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Hints for Bergen Exchange Scholars
Prepared by Alberta Auringer Wood
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Accommodations The University has a guesthouse that is available to Exchange Scholars. Each room has its own bathroom with a shower, but all residents of each floor, perhaps six people, share a kitchen. They have one suite with two rooms and a shared bath that would be a possibility for a couple. Each room is furnished with a sofa bed, a desk, chair and chest of drawers. There is a TV room for all residents to share and washers and dryers in a central room. Randi Norma Higraff, Konsulent, Eiendomsavdelingen, Villaveien 1 a, N-5020 Bergen, Norway, tel: 011-47-55-584-905, net: randi.higraff@eia.uib.no is the contact for this building.
The International Relations Office can be helpful in finding apartment
accommodations, too. Our contact person there is Ellen Margrete Grong,
Office of International Relations, Prof. Keysersgt. 8, N-5020 Bergen,
Norway; tel: 55-584-984; fax: 55-584-981; net: Ellen.Grong@fa.uib.no. The web
page address for the office is www.uib.no/fa/intkont/. Some apartment advertisements may be found at http://www.finn.no/. In
the column labelled EIENDOM, under Bolig, choose "til leie" (to rent) and
then on the page with "BOLIG TIL LEIE" (Housing to rent) choose Hordaland
in the "Velg geografi" (geographical region) drop down menu and then click
on "innskrenk område" (refine search) just below it. Hordaland is the
county that Bergen is in. At the resulting page, scroll down till you get
to "BOLIG TIL LEIE" again and choose Bergen in the "Velg geografi"
(geographical region) drop down menu and then click on "innskrenk område"
(refine search) just below it once more. Then scroll down yet again till
you get to "BOLIG TIL LEIE" once more! This gives you the choices within
Bergen as selecting one of the subsections of Bergen didn't work very
well, with zero results actually, for Sentrum. You can specify the state
of Furnishings (Møblert), in the drop down menu box below the geographical
one, as well as other things, such as rental cost, number of rooms, and
size in square Km. Chosing "Vis bilder" is about showing a picture of the
place, but it didn't seem to make much difference when I checked it. Then
click on the "Søk og finn" button. Most of the adverts are very
abbreviated, as in our newspapers. The online version of the university newspaper, På Høyden, may
also be useful, as there is a section with advertisements. The web address
for it is: www.uib.no/elin/elpub/ph/. Banking
Canadian Consul in Bergen There is an Honorary Consul General for Canada in Bergen as of March 2000. She is Dr. Karin Pittman, whose father is a Newfoundlander, and who is a fisheries biologist with the University of Bergen. Her contact information in her consular role is:
Children If you have school age children or are likely to be in need of
babysitters, please contact the Office of International Relations for
assistance at an early date in your planning. Committees The names and email addresses of the committee members at the
University of Bergen are:
Inquiries regarding the programme, application process, practical
advice/assistance and information from the visitors from Memorial
University should be directed to Ellen Margrete Grong, Ellen.Grong@fa.uib.no, at the
Office of International Relations. Any other inquiries can be directed to the other members of the
committee, but it is less time consuming to go via the Office of
international relations. The names and email addresses of the committee members at Memorial University are:
Cultural Events There are concerts at Grieghallen nearly every Thursday night and
sometimes repeated on the Friday night. Special, lower price tickets may
be available to university people at the last minute, so watch for notices
of such occasions. Cash or cash cards are required for payment, and there
is a bank machine just outside the box office. However, not all cards work
with it. They will make reservations and allow pick up of tickets an hour
before a performance, making it possible to go to a machine elsewhere. There are four art museums between Olav Kyrres gate and Strømgaten on
N. Bruns gate or Rasmus Meyers alle. They are open afternoons, except
Monday, and at least two have cafés. On the university grounds are a sea
farers museum, a natural history museum, a cultural history museum with
similar hours, but opening either 10 or 11 am, and at least one being
closed on Saturday. Getting Around Walking around is relatively pleasant and easy, though there are lots
of hills. There are maps on the web showing the city at www.uib.no/it/pers/edpev/bykart.jpg
and the campus at www.uib.no/info/english/visitors/bigcampusmap.html.
