We have a 2-bedroom 940 sq.ft/90kvm apartment on the upper 4th floor in a condo. The apartment is very cosy and comfortable and we love it! The kitchen is quite large, newly renovated and of course fully equipped for cooking, with electric stove/oven, microwave and dishwasher. The living room is about 30m2/320 sq.ft with 50'' LED TV, DVD player and wireless high-speed internet access. My daughter’s bedroom is renovated and redecorated, and really gives us the feeling of New York and America! This room has a king size bed where there’s room for two,or sometimes even three people. The master bedroom has a queen size bed for two people.This room was also recently redecorated and is a very cozy and comfy room. There is also a pull out coach in the living room which you can turn into a queen size bed. In the bathroom there are tiles on the walls and floor, a shower, bathtub and washing machine. We have some green plants that will need water now and then. The apartment sleeps 6-7 persons.

Outside the living room we have a balcony which is about 6x23 ft. In summer time we have plenty of flowers on the balcony, garden tables and chairs and it’s a perfect place for sunbathing. If you like swimming, you’ll have several alternatives. Many places around Bergen you can swim in the sea or you can go down town and visit the Nordnes pool where you can swim both in the fjord and in the pool. This pool is located in the beautiful Nordnes Park and is very close to the Bergen Aquarium.

We love and adore animals and we have two indoor cats, Oliver Spaghetti and Mia Macaroni. Thus the apartment is not suitable to those allergic to cats. Ollie is a 15 year old Norwegian Forest Cat with a long pedigree and Mia is an 11 year old domestic cat. It is a requirement that you like cats, as our two indoor cats needs to be taken care of. Oliver is too old to be put into care away from home.

We'd like to exchange cars if your home is far from SF. We have an indoor garage. The bus stop is right across the street and the bus goes very often. To the city it takes 10 minutes by car and 30 minutes by bus. Riding the bus is rather common here (especially if you want to go down town to the centre of Bergen).

Right outside the building we have a soccer field and nice playgrounds with a safe environment for children to play. You can see the playgrounds from both sides of the condo, so you can watch your kids all the time. There are walking- and bikingroads from our door step in every direction.

From our front door it's a 3 minutes walk to the wonderful valley, Hjortlandsdalen (which means the valley of the deers). It’s a popular place for hiking, biking and walking. You will see many horses, dogs and sheep in the valley, and it’s right outside our door step! You can also walk all the way across the mountains and reach the mountain of Floyen. This will take you about 4-5 hours. When you reach Floyen, you can have a glass of cold beer or a cup of coffee, take the funicular down to the town and hop on the bus back home. If you would like to go on a rather shorter walk, you can just take the bus down town and walk up to Floyen from there.

The building has no elevator.

Our home is located outside the city of Bergen, which is the second largest town in Norway, with about 270.000 inhabitants. The city is also the most beautiful city in the country, with lots of parks, flowers and many very old buildings from the Hanseatic period (1300-1754). The waterfront, “Bryggen” is placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and attracts thousands of tourists every year. It’s a unique place for shopping and dining, sightseeing, or just to find a cosy outdoor restaurant to sit and watch the ships and street life.

The Fish Market close to Bryggen has outdoor booths with all kind of fish and seafood, fruits, vegetables and berries, souvenirs etc.

Bergen is called ‘The city between the seven mountains’. Two of the mountains you can reach very easily. A cable funicular takes you to the top of Mount Floien. The funicular is a little train that goes up the very steep mountain side. Another cable car, Ulriksbanen, takes you to the top of Mount Ulriken. This cable car is hanging up in the air and gives you a unique chance to view the city surrounded by the mountains and fjords. On both Floien and Ulriken you’ll find restaurants, souvenir kiosks and great places for mountain hiking.

