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[[File:HHBergen.JPG|300px|thumb|left|[[Gutuater]] hitching in the rain from Bergen north to Førde in March]]
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<map lat='60.432831853362394' lng='6.1248779296875' zoom='8' view='0' float='right' />
Bergen is the second largest city in [[Norway]] and the largest in Western Norway, with a population of 255,490 as of 1 October 2009.Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, which includes rural areas, has a population of 377,116 as of January 2010.
[[File:HHBergen.JPG|300px|thumb|left|[[User:Gutuater]] hitching in the rain from Bergen north to Førde in March]]
Except for a few periods of the year (notably in the early winter when it snows a lot), Bergen is very rainy and good waterproof gear is recommended, as things can get pretty soaked! Given the somewhat long waiting times that you'll have to face (even in good spots), finding a '''covered bus stop''' (''busslomme'' in Norwegian, different from ''bussholdeplass'' meaning simply bus stop) to hitch from and having a '''waterproof sign''' is vital!
As in whole of Norway, but especially on the West Coast, a smart thing to do before setting off for hitchhiking is checking the road conditions (especially in the spring when all the snow is melting down from the mountains onto the roads) and traffic by '''calling 177''' (active from 10 a.m. though). Especially if you're taking secondary roads, it's a good thing to check whether they're open and if there is any traffic at all.
