Electronic Literature in Europe

Visas
Visas are not required for travelers coming from within Schengen (EU and affiliated) countries, or from visa waiver countries such as the USA and Canada. If you are coming from outside these countries, you will need to make visa arrangements with the Norwegian authorities.

Flights to Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, and is on the West coast just across the North Sea from Scotland.

Bergen’s airport has international arrivals from Copenhagen, Amsterdam and London, so it’s usually easiest to fly via one of those cities. Alternatively you can fly via Oslo.

KLM/Northwest/Air France
We usually fly KLM to and from the USA, because have convenient schedules from Chicago/New York-Amsterdam-Bergen. And often they seem to be cheapest. Air France is typically the best airline to and from Paris.

Scandinavian Airlines
If you want to fly through Copenhagen this is a good choice. They also have direct flights from London and Oslo.

Norwegian
A budget airline that often has very cheap flights from London (Stansted), especially if you book well in advance. Can’t be combined with other airlines, so if connecting you have to take the risk of delays making you miss your flight--they won’t reschedule you.

air Baltic
Another budget airline, air Baltic, offers discount flights to Bergen. There are regular direct Riga/Bergen flights. This might be the best bet for travelers coming from Eastern Europe.

Getting from the Airport to the City Center
It won't be necessary to rent a car to get around Bergen. From the airport there are two options. The flybussen costs 80 NOK and will drop you at some hotels or Festplassen, in the center of town (a short walk to hotels). A taxi from the airport is usually between 300-400 NOK.

Other Things To Do in Bergen
Bergen is quite close to some of the most spectacular fjords in the world. If you have an extra day in town before or after the seminar, we can recommend the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour, which combines rail, bus and boats and is beautiful. The trip costs NOK 896 for adults, and lasts all day. The tickets include the train Bergen-Myrdal, the flam railway from Myrdal-Flam, a fjordcruise on the Sognefjord, bus from Gudvangen-Voss, train back from Voss-Bergen, and entrance to the Flamsbana museum in Flam. You can book tickets online here or on the phone by calling +47 815 68 222.

More locally, if the sun is shining you should take a ride up the funicular on Fløyen, for some great views of Bergen from the mountain. Return tickets from the city are 70 NOK.

Bergen also has a number of historic and cultural sites, such as the Hanseatic League area Bryggen, and some wonderful museums. You can find information about them at the official Bergen tourism site.