Troldhaugen, Bergen

Tags

Bergen, cruise, Grieg, Music, Norway, ship, Stave Church, troldhaugen

The visit during our cruise of the Western Coast of Norway that made the greatest impression on me was to the home of composer Edvard Grieg and his wife Nina.

Troldhaugen is a suburb of Bergen, the hill on which the house stand was named by Grieg and it means in Old Norse, Knoll of the Troll. I would say a well to do neighbourhood with expensive homes surrounded by forests and lakes. When the house was built it was by the standard of the time an expensive house. It is wonderful to see how well preserve it is and gives the impression that the owners have just stepped away for a few minutes.

as you walk towards the house you will see this grassy mound which in fact is the roof of the small concert hall, said to be one of the best in Europe for acoustics.

Here is an old photo taken from a framed photo inside the house. It shows a gathering at the front of the house with Grieg in the middle, he is the little man in the light suit. He was about 1.5 meter talls and had one lung. He died at 61 from respiratory complications.

The house has remained as it was when Grieg and his wife Nina lived there. After his death in 1907 she moved to Denmark but the house remained in the family and both of them are buried in a rock face below the cliff by the lake.  The house became a Museum in 1928 while Nina was still alive. The house built by Grieg’s cousin Schak Bull had no electricity nor indoor plumbing. Also on the property just a few steps away is the composing chalet where Grieg worked, a simple hut really with a work table and a piano with a beautiful view of the lake.

the house toilet or out house, also preserved.

Here is Grieg in a dark coat on the walk towards the house with playwright Henrik Ibsen, today you can stand on the same spot nothing has changed.

Grieg’s piano a gift from admiring fans brought into the house one morning as a surprise, notice how the legs are short, made so to accommodate Grieg’s short stature. A beautiful instrument still in perfect working order. The house is all wood, plain wood floors, walls etc, rustic and charming.

The view from the living room of lake Nordasvannet and surrounding area.

The composer’s hut at the bottom of a short flight of stairs. It is not open to the public being quite small, but you can look through the door window.

His working table the piano not seen here is to the left of the desk.

inside the concert hall, with the window looking unto the composer’s hut and the lake. We had a wonderful concert with pianist Rune Alver who played Morgenstemning from Peer Gynt, Rigaudon from Holberg Suite, Rotnamsknut from Norwegian Peasant dances, and selected Lyric pieces that Nina Grieg, soprano would sing at recital with Grieg accompanying her on the piano. It was quite beautiful and evocative.

We walked down to the Lake to visit the tomb of Grieg and Nina, a very peaceful place.

Though you come down and it is indicated, it is somewhat hidden from view. On the funeral stele his inscribed simply Edvard and Nina.

During our visit to Bergen we also visited an old church which had to be extensively renovated and rebuilt.

The old stave church at Fantoft, originally built in Fortun in Sogn in 1150 and moved to Fantoft in 1883, burnt down on 6 June 1992. Fantoft Stave Church has been rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire.

 

The church was originally built in Fortun in Sogn, a village near inner or eastern end of Sognefjord around the year 1150. In the 19th century the church was threatened by demolition, as were hundreds of other stave churches in Norway. The church was bought by consul Fredrik Georg Gade and saved by moving it in pieces to Fantoft near (now in) Bergen in 1883. Outside the church stands a stone cross from Tjora in Sola.

On 6 June 1992, the church was destroyed by arson; the first in a string of church burnings by members of the early Norwegian black metal scene. At first, the fire was thought to have been caused by lightning or an electrical failure. In 1994, Varg Vikernes of the one-man band Burzum was found guilty of murder and of burning Åsane Church and Storetveit Church in Bergen, the burning of Skjold Church in Vindafjord, and the burning of Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo. He was also charged with the burning of Fantoft stave church.

After the fire, re-building was soon begun and was finished in 1997.

 

It is an all wood construction and the roof is covered with tar to repel the water.

The quality of the photos I took inside are not very good due to the very poor light, the little church has no electricity and no windows. The day light comes in from the open door. It is quite beautiful and gives an insight in early Christianity in Norway in the age of Vikings.

 

The Church stands in a forested grove.