Bergen is also called “The gateway to the Norwegian mountains and fjords”. From the Fish Market you can board different ships for day cruises in the fjords. Bergen is the start point of one of the most spectacular cruises in the world, that takes you all the way from Bergen to Kirkenes. On the tour you have the opportunity to cross The Polar Circle and visit North Cape. The 11 ships routing this distance is called “Hurtigruten”(i.e. The quick route.) A round tour with Hurtigruten takes 11 days and is one of the world’s most beautiful seaways. You can also board one of these ships for much shorter distances. If you would like to see Norway and the fjords for a shorter time period, you can try the “Norway in a nutshell” trips, where you can, among other things, see everything between Bergen and Oslo in just 1-3 days.

It takes 7 hours by train to reach the capitol of Norway, Oslo. The railway station in Bergen is the start of Bergensbanen and takes you across the mountains on a spectacular journey to Oslo. The highest point on this railway is Finse, 1222m /1336yds above the sea level.

Bergen has an international airport, Flesland. From this airport you can fly to many European cities. It takes 50 minutes from Bergen to Oslo, to London 2 hours, Amsterdam 1 hour and 40 mins, Stockholm 1 hour 15 mins.

Two world famous composers came from Bergen: The pianist Edvard Grieg and violinist Ole Bull. Their homes are open to the public and are two popular and very special attractions. Bergen has many restaurants, pubs, shopping centres, museums, a botanical garden, university, aquarium, several beautiful churches, among them a stave church, and many other attractions.

You can go fishing in the fjords and in the mountain lakes.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/norway/

Sites for Bergen guide: http://www.bergen-guide.com/

Norway in a nutshell: http://www.norwaynutshell.com/

Botanical Garden: http://www.nhm.uio.no/english/

Aquarium: http://akvariet.no/index.php/forside/137

Edvard Grieg’s home ”Troldhaugen”: http://www.visitbergen.com/en/Product/?TLp=179643&Troldhaugen-Home-of-composer-Edvard-Grieg

Ole Bull’s home ”Lysoen”: http://www.visitbergen.com/en/Product/?TLp=400682&Coastal-cruise-to-Lysoen=

A very special train journey you’ll never forget is The Flaam Railway: http://www.visitflam.com/default.asp

The famous fjord Geirangerfjorden. E.g. travel to Geiranger by bus or boat from Bergen: http://www.geiranger.no/attraksjoner/naturattraksjoner_en

We would like to do an exchange in the summer of 2014, between the months of June and September.

We hope to do an exchange for 2 weeks in San Francisco and 7-10 days in New York City before we go back home.

Summer 2013 is booked.

My name is Mona. I am 55 years old and I work as an Accountant Manager in a company where I'm one of the owners. I used to be a Radio Officer on board Norwegian ships for some years. In those years I was quite often in Houston with different chemical tankers and I’ve also been to many other harbours in the US during my years as a “sailor”. Some of my interests are animals, flowers and plant care, travelling, reading, movies and music.

My daughter Madeleine is 22 years old and she’s the best daughter ever! 2008/2009 she spent a year in Atlanta, GA, as an exchange student at North Springs High School. Winter 2010 she went to London to attend a bartender school, and now she's a fully educated bartender. In February 2011 she returned to the US for a year to work in Disney World in Orlando, FL, in a restaurant in the Norwegian part of Epcot. Some of Madeleine's interests are friends, animals, movies, acting, music and travelling.

Both mother and daughter love America and Americans! Summer of 2009 we spent 5 days in Atlanta, 5 days in Orlando and 14 days in New York. Summer of 2011 we met in Orlando and after a week there, we flew up to NYC where we rented a beautiful private apartment in Greenwich Village for 3 weeks (which we found on HomeExchange.com). We are both hit by the 'New York Syndrome' and now we also want to experience other places in the US!

We love animals! We'd be very, very happy to take care of your animals and we will treat any animal in the best way and give them our care and love. A dog will be taken out for walking several times a day. We can assure you that your animals will be in very good hands! And we hope the same for our two beloved cats, Oliver and Mia =^..^=

We are non smokers, but we will allow smoking if required.

English, Norsk