We met at the benches in front of the tourist office & Frank, our guide, was carrying a sign for Norway Mountain Guides. I arrived early & was a little nervous as I was traveling alone, but was quickly put at ease. Frank was very friendly & after filling out the appropriate paperwork we walked across the street to purchase a ticket on the first bus to the Ulriken Funicular as well as a ticket for the Funicular itself. This bus & Funicular ride were an additional fee. I think it was roughly 100 kr. The hike can proceed from Mt. Ulriken to Mt. Floyen or from Floyen to Ulriken & Frank suggested that we start in Ulriken. We boarded the bus & shortly after we arrived at the Funicular. We boarded the Funicular & up we went to the start of the hike. The views already were beautiful. Once we began hiking though it became clear why this is the most popular hike in Bergen! The views & landscape were magnificent!! It was hard to believe that we were directly above Norway’s 2nd largest city as the terrain was untouched, pristine & gave the impression of being in the complete wilderness. There were mountain lakes to swim in & mountain streams to drink from, there were herds of sheep & lush farmland below & rocky & moss covered terrain on the trail which made it easy to understand how the legends of the trolls were born. Every turn offered a more beautiful view & truly was unbelievable! Although we saw very few people along the 13km route it did become more frequented as the day progressed. It was a confusing path that was marked by piles of stones & the occasional directional sign. I was very pleased to have Frank with us. He was incredibly pleasant, knowledgeable & amenable. His primary goal was to make sure that we enjoyed the trail. He adjusted the pace according to our needs-speeding up & slowing down according to the terrain. It was an incredibly long hike but I left wanting more. At no point was I ready for this trail with its remarkable views to come to an end. Furthermore, the lively discussions along the trail were almost as interesting as the views. Frank doubled as a history, economics & sociology professor as our group, entirely made up of Americans, peppered him with questions about the Vikings, World War II, healthcare, infrastructure, commerce & industry, kindercare, maternity & paternity leave, the environment, the government, natural resources-you name it. Frank earned his stripes & gave us all an incredible understanding of the history & present day Norway as well as a love of the landscape. It was an extraordinary day!! I highly recommend Frank & would have done every hike he offered, but sadly we had scheduling conflicts. Next time for sure!!!!