 

Bergen, Norway

Tags

Bergen, Grieg, Ibsen, modernism, Norway, troldhaugen

The highlight of this cruise for me was our visit to the City of Bergen. A beautiful city and also the place where composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) lived with his wife, musician Nina Hagerup-Grieg (1845-1935) at Troldhaugen. She was a noted Soprano and a friend of composer Frederick Delius.

Our arrival in Bergen from Geiranger and cruising down the North Sea. Bergen is a mixture of modern architecture and old wooden houses. It has beautiful theatres and museums, a city of art and culture.

On the day we visited we had brilliant sunshine and downpour of rain and mixed up together with high winds.

We docked in the container port area and took a bus for a 1 minute ride, it was not safe to walk around moving cranes and trucks in that area.

Traditional old wood houses in the centre of Bergen.

The National Theatre where Henrik Ibsen had his plays first performed.

Since Ibsen is seen has the father of modernism in theatre, here is his statue in modernist style.

The centre of Bergen has beautiful parks and walkways like this one in front of the National Theatre.

The Museum with a banner proclaiming ”Actually the dead are not dead” we did not have a chance to investigate what that meant.

A pedestrian shopping street with beautiful stores, you can tell by the dark clouds that rain was present. But without rain it would not be Norway. In fact the old saying is ” There is no bad weather only bad clothes”. People did not seem to pay any notice of the rain or the wind, they simply went about their activities and life goes on.

 

 

 

Geiranger, Norway

Tags

Cascades, Fjord, Geiranger, Norway, White tail Eagle

The point of visiting Geiranger is for the multitude of waterfalls and the truly spectacular scenery and the famous Eagle’s road, an eleven hairpin road that soars above Geiranger an engineering marvel and for driving enthusiast a pleasure, since 1955 Geiranger is joined year round to other points in Norway. Yes this is the domain of the White Tailed Eagle and though they are numerous couple nesting, like all birds of prey, they can be elusive.

Norway is a very progressive country when it comes to the challenges of the Climate Crisis. In Geiranger, tourists are invited to rent an e-car to see the surrounding country side. Norway has 60% electric cars on its road including trucks and buses.

They are made by Renault the French car maker.

A charming bakery offering coffee and sweets.

Waterfalls and mountain streams streak through Geiranger, very picturesque.

regular ferry service runs every hour up and down the Fjord.

Here is that Eagle’s road with its 11 hairpin turns zigzagging up the mountain side. We saw cars but also buses and lorries come and go. In Italy I navigated such roads and there is a trick to them to avoid going off the road when doing the turn, not complicated really but you have to pay attention. The top of the mountain here is at 7000 feet, people farm up there and some have orchards also.

On this photo you can see various mountain streams cascading down over thousands of feet into the Fjord.

The only sound you hear is of the water cascading down, soothing, relaxing and eerie all at the same time.

This one is called the 7 sisters, I only counted 5 but this is due to the late season when water is not so plentiful. In the Spring you have 7 cascades.

On this photo you have cascades on both sides of the rock face.

As our ship turned the corner of the Fjord, the Troll Guardian appeared, he is said to be guarding the 7 Sisters, which is on opposite side.

This cascade is called the Suitor, a silly story about the suitor of the 7 sisters cascade.

 

 

 

 

Alesund, Norway

Tags

Alesund, cruise ship, Giske, GODOY, Norway

The correct pronounciation of this city is OLE SUN the accent above the A changes it into an O sound.

Ålesund is a port town on the west coast of Norway, at the entrance to the Geirangerfjord. It’s known for the art nouveau architectural style in which most of the town was rebuilt after a fire in 1904, as documented at the Jugendstilsenteret museum.

We spent a good time in Alesund and despite the rainy and cold weather it was interesting to visit. The highlight of the visit was a little bus tour we took to the Islands of Giske and Godoy, Road 658 will bring you there. The Norwegians built an interesting system of tunnels to connect the islands with Alesund the main town. The tunnels are about 500 feet under water and are single lane with a easement to allow you to let incoming traffic pass you while you are travelling in the opposite direction. Some tunnels are just about 2 kilometers with others can be quite long.

The Godøy Tunnel (Norwegian: Godøytunnelen) is a subsea road tunnel which runs between the islands of Giske and Godøy. The tunnel is 3,844 meters (12,612 ft) long; it is part of County Road 658 and the Vigra Fixed Link.

