European away days are like buses. You wait nigh on 40 years for one then two come along in the space of three weeks.
This Thursday we head to beautiful Bergen in Norway to cheer our lads on in the second leg against SK Brann and as I did ahead of the tremendous trip to Reykjavik I've been speaking with some helpful locals to get some top tips for our travelling fans.
There will of course be 750 Saints fans inside the stadium but if social noise is anything to go by I think it's safe to say there will be well over 1000 Buddies in the city this week with excitement at fever pitch as our allocation sold out inside a couple of hours with 300 of the precious briefs snapped up online inside THREE MINUTES!
Our man Josh @gintosmfc has been busy arranging a meeting place for all the travelling fans where we can get a good sing song and some discounted beers. He's done a great job securing a massive venue that should be able to host all our supporters, of all ages, inside a single place both Weds and Thurs. Some boy!
My thanks to @brannfakkel and @anjaskavasen for the Bergen tips and to the amazing @DannyLast who has allowed me to use some of the stunning photos he took in Bergen in the last round when Brann overcame Go Ahead Eagles.
Right, enough waffle Div, get fucking on with it.
Duty Free
As you will have heard Bergen is as expensive as Reykjavik, if not more so, especially when it comes to beer and food. So, the same rule applies as it did in Iceland, check out the duty free area in Bergen airport when you arrive, or any of your airports en-route to Norway and consider buying some tax free alcohol to take to your digs. It could save you a small fortune!
Airport to City
From the airport to town the easiest way is to take the light rail/tram (called Bybanen in Bergen) line 1 from just outside the airport building. It goes directly into town, with the last stop Byparken being the city center. The ride from end to end takes 44 mins.
A ticket is 45 kr (£3.25), and this covers 90 minutes of use across as many buses and light rails you like inside those minutes. Bybanen leaves all the time, pretty much every 5 minutes.
If you are arriving or leaving Bergen very late and don’t won’t to shell out for a taxi, there is also airport bus service for £12 which takes about 25 minutes to the city center.
You can buy tickets on all light rail stops, or use the Skyss Billett ticketing app.
Download this for iOS here or Google Play here
Usual applies, create an account by verifying your mobile number, add a debit or credit card to your account, then use the app to buy mobile tickets. Simples!
If you want to look at Airport buses then check: https://flybussen.no/en
In terms of moving around the city centre, it's very compact so that can all be easily done on foot.
Money
Norway is VERY card friendly, nobody really use cash so don't bother taking loads of currency. The current exchange rate is just under 14 Norwegian Norwegian Kroner to the pound.
As with Iceland, and on any trip abroad to be honest, the best bet is to use a card like Revolut or Monzo if you have one to save on bank charges and silly exchange rates.
Weather
Bergen is very rainy, in fact the most rainy city in Europe! The forecast for Weds, Thurs and Fri next week looks not too bad though, decent temps of between 16 and 19 degrees and just a small chance of rain.
Drink Prices
Josh has got us a decent (by Norway standards) promo rate for beers in the Football Pub (see later on that) but this is a quick guide to how much you can expect to pay for a beer in various pubs in the city. Mind that it's not always a pint you get in the Scandics, a schooner will be less than a pint.
https://www.pilsguiden.no/vestland/bergen
Pretty much average seems to be about a tenner a pint though.
Our Home - FootballPuben
Literally the Football Pub, this gaff opened in 1991 and will be the base camp for Saints fans in Bergen. Josh has met with the owners and has secured us a good deal for us in terms of drinks promos and the local police, SLOs and everyone else is on board with this being the focal point for Saints in Bergen.
The venue has massive capacity over many different venues inside the same building, with a big nightclub on the bottom floor. Fans of all ages are welcome, and it's all open until very late.
This will be home on both Weds and Thurs and for those travelling who don't have tickets there will be plenty screens to watch the game too.
The owners are also trying to organise a big marquee for outside on the street which is currently waiting on police approval.
Finally free transport will be provided from the pub to and from the stadium for all Saints fans (see further down for details) so it's definitely the place to be!
More Boozers
If you want to go wandering then @brannfakkel has said the following about boozers in Bergen.
Here is a little list of some different types:
Bars Bars cont.: For bars otherwise it depends on what you’d like to try. Here is a little list of some differ
e Here is a little list of some different types:Pubs: Metz (shows football), Felix (shows football), Bryggen Night Club (shows football), Scruffy Murphys (just next to Metz, Irish pub, shows football), O’Connors (shows football), Brian Boru (irish, plenty screens and are offering to match the booze deals in FootballPuben).
Cocktail bars and others: No Stress (very good drinks), Last Monkey, Apollon Platebar (cool place, enjoy beer on tap and a nice vinyl selection), Tempotempo, Folk & Røvere (literally People and plunderers, and the clientele lives up to the name).
The cheapest beer in town is probably at the student bar Kvarteret.
Food
Places to eat on a budget
Trekroneren hot dog stand. Probably better than any hotdogs in Reykjavik, this place is famous in Bergen with both locals and visitors. A hot dog is about 80 kr or so, ask for «saft» (watery juice..) and you’ll get a small cup of it with your hot dog for free. The traditional choice is reindeer sausage with lingonberry topping. A good place for pre/post match stomach filler.
Digg Pizza
Baban Grill
Victoria (a very Brann place, but very homey)
Other places, not necessarily cheap:
Burger: Hekkan Burger (not the cheapest, but godly burgers)
Italian: Villani (nice place outside should the weather be good)
Chinese: Ying Ying (very cool place, good atmosphere and food) or Banzha
Indian: Leela, Namastey
Stadium
The club have advised that all fans attending the game are invited to use free buses that will ferry supporters from Footballpuben to the stadium and back again after the game. This will keep our fans together and off the Tram network which will help the local authorities and the police manage the flow of people to the game.
Join the WhatsApp group to be kept updated if there are any changes to this plan nearer matchday.
Other Stuff To Do
Bergen looks absolutely spectacular and well worth exploring. There's a tremendous thread here by @brannfakkel that tells you all about what you can do when you're there, especially if you're staying on for a few days.
Who does not love a ride on a funicular on matchdays?
WhatsApp Group
To keep everyone in touch with all things Bergen Josh has set up a WhatsApp group.
Everyone free to join, just click here to get involved.
Coverage
Aaran cannot get the time of work as he has a real job so your old bald da is back covering the account for another week. As per Iceland I'll be trying to post as much content as I can to make everyone feel involved whether you're over there or not, plenty lives, plenty drunken chat and plenty singing.
If you're heading over expect to be interviewed and broadcast live to the nation. Again.
See you in Bergen shaggers.
Div