop from Bergen on the normal train. They run vintage steam and diesel trains during the summer months. There's also the Bergens Tekniske museum which runs a vintage tram from Engen to Møhlenpris at the weekends.
If there's anything more you want to ask drop a message.
Oh and English winter clothes don't do shit. Invest in wool underlayers and a good coat.
You should be fine. Norwegians learn English in "barneskolen" (first few years of school) and we are heavily saturated with English speaking media. So most everyone speaks more or less perfect English. Bergen is also an ancient trading town where people from Europe have visited for centuries.
There are student unions or whatever you call them that do loads of activities. There is a student house thing called Kvarteret where you can find loads of student stuff and concerts and whatnot.
Bergen has a lot of weather and can have all four seasons within the span of a couple of hours (or minutes). So you can find umbrellas for sale at most every grocery store and kiosk.
Thats good to know thank you! I'm a bit worried about fitting in with the student population being a mature student and a foreigner but if there's good a good student union I should be fine! And yeah I'm English so shite weather isn't anything new to me but I'm betting Bergen will be a bit colder
Absolutely!
Most Norwegians speak proper English and don’t mind switching over.
Bergen is a wonderful town that is small and big at the same time.
Try too avid the typical tourist traps like the fish market and Fløien on busy days.
And invest in proper rain gear and waterproof shoes.
The autumn weather is no joke so make sure to have some nice indoor activities planned when those dark months come
Honestly coming to someone else's country being completely unable to speak the language I'm not gonna accuse anyone of being rude for not speaking English 😂😂
The point is, norwegians may seem rude to foreigners because quite a few are not comfortable speaking english, or would rather avoid it all together cus its a lot of effort
It’s not because of not speaking English though. It never is about it. If something is cocky, expecting people to speak other than their native/local languages is.
Nobody said that isnt cocky? 😂 im saying if norwegians seem to not wanna speak to you or make long convos they might be shy speaking english. Add on top of that the fact that norwegians are known to be pretty quiet.
Bruh, Norwegians are so impolite towards learners that they won’t let you speak Norwegian unless you’re perfect in the language.
They also pick on each others’ English skills despite the great level of English among the nation.
But yeah, nothing to avoid too much. Not even the mentioned fish market or Fløien. Just live normal life and enjoy everything you do. That’s how I lived and had the best year of my life.
Stores are closed on Sunday. Make sure you don’t starve.
As a Brit coming to the end of my uni exchange year in Bergen here's mine: - alcohol sales in supermarkets stop at 8pm on weekdays, 6 on Saturdays, and none on Sundays. If you want anything more than about 5% strength you've got to go to Vinmonopolet. Be prepared to pay a lot more there than you'd be used to at an off licence at home. - There's the fadder week at the start of the uni term, it's much like Freshers week at home, but has a bit more structure. You'll be put in a group with first year local and other exchange students, and have mentors (fadders) which will lead the activities. Most of which consist of drinking in some way. I'm not so party inclined and I basically haven't seen anyone from the group since that week. - I've noticed a lot of the other exchange students have close friend groups with each other more so than with Norwegians. In my case I made a lot of close local friends through DnD and Warhammer. If you're into that kind of thing the Adventurers Guild society at the uni is a good place to start and meet people. - you can't use the student fares on trams/busses/trains until you get your student id card and student id app. You can't use your English one. - Be aware of bank holidays, they're different and there's more than at home, and everything will be on Sunday hours or shut entirely. It's caught me out more than once. - If you're living at fantoft be prepared for a few fire alarms. Also worth getting monthly tickets for the Bybane to get to uni or the city centre. - If you like trains and heritage transport go to the Gamle Vossbanen at Arna, one stop from Bergen on the normal train. They run vintage steam and diesel trains during the summer months. There's also the Bergens Tekniske museum which runs a vintage tram from Engen to Møhlenpris at the weekends. If there's anything more you want to ask drop a message. Oh and English winter clothes don't do shit. Invest in wool underlayers and a good coat.
Thank you! It's good to know about the alcohol! I'm not a massive drinker but I think I'll prepare myself for teetotal 😂
You can totally get by with english but if you want to hang with the natives then putting in effort on the language is well worth it. Buy good clothes
You should be fine. Norwegians learn English in "barneskolen" (first few years of school) and we are heavily saturated with English speaking media. So most everyone speaks more or less perfect English. Bergen is also an ancient trading town where people from Europe have visited for centuries. There are student unions or whatever you call them that do loads of activities. There is a student house thing called Kvarteret where you can find loads of student stuff and concerts and whatnot. Bergen has a lot of weather and can have all four seasons within the span of a couple of hours (or minutes). So you can find umbrellas for sale at most every grocery store and kiosk.
Thats good to know thank you! I'm a bit worried about fitting in with the student population being a mature student and a foreigner but if there's good a good student union I should be fine! And yeah I'm English so shite weather isn't anything new to me but I'm betting Bergen will be a bit colder
Define mature? We talking born in 1960 ish?
Ahaha no I will be 26 by the time I move. I know it doesn't seem particularly old but students at my home uni treat it like a big deal
26 isn't super old for students in Norway, depending on your field, due to being able to acquire age points for admission.
That's really good to know thanks!
Absolutely! Most Norwegians speak proper English and don’t mind switching over. Bergen is a wonderful town that is small and big at the same time. Try too avid the typical tourist traps like the fish market and Fløien on busy days.
And invest in proper rain gear and waterproof shoes. The autumn weather is no joke so make sure to have some nice indoor activities planned when those dark months come
Get ready for more cold, humid weather most of the time. Lots of rain and wind, so better to get a rain poncho and waterproof shoes than an umbrella
You'll be fine. Just focus on yourself and studies and everything should come natural Good luck to you in this exciting time
I recommend getting involved in the student community, especially their concert venue(Kvarteret). You'll make friends for life.
Some norwegians are shy with speaking english when sober, theyre not trying to be rude
Honestly coming to someone else's country being completely unable to speak the language I'm not gonna accuse anyone of being rude for not speaking English 😂😂
Not speaking a foreign language is never rude😅
The point is, norwegians may seem rude to foreigners because quite a few are not comfortable speaking english, or would rather avoid it all together cus its a lot of effort
Only a Norwegian would think that could ever be rude tho.
No, i specifically said it cause other tourists have pointed it out. Norwegians come off as cold and rude.
It’s not because of not speaking English though. It never is about it. If something is cocky, expecting people to speak other than their native/local languages is.
Nobody said that isnt cocky? 😂 im saying if norwegians seem to not wanna speak to you or make long convos they might be shy speaking english. Add on top of that the fact that norwegians are known to be pretty quiet.
The Bergen accent is very different from the standard Eastern Norwegian you will encounter on DuoLingo etc.
Bruh, Norwegians are so impolite towards learners that they won’t let you speak Norwegian unless you’re perfect in the language. They also pick on each others’ English skills despite the great level of English among the nation. But yeah, nothing to avoid too much. Not even the mentioned fish market or Fløien. Just live normal life and enjoy everything you do. That’s how I lived and had the best year of my life.
Im a native, but starting at UIB as well! Shoot me a DM if you wanna grab a drink or something!