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Student card

 

The HVL will not give you any student card, but still, as a Ph.D. student, you are recognized as a student internationally. You can order online a student card called ISIC. It costs 100 NOK per year (+50kr if you want to get your card also physically), and it allows you to get discounts in many places (both in and outside of Norway).

The Bybanen 30 days ticket has a difference of around 300kr between adult and student prices, so just for one month ticket, the year ISIC membership pays off.

You can order the card here. You will be asked for proof of being a student, for this, you can upload the confirmation of student status from studentweb (must be converted from pdf to png, for example, online). You can get the confirmation of student status in studentweb under More < Orders (get it in English).

 

Weather forecast

 

Weather in bergen is many times unpredictable (unless you predict rain! haha) so the forecast is not as precise as in other places. Anyway the best forecast is in Yr.no

 

Clothing

 

Like any city in Europe, you can find H&M and similar stuff in the city of Bergen. For sports and outdoor equipment, XXL.no (there is also a store at Lagunen storsenter) or fjellsport.no.

You will probably know about this already, in Bergen, it rains A LOT. We recommend at least a good weatherproof jacket and also pants if you plan on cycling. Good Norwegian brands for outdoor clothing are Bergans (a bit less expensive than norrøna) and Norrøna (very expensive but comes with a 7-year warranty). Both have stores in the city center.

For Norrøna, you can use my referral link to get some more cashpoints for your next purchase 😉

Ordering something online from another country

 

When importing products from outside of Norway, if you buy something with a value higher than 350kr (including shipping), you will have to pay some taxes and sometimes cover the whole shipping expense. You can read more about it here.

Books, comics, and reading material, in general, are exempted from this rule.

 

Bank account

 

With a D-number, you can already open a bank account in some banks. Most will also ask you for your employment contract when opening an account. At Sparebank, I was able to open a bank account in two days with a D-Number and a short visit on the second day after applying online here. But there are a lot of good banks in Norway which can be compared here.

 

International money transfers and currency exchange

 

If you do not have a Norwegian bank account yet, but have to pay your rent or something else, you can look at Wise as a cheap way for international money transfers. Another option is using a multi-currency account and exchanging your money to NOK through this service.

One example of such a service is Revolut which will currently let you exchange up to 10.000 NOK for free each month. You can exchange NOK for your home country’s currency or vice versa. Wise offers similar functionality.

Getting a phone number

 

If you want to get a contract, you can get one at Telia, ICE, Telenor ( Telenor requires that you have to stay in Norway for more than 3 – 6 months to get their phone numbers even you have got work permit and national ID, also is more expensive),or other companies.

If you prefer a prepaid SIM, check this wiki. You can get a prepaid card without any documents.

If you make a lot of international calls, you can be interested in MyCall.

A Norwegian phone number is the key to enter in many administrative systems, so prioritize getting one!

 

Groceries

 

Buying groceries in Norway is expensive, so it’s good to know each supermarket, their offers and which are the cheapest.

  • Mattilbud is an app that will show you the best offers in different supermarkets.
  • Rema 1000 and Kiwi are the cheapest supermarkets. The Rema 1000 brand offers a good price/quality, First Price is even cheaper and is a good option for some things, although the quality of certain products is not the best. Rema 1000 have an app called “Æ” where you can get discounts each time you buy. Kiwi offers you Trumf card, working in a similar way.
  • Coop also have a nice own brand and good discounts.
  • Meny and Bunnpris are more expensive, but they offer a higher variety of products, so the best option is to buy there only if you need something specific.

 

About water

 

Only the cold tap water can be drinkable directly! Warm tap water cannot be used to drink or cook!

 

Several stores

 

  • For electronics Power offers good prices, so does Elkjøp and Komplett
  • No Amazon in Norway… but your national alternative is CDON
  • Two price comparers, really nice when you want a product and want to find out where is cheaper: Prisjakt and Prisguiden
  • For books, you can check Ark, Norli and Akademika
  • For media stuff (music, books, films, videogames), check Platekompaniet
  • For “nerdy” stuff, board games, videogames, comics, manga… check Gamezone and Outland. You also have Gamestop, but it is always more expensive.

