Practical information

University of Bergen surroundings

Most of the University-area is situated on the Nygårdshøyden hill in Bergen city centre. Sydneshaugen, the university building where the conference is held, is a five to ten minute walk from the main square, Torgallmenningen. Katedralskolen (The Chatedral school), where free accomodation is offered is a 10 to 15 minutes walk from Sydneshaugen. The downtown area of the city is quite small, and unless you stay outside the city centre, everything is within walking distance. Maps will be provided at the conference or can be picked up for free at the Tourist Info, at Vågsallmenningen 1, next to the fish market.

See map of campus area: www.uib.no/info/english/visitors/campusmap.html

Map showing Sydneshaugen skole, where the meetings are

Map showing Katedralskolen, where the gyms for sleeping are

Getting there from the airport

From the airport, there are buses leaving for Bergen city center every 15 minutes, either of the two routes, Fyllingsdalen og Nestun, ends in the city centre. The fare is 70 Nok, to be pay on the bus. The trip takes apx 30 minutes. Get off at the second stop in the city centre, the SAS hotel Norge. The stops should be announced in English, if not, ask When you step off the bus walk straight ahead for 50 meters to the Blue Stone, a huge rectangular blue-black-ish stone (hence the name). Turn left and walk up the hill. Sydneshaugen is a yellow building situated right behind the red church, Johanneskirken (the Church of John), on top of the hill. If you arrive on Friday morning, head stright for Sydneshaugen for registration. The opening plenary starts at 11.00 am.

Eating and Drinking

Low-cost, but quality, breakfast and lunch will be supplied by the EEF arrangers on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night, there will be a common supper before the cultural arrangement.

Eating out in Norway can be expensive, but it's not too hard to find decent lunch or dinner for 60-100 NOK.

There is a cafeteria at Sydneshaugen, open only on weekdays. Serves cheap dinner. Godt Brød, Vaskerelvsgaten 31: serves great ecological baked goods and bread, though somewhat pricy. Open Sundays as well, 12-16.
Kafé Kaffaan, Markens tverrgate: alternative (radical) café with low-cost sandwiches and small dishes. Close to Katedralskolen, where the free acommodation is.
Vågen fetevare, Kong Oscars gate 10: nostalgic café with sandwiches etc. Close to Katedralskolen.
Le Rustique, Christies gate 11: ecological bakery, delicious sandwiches, baguettes, frency pastry etc at decent prices. Vektertorget.
Pasta Sentral, Vestre Strømkaien 6: Italian pasta and pizza at acceptable prices.
Hot Wok, Neumannsgaten 28: serves decent Asian food and pizza. Lunch Mon-Sat, 58/68 NOK.
Brød og Vin, Christesgate 13. Asian food and pasta, quite cheap.
Cafe Spesial, Christiesgate: delicious pizza, lunch menu.
Bombay restaurant, indian, Nygårdsgaten: cheap lunch offers until 5.00 pm
Cyclo, Vietnamese, Nygårdsgaten 2A: usually has take-away deals for 85 NOK or less.
Speilsalen, the cafe at the Studenthouse, Kvarteret: sandwiches and dinner at student prices, very close to Sydnshaugen.
The absolutely cheapest option is getting some yoghurt, bananas and baked goods at a grocery store. That could cost as little as 10-20 NOK.

Grocery stores

Rema 1000 and Rimi are two major chains. Rema is the cheapest, but Rimi usually has wider selection, cleaner and better organized stores. In Håkonsgaten you will find both. You cross Håkonsgaten when you walk from Sydneshaugen towards the main square and the fish market.

Bank and Currency

Banks are easily found all over Bergen, but exchanging money over the counter is quite expensive. The best thing to do is to withdraw money from your Visa/Mastercard in ATMs (minibanks), which are plentiful. Euros are generelly not accepted in Norway, tourist shops are the exceptions.

The Norwegian currency is kroner (crowns). 21th of April, the exchange rate towards the Euro was 8,2. So 100 kroner is about 12 euros. Forgery is virtually a non-existing problem.

Post office

Most post offices are in grocery stores, with a separate desk next to the cash registers. The post office closest to Sydneshaugen is at Rimi in Håkonsgaten. Stamps can also be bought in most kiosks and shops.

Internet Cafés

There are two internet cafés in Nygårdsgaten. Go from Sydneshaugen towards downtown. Take a left on Håkonsgaten. The first is in Crowded House, the motel, Håkonsgaten 27. NOK 25 per hour. The second is at Håkonsgaten 15, look for big “Internet” signs in the windows.

Some tourist sites and information

Bryggen is a UNESCO Heritage Site and worth a visit. It's a row of buildings from the late Middle Ages, when Bergen was a center of international trade. Situated in the harbour
. The Fish Market is famous, and can be an interesting place in the summer.
The Fløyen Funicular takes you some hundred meters above the city and gives great view of the fjord and the area surrounding the city from the mountain Fløyen. Highly recommended on clear days.
The Hanseatic Museum is located at Bryggen.

All sites are within a small area. From Sydneshaugen go towards the Blue Stone. Pass it and go straight for 150 meters, and you're at the Fish Market.

Other

The cinema is at Neumannsgate 3. Foreign language movies have subtitles, not dubbing. Childrens movies can be an exception. A ticket is NOK 80-90.

Pubs:

Garage: famous rock pub, Nygårdsgaten.
Hulen («the cave»): unique rock stage situated inside the mountain.
Kvarteret: the student house, offers a range of different pubs, with special prices for students.

For more information visit www.bergen-guide.com and www.visitbergen.com