Bambus Marken

June 27, 2012

   

After spending our first day in Bergen hanging out in the historical old town, we decided to cash in on the glorious weather and head up to Fløyen on day 2. You can walk (or run!) up the hill, but we went for the lazy option and took the funicular to the top. Once you're up, you're rewarded with glorious views over the city and kilometres of beautiful walking tracks heading off into the forest (see the pictures below this post).

Our original dinner plans at the veg-friendly tapas place Escalon were undone by its popularity (booked out from 6 onwards), leaving us wandering a little aimlessly around the city in search of something else. Luckily, Cindy remembered the Vietnamese place near Cafe Aura and we wandered over to check it out. They had a spare table for us and a menu with about half a dozen vegetarian mains to choose from, so we settled in for a quick meal. The atmosphere is pleasant and casual, and the staff (who had limited English) were friendly and keen to make sure we had everything we needed.

Cindy ordered a tofu and noodle dish (145kr ~ AU$23).

   

This was just what we were after - loads of fresh veggies, delicious fried cubes of tofu and a mild but interesting sauce. Kind of like a simple pad thai. 

I went for something a bit more unusual, a bitter melon and tofu soup, drowning in coriander, chilli and lemongrass (145kr ~ AU$23).

   

This had a real kick and I needed to cut it with rice (hidden in the pot at the back of the picture above). Once I had the balance between rice and spice down, this was a gem - packed with flavour, fresh and loaded up with tofu.

Bambus Marken greatly exceeded our expectations - we were hoping that they could put together something tolerable and vegetarian for us and they turned out to have a range of excellent veggie dishes. In a town like Bergen, this puts them high on the list of places to visit for veg*n travellers - you could certainly do far worse. Prices are ludicrous, but no more so than the rest of Norway. 

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Bambus Marken
Marken 33, Bergen
+47 55560060
veggie mains 145 NOK ~ AU$23

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bambus-Marken/124108804340059

Accessibility: There's a small step as you enter, and things are fairly crowded inside. They have full table service.

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The view from Fløyen

   

   

   

Beautiful mountain pond in the woods behind Floyen

   

A great tit about to enter its nesting box

   

Reindyrka

June 26, 2012

   

Bergen's old town, where we rented an apartment, is very pretty and very steep. It's a quick downhill walk to the even older Bryggen and then mercifully flat as you approach the more modern quarter of the city.

   

Here we found Reindyrka, an organic supermarket. It's not totally vego (you'll find organic meats in the fridge) yet I suspect it's the best source of veg*n groceries in Bergen. We picked up some hot dogs, knekkebrød, Tartex, fair trade chocolate and scented soap, and regretfully passed over the organic ice cream. Food prices don't convert favourably to Australian dollars, but a little self-catering with Reindyrka saved us hundreds of kroner on eating out.

 

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Reindyrka
Christian Michelsensgt. 1, Bergen
+47 53 69 50 01
http://www.reindyrka.no/

Accessibility: Reindyrka is located down a flight of stairs and we didn't notice any alternative means of entry. As grocery shops go, it's reasonably spaced inside and payment happens at a low counter.

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Strolling round Bergen...

   

   

   

   

   

Bryggen, Bergen's centuries-old wharf

Its historic buildings are hilariously wonky

   

 

 

Cafe Aura

June 26, 2012

   

Like Iceland before it, Norway came with a fairly mediocre reputation for vegetarian food. Still, there's more to travel than food, right? Our first proper stop was in Bergen, via a stunning trip across the country on the 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour. Sure it sounds like a bit of a touristy cliche, but it's hard to imagine a single day trip anywhere else in the world packing in as much stunning scenery (see photos below this post for just a tiny sample).

Bergen is entirely free of vegetarian-only restaurants, so we knew we weren't going to come back with loads of blog material. We scarfed a quick Indian meal on the night of our arrival and set out on Tuesday having done a bit more planning. Stop one was Cafe Aura, the first place listed on Happy Cow's Bergen page and a nice central starting point for some exploring.

   

Cafe Aura is a fairly plain looking cafe - it's pleasant enough, but probably isn't going to win too many points for style. Similarly, the menu is pretty straightforward: vegans can have soup and maybe chilli, while vegetarians also get to choose from a veggie lasagne and a 'pie' (which turns out to be more like a quiche). Cindy took care of the ordering - the staff were completely comfortable in English (as was everyone we spoke to in Norway) and were super friendly and helpful.

   

I went for the lasagne (129kr, which if you foolishly convert back to Australian dollars is a breathtaking $20.30!). It comes with delicious bread and a simple salad, and is a reasonably good rendition - cheesy and stuffed with a good range of roasted veggies. It's hearty and tasty enough but nothing to write home about - indeed, at home we've come up with some far more impressive versions.

   

Cindy had the veggie pie (89kr ~ AU$14), which was basically a slice of quiche. It had a decent amount of spinach mixed into the eggy filling and a nicely cooked pastry crust. Again though, this is vegetarian dining from the 1970s - basic and unadventurous.

We headed off into the city sated but not particularly excited - vegetarians in Bergen will probably find themselves at Cafe Aura at some stage, just because there are so few places that offer even this much variety.

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There aren't any real reviews of Cafe Aura out there, just a couple of positive mentions on some Norwegian foodblogs.

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Cafe Aura
Marken 9, Bergen
+47 55365970
veggie lunches 65-129 NOK ~ AU$10.30 - 20.30
http://www.cafeaura.no/

Accessibility: You have to go up four steps to enter the cafe (see photo). The interior is relatively well spaced out. Ordering and payment takes place at a medium-low counter.

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Out the window of the Oslo-Myrdal train

   

   

   

   

The platform at Myrdal, about to hop onto the Flåm train

   

Trying to get a picture of Kjosfossen

   

Out the window of the Flåm train, on the way down the mountain

   

   

   

The Flåm train

   

On the ferry down Aurlandsfjord

   

Seagulls shadowing the ferry

   

Spectacular fjord views

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Norwegian toy town!