Tunnel clearance: 4.5 metres (15 ft)

You should not be claustrophobic in such a situation. The reason why they do not have bridges between the islands is because of the severe weather conditions during storms. Since both islands depend on link to Alesund for hospitals and medical care and other emergency services, schools and shopping, the tunnels are the most practical solutions, not to mention a feat of engineering.

Godøya or Godøy the island is famous for its beautiful nature, dominated by the 497-metre (1,631 ft) tall mountain Storhornet and the large lake Alnesvatnet.

Godoy island has 1,117 residents. Most of the population lives on the southeastern side of the island in the village of Godøy. There is a lot of cultivated farm land along the shores. fishing and fish processing are the main industries for the island. 

A variety of wildlife can be found on the island, mammals such as deer, otter, seal and mink are predominant. The steep mountain sides of the island also contain a number of nesting White tailed Eagles.

Godoy Island

View of Alesund on our way back from the island of Giske.

Our ship in port of Alesund

Alesund panorama. The city was largely rebuilt after 1904 in the Art Nouveau style which is lovely and gives a lot of character to the city.

As you can see from my photos we alternate from sunny to cloudy to rainy all in a matter of a few minutes.

Lovely town to visit but the cold weather put a bit of a damper on things, still we were happy we got to see it.

Giske was a quiet little place and we visited an old church and its cemetery. Again the peace of the place and the quiet are charming and makes you appreciate the quality of life people no doubt enjoy here.

Our guide explained how to read the Norwegian tombstones, when people die in such a small place, all families know each other and know if you are from Giske or from some other area or village in Norway. So if you are from Giske you will read the first name of the person and then Giske. This does not mean this is their family name. The family name is omitted but you have the date of birth and death and of course you are buried with your spouse and other family members so everyone knows who this is resting in eternal peace. These old churches use to be Catholic but since the Reformation in 1530 all of them are Protestant.

I do not have photos of the inside of the building, though photos on the internet shows a truly beautiful building simply decorated.

After Alesund our ship travelled a short distance to Geiranger and its myriad of glacial waterfalls.

Catamaran in Alesund Harbour, notice the roof is all solar panels which helps propel it.

Norway sailing

Tags

Norway, Scandinavia, Trolls, Vikings

During our trip to Norway, some info we picked up on Vikings, it seems that the image we have of them is not quite right, in fact its wrong. They travelled in little boats that were often no more than 40 feet long. The Vikings were not giants either, back then about 1000 year ago, people were small, so you average Viking was 5 feet tall or maybe at most 5.5 feet not exactly a giant race. Today we would appear to them to be giants, this is due to better hygiene and richer more varied diet.

As for the Trolls, have you heard of Billy Goat Gruff? A story written around 1840 by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe about 3 billy goats who tackle a nasty Troll living under a bridge who was very hungry and would eat anyone crossing the bridge.

The story introduces three male goats, sometimes identified as a youngster, father and grandfather, but more often described as brothers. In other adaptations, there is a baby or child goat, mama goat and papa goat. “Gruff” was used as their family name in the earliest English translation, by Dasent; the original Norwegian version used the name “Bruse”.

In the story, there is almost no grass left for them to eat near where they live, so they must cross a river to get to a meadow or hillside on the other side of a stream in order to eat and fatten themselves up. To do so, however, they must first cross a bridge, under which lives a fearsome and hideous troll, who is so territorial that he eats anyone who tries to cross the bridge.

The smallest billy goat is the first to cross and is stopped abruptly by the troll who threatens to “gobble him up!” However, the little goat convinces the troll to wait for his big brother to come across, because he is larger and would make for a more gratifying feast. The greedy troll agrees and lets the smallest goat cross.

The medium-sized goat passes next. He is more cautious than his brother, but is also stopped by the troll and given the same threat. The second billy goat is allowed to cross as well after he tells the troll to wait for the biggest billy goat because he is the largest of the three.

The third billy goat gets on the bridge, but is also stopped by the hungry troll who threatens to devour him as well. However, the third billy goat challenges the troll and knocks him off the bridge with his horns. The troll falls into the stream and is carried away by the current. From then on the bridge is safe, and all three goats are able to go to the rich fields around the summer farm in the hills, and they all live happily ever after.