The Information Centre downtown has free maps that are quite good. The
Bergens Tidende (Bergen newspaper) publishes folded maps (40
NOK) and small city atlases (70 NOK) with street indexes. They are
available at the bookstore in the Student Centre or in other bookstores
downtown, such as the one in the Galleriet. There are bus routes throughout the city. Currently, the fare is 18 NOK
to go out to Sandviken and the NHH (Norges Handelshøyskole or Norwegian
School of Economics and Business Administration) from downtown near the
university, at least as far as the Solbakken stop, while going out to the
Åsane Centre costs 25 NOK. The bus drivers give change and receipts. Bus
route listings and timetables are available on the buses, in bus stop
shelters and at the bus station on Strømgaten at Fjøsangerveien. The train
station is also on Strømgaten just past Kaigaten. Getting There Groceries and Shopping Useful for getting groceries to one's apartment if you don't have a car
are a set of luggage wheels and a wide-handled bag, such as ones available
from L.L. Bean. Many of the grocery stores charge for plastic bags. The
least expensive grocery store chains are the Rema 1000 stores. Those near
the campus are on Vestre Torggate between Hakons gate and Neumanns gate
and on Nygårdsgaten near Grieghallen. The Rimi stores also have groceries
and are probably closest in price - and also in not having great quality
produce or meat - to the Rema 1000. There is a larger grocery store with
more variety and a bit higher prices in the Galleriet at Torgalmenning 8
called Lerøy Mat. Another more expensive store is called Spar Mat; one of
which is in Tertnes at the Matsenter, at Tertnesv. 95. There is a Mekka
store on Hakons gate between Vestre Torggate and Olav Kyrres gate near the
Vekter Torget. In the more expensive range and close to the university is
the Coop Mega in Strømgaten, a little down the hill from Allégaten; it
opened in 2000, and has good quality fish, meat and produce. Other such
stores are listed under "Dagligvarer" in the yellow pages of the telephone
book. There are small "dagligvarer" interspersed among the city
neighborhoods, such as Follesø at Welhavens gate 52 and Spilde & Co.
at Thormøhlens gate 28, in the neighborhood where we stayed in 2000. A
price example is that a box of breakfast cereal cost 24.50 at the Rema
1000 while the identical product was 29.50 at a Mekka store in 2000. Almost across the street from the Rema 1000 on Vestre Torggate at the
corner is Godt Brød. This bakery has good rolls, breads and pastries.
Other bakeries or conditoris are Sol Brød (good bread and a very nice
apple cake that is really like a deep dish apple pie) which is on the
Vetrlidsallmenningen just beyond the Torget with another one on
Starvhusgaten between Torggt. and Olav Kyrres gate and Baker Brun which
has shops on Bryggen near SAS hotel, the Torget and in Vekter Torget on
Gamle Nygårdsgaten. There are probably other locations, as well. The bus
station has several of these grocery stores, both bakeries, one of the few
wines and spirits stores, and a number of other shops. The open-air market
in Torget on the waterfront is an excellent place for fresh and smoked
fish, flowers, fresh vegetables and other items. Some vendors are there
daily, while others are only present on Saturday morning. There is another
collection of fresh meat, fish, sausages, coffee, etc. shops indoors at
the Kjøttbasaren on Bryggen where it intersects with Torget and
Vetridsallmenninge. Household related As clothing dryers are not generally used, plan to purchase a drying
rack (109 NOK in early 2000). Downtown one store selling household goods
is called Wallendahl's at Strandgaten 17. The prices are not low, but the
quality is quit good. For bedding, it seems to be customary to use two
single duvets on a double bed for two people with a bottom sheet covering
the mattress. Another store that has some useful household items is the
Mekka that is under a Rimi store on Marken. The top floor of the Bergen
Storsenter has a Clas Ohlsen, somewhat reminiscent of a Canadian Tire
store, which sells a wide range of products from kitchenware to
electronics, tools, and computer-related items. As noted earlier, there is
also an IKEA store at the Åsane (shopping) Senter, with the usual
excellent furniture and accessories for which IKEA is known. Insurance and Health Care Before leaving St. John's, check with your insurance company to see if
your homeowner's policy will cover your personal property while you are in
Bergen. That is the case for Johnson Insurance. Make sure that you have
your insurance cards for health insurance coverage with you. Medical and
dental emergency assistance may be obtained at the Legevakt on Strømkaien
between Agnes Mowinckels gate and a dead-end. General, over-the-counter
medications are not as readily available as in Canada, so if you need
Tylenol, cold remedies, allergy medications, buy them in Canada before you
leave to bring with you. It is a good idea to bring a supply of any
necessary prescription medicines with you to cover the entire time that
you will be in Bergen. If continuing medical care is required during your
stay, such as for blood tests, you may need to get a personal
identification number through the Bergen Likningskontor og
Folkeregisterets, Postboks 7275, 5020 Bergen, Norway, located at
Valkendorfsgt. 6 in Bergen (phone: 55 23 56 00 and fax: 55 23 57 00) which
is open Monday to Friday 0900-1430. This number is also useful for opening
a bank account. News Service Registration with Police If staying in Norway for more than three months, it is necessary to
register with the Immigration Dept. of the Bergen Police at Allehelgensgt.