 

About alcohol, tobacco, and sugar

 

In Norway, grocery stores sell beer and cider but are not permitted to sell anything above 4.7% alcohol content, and are only allowed to sell alcohol before 8 PM on weekdays and before 6 PM on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays. Also in most public holidays alcohol is not sold.

Liquor, wine, strong beers and ciders (i.e. anything stronger than 4.7%), is sold through the state-run Vinmonopolet (literally, the wine monopoly) shops. The monopoly shops generally close at 6 PM on weekdays and 3 PM on Saturdays. There are several around Bergen.

If you want to save A LOT of money in your alcohol, tobacco (and snus) and sugary products (especially chocolate and gummies, in Norway there is a special tax for sugar) always remember to get them from the airport Duty-Free store when entering in Bergen (remember you can only access the Duty-Free if you come from a flight from outside Norway, for example if you get a connecting flight in Oslo, you will have to get your alcohol there).

 

Sports and Gym

 

  • Skiing: there’s an HVL group for skiing; you can check it out here.
  • Sport climbing: There is a group for sport climbing check it out here. They also organize courses for new climbers. Feel free to e-mail Håvard Skibenes/check the Facebook group if interested. You can also ask Tim (tkra@hvl.no) and Michele (michele.gazzea@hvl.no) about it.
  • BTSI is a student organization that offers different sports and activities.
  • For cheap sports clothes and equipment, check XXL in Lagunen, GSport in Bergen Storsenter, and Intersport at Nesttun.
  • You can get a cheaper gym membership with Sammen by showing your student card (semestral membership) or employee card (one year). The membership will give you access to all their gyms in the city (there is one at 2 minutes walking from the HVL), group classes, a swimming pool, and a sauna.
  • For outdoor activities, check BSIFriluft. Their mailing list is really useful.

 

Interesting stuff on Social Media

 

  • Most events around the city will have a Facebook event, so setting your living place in Bergen and checking the events from time to time will give you a chance to find out about many things that may interest you.
  • Some interesting Facebook groups:
    • Bergen expats
    • Bergen expats classifieds
    • New friends Bergen
    • Study Bergen
    • Look for your nationality in Bergen, there are probably other people from your country here who may share similar experiences.
    • Fantoft Market
    • There are many groups, so if you write Bergen in the search bar, you will probably find groups related to your interests.
  • Bergen’s subreddit can sometimes have interesting posts.

 

Learning Norwegian

 

  • Currently, the HVL offers free classes for employees, you can ask Kristin about this.
  • You have this introductory online course from the University of Oslo lot of resources, it will leave you with a good basis for the language.
  • Duolingo is a free app/website for learning languages, their Norwegian course is usually praised.

Also! Norwegians are bad at talking Norwegian with foreign people. Especially young people will quickly switch to English. A good practice here can be to ask them to keep talking in Norwegian.

 

Restaurants, cafes, and Pubs

 

Norwegian Restaurants:

  • Bryggloftet
  • Colonialen
  • Naboen Pub/Restaurant
  • Cornelius Restaurant
  • Enhjørningen Fiskersetaurant
  • Finnegaardsstuene
  • Restaurant 1877
  • To kokker
  • Marg & Bein
  • Pingvinen
  • Spisekroken

 

Pizza:

 

Cafe:

  • Det Lille Kaffe Kompaniet
  • Kaffemisjonen
  • Bergen Kaffebrenneri (BKB)
  • Sweet Rain
  • Klosteret Kaffebar
  • Dromedar Kaffebar
  • Kaffelade
  • BarBarista
  • Espresso House

 

Pubs:

  • Skostredet street
  • Areas next to cinema/theaters