 

First Fjord

Tags

cruise, Eidfjord, Food, Norway, Pinnacle grill, Sea, ship, voyage

We arrived in Eidfjord around 7am, this means we enter the Fjord and sail down about 58 Km. stopping in this little village of Eidfjord. A very quiet place, surrounded by very high mountains, our guide said 7000 feet and the depth of the water is about 800 feet. All of it created thousands of years ago by the retreating ice shield that covered the Earth.

This picture gives you an idea of the size and how rugged the mountains are. With our ship docked.

Now what I did not know was how important Trolls are in Norwegian culture and mythical history. They are everywhere, they are nasty and smelly and under 4 feet, Evil little creatures. They mostly have jobs with Facebook now or on social media.

Eidfjord, 956 pop, is a place for camping, kayaking, hiking and bicycling. Perfect in the Summer for families and located within an National Park, with great scenic views. If you have time you can visit Hardangervidda (mountain plateau) the Hardangerjokulen glacier, and other sights in the area, which would require at least 2 days. We had only 8 hours and the weather was not cooperating. On the day we visited, it was cold, rainy and damp. I did a little walk around in this very quiet village, only saw a dog looking at me through a living room window. The house are pretty and everything is neat, no troll in sight except for this one, made of wood.

I returned to the ship, and was looking forward to our return to the sea where we could admire on our way out the panorama of the Fjord and its many waterfalls.

The  Hardanger Bridge, longer than the Golden Gate bridge by 20 meters, we passed under it with a clearance of just 2 meters.

During our travel through Norway we heard a lot from the Norwegians about climate change and how very concerned they are about the warming of the climate, which has melted the glaciers, you can still see them but they are now remote at high altitude. Norway has around 60% electric car fleet  and hope that by 2023 it will be 100% as no fossil fuel cars will be sold in the country. The incentives to buy an electric car in Norway are generous, no tax on purchase, free parking everywhere, no cost on recharging your battery which take minutes, no toll on roads, tunnels or bridges. Given that gas is $7 a litre + 35% tax, you do the math easy to see why it is a good deal to buy electric. But there are also other measures I noticed in the grocery store, no plastic wrapping, lots of recycling everywhere, it is all very progressive.

Dinner in one of the specialty restaurant Pinnacle Grill, very nice menu, beef is the main item.

 

 

To Norway

Tags

champagne, cruise, dining, Holland, North Sea, Norway, ship

We boarded our ship in Amsterdam at the Zouthaven Passenger Terminal  next door to the Centraal Train Station.

We were scheduled to visit the Fjords, Eidfjord, Alesund, Geiranger and the city of Bergen. First we sailed up into the North Sea passing Germany and Denmark it takes about 14 hours to do this. We left at 5PM and for the first hour we slowly made our way in the Canal that brought us to the great gate and lock which we have to cross in order for the ship to be lifted up the Sea Level, you understand why it is called the Low Countries, The Netherlands is under the sea level. The scenery as we cruise slowly along the canal to the Sea is heavy industry, shipping and cargo, The Netherlands is a trading nation with a long history of naval commerce from around the world.

Photo taken from our Stateroom at the front of the ship, here it is the gate and lock we will enter it and be lifted up and then continue into the North Sea just in front of us (top of photo) making a right turn to go North.

Our speed was depending on the winds (gale) and height of the waves between 9 to 15 Knots.

We had lunch by the pool area where they have a pizza and bar, you can also get a burger or hotdog and fries. It was a more quiet area than the Lido Market which was mostly a zoo with far too many people. At night the double tier dining room and the specialty restaurants.

So we enjoyed our pizza which was very good with a bottle of champagne of course.

The large pool and triple jacuzzi area was covered by a retractable roof which opens on sunny days. There is another pool at the rear of the ship.

The North Sea

This area of the ship on the 14 deck was called the retreat and was very nice and private.

The blue arrow indicates our location as we make our way North. A nice beginning to our trip.

 

 

Bon voyage

Tags

Holland America, Norway, Sea, Ships, vacation, voyage

Well we will be on this new ship in just a few days, departing from Amsterdam and going to Norway, the theme of our cruise is Norse Legends.

Looking forward to it all, especially the scotch bar NOTES, the French Restaurant SEL DE MER and the DUTCH Café, all looks inviting. Lots to enjoy! Ciao.