6 near the main post office. Their phone number is 011-47-55-556-775, and
they are open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This
office is found by going to the left past an Information Desk and a
general reception area down a hall and through some doors to turn left
again to go to the end of the hall. There is a "take a number" machine
about half way down that hall. You will need: passport, letter from the
University of Bergen stating the purpose and duration of your stay in
Norway, proof of health insurance, letter from Memorial University
indicating that you are on salary which continues while you are in Norway,
and two photographs. The photographs can be taken on a machine close to
the front reception area (NOK 40 for each set with instructions in
Norwegian). Telephones A regular phone line costs 750 NOK for installation and 178 NOK per
month, plus the costs for a phone, which varies widely. There may be about
two weeks wait for installation or activation. Charges for each call
include 0.45 NOK as a base connection charge and a per minute charge
depending upon the time of day: 0.14 per minute after 5 p.m. and 0.22 per
minute between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Lines for use with a computer modem are
available, but additional charges apply. The University of Bergen will
provide no cost access for Exchange Scholars to their system, similar to
the MUN SLIP accounts. A small mobile phone costs about 700 NOK for the "Ring Contant"
service, which is a "pay as you go" type. Phone cards can be purchased in
amounts of 50, 300 and 500 NOK. The costs per minute are higher than for a
regular phone, but it is immediately available and there is no monthly
fee. And, you only pay for outgoing calls, not incoming ones, which may
also be the same for the phone system in general in Bergen, unlike in
Newfoundland. University Courses Useful Items to Bring from Newfoundland Bring some packets of Spice Barn spices, they are easily
packable and cost more in Bergen. As people bring their lunches to work,
Tupperware sandwich boxes are handy to have with you. Cloth
napkins for the dining table are another suggestion. A battery
powered short wave radio which can get some English language programs
would be nice, or at least, a small battery powered ordinary radio.
Face washing cloths do not seem to be provided, pack some.
Converters for hair dryers of the 1600-watt variety are needed,
while computers, electronic calculators, cassette recorders, razors and
some other small appliances use a 50 watt one. Radio Shack has these with
brochures, which list the other types of appliances for which they are
suitable. You will need ones with two round prongs. Since there is a lot
of rain and wet weather in Bergen, especially in the autumn and winter,
waterproof pants and jackets are virtually a must. Jackets with zip
out polartec linings are ideal. Waterproof shoes or boots are
necessary, also. Umbrellas and/or waterproof hats are other very
useful equipment. Several plastic Sobey's or Dominion's bags will save
buying similar bags at the local grocery stores, though some stores offer
them free now, while a box of small plastic bags of the type for
sandwiches are handy, too, as well as twist ties for tying them off. If
not staying for a really long time, such as only a couple of months, some
of the individual packets of laundry soap the right size for a load
of wash may be quite useful to carry from home. Visas If you plan to stay for more than three months in Norway, you should
write well in advance to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa. Ask for
information and an application form for a residence permit. Address: Phone: (613) 238-6571 |
