Ulriksbanen — Attraction in Bergen

It was a nice, sunny Saturday. At the top station, we were waiting for the cable car that would take us down and there was a fairly long queue. The narrow passage leading to the cable car is divided into two by some steel bars: one side is for the exiting passengers. My 5-year old son got bored of waiting and wanted to look out of the big windows, so my wife walked him down the side of the passage where the exiting passengers come up when they arrive (it was empty for the moment). This young woman standing at the small shop came to the scene immediately, warning my family quite rudely, possibly imagining that they would get into the arriving cable car before everyone waiting in the line (yeah, we as a family are true barbarians always trying to take advantage of disorder). My wife and son emerged from the 'restricted zone' back to their spots in the queue obediently; then we all stayed silent, as we are immigrants in Norway and after all we respect (and actually, like) the order in the country. And yes, there might have been other people before who actually DID try to take advantage. By the way, there is NO sign on the forbidden side of the passage, warning people not to walk inside.

The following happened within less than five minutes: I had seen this 50-year old lady who mildly injured herself on her hike, and now she, and a younger/fitter person helping her, were approaching to take the first cable car down, without waiting in the line. Fair enough: they were allowed. But wait: 2 other people, who clearly didn't need an urgent service down the mountain and who were not helping the injured lady, avoided the queue with smiling faces and joined their friends. No, that was not about it: Thirty seconds later, another group of 7 or 8 people, composed of a bride&groom and their dressed-up friends taking wedding photos, joined the privileged bunch who were taking the first arriving cable car, avoiding the long queue of ordinary mortals. Please excuse me for providing this kind of information, but it should also be noted that all of these first-class passengers were Norwegian, and the vast majority of the people waiting in the line were tourists.

As you might expect, we felt insulted and angry. I went straight to the young woman at the shop (who had really been good at maintaining the order when my son entered the restricted zone), and asked her why those almost 10 people were given priority (one car carries 10 to 15 people, so it meant a guaranteed delay for a service we already paid for). She was actually quite surprised to hear my enquiry. Somewhat stammering, she told me that the wedding party had made a "deal" with the company, and the injured lady obviously "needed help" (from 3 people!). I said that all this was very ugly and unprofessional, and I would report the incident wherever I could. Finally, I entered the 'restricted' part of the passage to be able to go back to my spot in the queue (the passage is narrow), and guess what, she rushed to the scene again, blocking me physically so that I do not cause anarchy :) I had to tell her that I just wanted to go back to my original place in the line. She, of course, accused me of yelling to her.

In the meantime, a cool-looking guy, who apparently has more (maybe, the most) authority at the workplace, stayed completely calm and indifferent to what was happening. I thought he had some real Nordic cold blood flowing in his veins, and I did not, what a pity it was for me. He was walking around to check if everything was working OK, including the extra services provided to the privileged.

The moral of my story: Ulriken is great. Like everywhere in the world, there are some unpleasant people and unprofessional services in Norway too. You should just ignore them, otherwise you will get angry for nothing. Thanks for reading.

EDIT: None, in their...

I would rather say that the cable car ride is too expensive. 395 nok return for an adult is way too expensive for a 7 minute cable car ride. However, there are stairs that you can climb free of cost. Just remember that it's 643 meters high. Cable cars run every 15th minute and open 9-23 during the summer. Tickets can be purchased online or there is also a ticket counter by the entrance. You get a great view of the whole Bergen from the restaurant terrace at the top of the mountain. The restaurant also has a very limited choice of food. There is drinking water supply for the visitors where you can fill up your water bottles. There are also toilets at the top. Several hiking trails are there and can be explored and also caters to more magnificent views. I found lambs everywhere in the mountains. There is an additional zipline ride for 490 sek/ adult. The ride lasts for about 30 seconds. You need to book it through another external website. Another huge problem is the parking problem. The parking lot is very small and there is also some street parking but the number is not adequate. Its also expensive.So public transport is highly...

The views from the top are stupendous, but there’s not a lot at the top apart from the view and one restaurant. If you plan to go on a serious hike, then this is the place to start, but I wanted a more gentle walk. So, I enjoyed the view, bought a bun to rent a bit of table space and then came back down. Getting there is easy if you use the cable car shuttle bus – but that is an additional cost. I used public transport (free with the Bergen Card) but google was a bit bewildered by the construction work that had barred off part of the recommended route. On the third attempt I found a local who gave me cheerful directions. There are absolutely no indications at the bus stop about how to walk there, but it’s only 10 minutes away.

If you have time to do both, then both this and the funicular are worth it for the views. If you can only do one of them, then the funicular is cheaper, easily accessible from Bergen centre, has a range of refreshment outlets, an adventure playground if you have little ones with you, and has pleasant trails at the top that make for...